RRS-1980

IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE WEBSITE – THE BACKGROUND

Some of you PC or console players like to go back to older titles. For me and many gamers over the net MobyGames.com was the favorite resource aiding in finding those old games (or organizing your collection). Contrary to Wikipedia or other websites, its searching options and categorization meant higher rate of success. Besides, Wikipedia doesn’t offer screenshots or credits, system-specific websites are just that – restricted to one computer/console family.

It started as a community project launched by a pair of students. It survived 14 years, which is a lot on the Internet. But some time ago its founders realized they can’t support it anymore because of constand amount of money/time it required. They sold it to GameFly.
It caused an uproar in the community, some people left, but others hoped “as long as the company won’t mess with the site, it’s business as usual”.

THE RECENT EVENTS – THE REDESIGN AND COMMUNITY BOYCOTT

Now, it’s September 2013 and MobyGames received a redesign. It was rejected by the community, most veteran contributors are on strike.

Why, you ask? Is it about petty issue of disliking the new layout (because it’s aimed for tablets)?

The first problem is that the new frontend is broken. That’s it, some old features are missing, other don’t work, no promised new features added.

What the community couldn’t accept is that there was a closed preview of the new design last year, users rejected it and pointed out the bugs. It appears the new layout was simply launched with all bugs intact.
This means user feedback is ignored by the company/webdesigner. Forget about ever seeing those requested features. The old website was outdated, but at least worked.
What’s worse, even the most grating errors weren’t fixed during the 2 weeks. Imagine they didn’t even hotfix broken Private Message inbox! Our “have-lists” got merged without warning!
No communication, let alone apology. What does it say to us, users?

This is not the case of “whining video game nerds”. This site was built by the community: not just the database content, but also money donations. 14 years of our work went to incompetent careless hands of a company who can’t even hire a proper webdesigner...

I played the early WC games back in 1990s:

+ more animated cutscenes

- which consist mainly of talking (subtitles) faces

+ asteroids

- that usually kill you after a successful mission

- sprite-based targets (no vector graphics) are harder to lead

- you fight furry cats

I also got the feeling I'm on a modern USNAVY carrier... it can be considered as + or -

I had more fun with WC:Privateer.

Only WC3 outdid TIE Fighter (both 1994) with its textured vector objects.

dan76 said:

Sega's 1997 Star Wars Trilogy Arcade

 This one?

First SpilkaBilka and now Owyn_Merrilin joined the club! I salute you!

I've lost count how many times I've finished X-Wing, TIE Fighter and Dark Forces. STAR WARS setting aside, these were great games on their own (controls, difficulty etc.).

@Owyn_Merrilin: you may wish to fiddle with DOSBOX to be able to emulate Gravis Ultrasound (requires additional download, no actual GUS hardware needed). I'd say when it's supported (TIE Fighter and Dark Forces do this natively) it gives the best music playback for DOS(BOX) games.

Briefings sound the best when read by Guy Siner! He sounds as Imperial as you can get XD

CP3S said:

if every character is a wizard, they aren't as interesting anymore

 One of the reasons why I don't watch Harry Potter ;)

Good point about Kyle Katarn - I've always felt this way. He was a mercenary, one of the many Imperials who defected and aided the good guys. I hated the beard, too ;)

It's Star Wars. There is enough space for pilots, war heros (why not spies, slicers?), commanders... just not the PT cookie-cutter clones, please (each time I see them I think not of strormtroopers but U.S.ARMY in the Middle East...). Oh, and I'll take a dollop of smugglers, pirates, mercenaries and all other scoundrels...

German DIY retailer OBI plays on its name in this ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LywyqVHKcE0

Burdokva said:

I'm tired of lightsabers, robes and the Force (yes, I know I'm a minority)

 You have my sword...  (oh wait, wrong trilogy)

THREEPIO: Oh, no! I've been shot!

This is a very dramatic moment. We laugh because it's 3CPO, he's a robot. Yet think of a human in a similar situation: imagine a corpse of a soldier (torso, head, one hand) resurrected from the dead, recalling that moment. "So we were assaulting that position, I threw a grenade towards that MG nest and... wait, that's when I took the bullet!?!?"

Creepy. That's why ESB is so grand.

imperialscum said:

And then intolerant PT fanboys attack us because they can not deal with the fact that people can have different opinions. On top of that they call us "haters".

 Just to clarify things, I dislike people who blindly attack any criticism, even when it's sound, well-argued and constructive.

In Internet-speak: I hate hater-haters.

This applies not only to Star Wars community.

"Oh, so you're a hater! And we hate haters! But that totally doesn't make us haters too..."

SilverWook said:

Wasn't DF using Doom's base code, as were many other 3D shooters at the time?

 No.

http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/game-engine-jedi

http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/3d-engine-id-tech-1

I'm with CP3S here, Dark Forces was much better than the many games that appeared after Doom. Not all of those games were shameless clones.

Ryan McAvoy said:

It's a refreshing minimalist logo, clean, crisp, modern.

 Then you could have this one:

http://cdn-static.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/software/20th_century_fox_logo.jpg

See? Just like the old thing, yet modern. That's the way you do it.

So they also changed their name? To 21st?

The point for logos is to provide identification. Brand loyalty blah blah... etc. How am I supposed to identify with something completely different? How many people will think "cheap Chinese imitation"?

http://amazinglanka.com/tanks/yoda-mannar/index.php

Don't forget "Minch" :)

Ryan McAvoy said:

It had REAL heights was the thing.

 In that sense I did appreciate it - I recall a level where an elevator took you to a docked starship, the ride lasted probably a minute? What I didn't like was the design of the rooms: too much "empty hangar with flat walls" copy&paste job, not enough detail etc.

Early Jedi Outcast levels fixed this.

In a thread about the closing of LucasArts I've complained about games we never got, another one would be:

why no X-Com / Jagged Alliance style game? Imagine we lead a team of Rebel saboteurs, infiltrating Imperial bases, turn-based combat et all...

I'll join SpilkaBilka and Erikstormtrooper here:

X-Wing

TIE Fighter

Dark Forces 

I wasn't impressed with level design in Jedi Knight, everything reeked of "Quake multiplayer arenas", even the blaster bolts f/x looked inferior to Dark Forces ones. I weeped of joy in the first level of Jedi Outcast - beautiful Imperial base to explore, no Force powers, return of iMUSE... just like in the best days!

I couldn't switch myself to the XvT flight engine changes, what ruined my experience of X-Wing: Alliance (which had very nice look&feel).

I'm not into arcade action games, I've never owned a console. All those Rogue Squadron games are forgettable for me.

Rebellion/Supremacy had a lot of problems and design issues, just like Empire at War. Force Commander was horrible. Galactic Battlegrounds was just a cheap clone of aging Age of Empires (256 colors palette?!? in 2001?)

KotOR was a decent game on its own (despite consolish origins), but is it still STAR WARS? Or just a remote spin-off?

EU and prequels made me realize that STAR WARS sans the Empire loses its identity. And it's no longer my thing. For those who can't understand: ask a history buff who is into Napoleonic wars if that means he's automatically into World War I...

^^ isn't the same happening to us now? After decades of TV... Internet kills newspapers... books are either audiobooks or electronic format - for your Kindle, iPad or whatever is the current fad, dear hipster. Forum idiots respond with tl;dr... people prefer to watch a video than to read a review...

Our civilization toys with nanotechnology, antimatter, cloning, and plans a manned mission to Mars... but it's still run by power-hungry greedy bastards (often with little education), while the rest of the population either only cares about their latest Playstation or starves.

On the other hand, surely I will admit that the Prequels' plot was weak, just like the "seduction" in ROTJ ...but this has already been addressed in other threads?

"Statistically dumber than we are in our own world"? Apparently you don't follow politics nor study history. People voted for idiots and brutal simpletons - and still do in our times.

"sand people" :D

http://www.joemonster.org/art/23217/Piaskowe_rzezby_postaci_ze_Star_Wars

^^ Isn't it the case of most of the EU? http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sun_Crusher

Now, I know of the rule "don't say bad things about the dead ones", but I could never understand certain LucasArts decisions:

* why no STAR WARS point'n'click adventure? if Indiana Jones was good enough to create those... actually there was a more advanced project (to use engine on par with Grim Fandango), but it didn't get the green light

* why cross-licensing with stuff like Monopoly or Angry Birds?

* why weak STAR WARS Chess and no holochess (Dejarik) adaptation ever made?

* if they love to milk their license, why no official expansion for successful Dark Forces?

etc.

I used to build models/dioramas, but... smoke and explosions??? I haven't seen anything like that!

Thanks. Nowadays the only moments when I can still enjoy STAR WARS is seeing those rare behind-the-scenes stills from the original Trilogy.

Mander said:

didnt he cut off his sons hand???

 Didn't he torture his daughter?

bkev said:

Played the hell out of X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter.

 XvT wasn't very successful, it was a multiplayer-aimed remake, but converting the old missions was done with little playtesting... there are engine/mechanics changes I mentioned in the first post here. For single player experience I'd suggest starting with X-Wing or TIE Fighter. If you hate DOS graphics, there was a Collector Series re-release with updated textured models.

Erikstormtrooper said:

So, do all these modern X-Wing installers work on Windows XP?

 If you just want to enjoy plain old DOS editions, all you need is to introduce yourself to DOSBOX.

SpilkaBilka said:

X-Wing is actually what really made me fall in love with Star Wars.  I was 13 when it first came out and I spent so much (way too much!) time playing it.

 You seem to echo my thoughts :]

When X-Wing was released it revived my Star Wars interest. Bear in mind that for those living behind the Iron Courtain  Star Wars material was scarce in 1980s. Flight simulators were my first computer game love (never liked the arcade stuff), so for me it was THE game, a wish fulfillment... of course my most secret desires were catered later with... TIE Fighter :) Ah, to fly those dangerous-looking "H fighters" (as I called them being a kid).