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General discussionWho has actually played the original Wasteland? And did you like it?(62 posts)(62 posts)
(62 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 16, 2012
I've run Wasteland sometime in the past (after Fallout's release), but I didn't play very far. I didn't get hooked up for some reason.
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SimonG: Do we really want to got back there, or is it just that old "oldskool is cooler" vibe that got us so excited about the game.
If oldskool means no automap (when one is required, e.g. 3D dungeon crawlers) and no quest log, I'll probably pass it nowadays. Too hardcore even for me.

Other than that, I'm all for the old kind of CRPG gameplay, with tactical turn-based combat, steep learning curve (you die easily in the beginning, and have to tread lightly at first), where every earned experience point matters etc. Graphics don't matter so much, e.g. ADOM.
Post edited March 16, 2012 by timppu
Posted March 16, 2012
I tried Wasteland back when I was lurking on Abandonware sites (I stopped this practice when GOG appeared). I didn't get hooked up. The gameplay was incredibly difficult and I had no idea where to go. I kept getting killed in my first fight.

Maybe if GOG starts selling it (with the manual so that I won't get confused (before you ask, the version I had didn't have any manual and as I understand it, a manual is mandatory in every game of this era)), I'd try it again and maybe even enjoy it.

And no, I could't play it back in the day because I was born in 1988.
I tried Wasteland back when I was lurking on Abandonware sites (I stopped this practice when GOG appeared). I didn't get hooked up. The gameplay was incredibly difficult and I had no idea where to go. I kept getting killed in my first fight.

Maybe if GOG starts selling it (with the manual so that I won't get confused (before you ask, the version I had didn't have any manual and as I understand it, a manual is mandatory in every game of this era)), I'd try it again and maybe even enjoy it.

And no, I could't play it back in the day because I was born in 1988.
Post edited March 16, 2012 by POLE7645
Posted March 17, 2012
I hadn't heard much about Wasteland before Kickstarter. I think I heard about it in passing before, but I wasn't even born when it came out.

Would it be feasibly possible for GOG to port it? Is there a limit to the age of games that they can remaster/release? Now would be the time to do it with all the publicity that the Kickstarter campaign is getting
Posted March 17, 2012
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Moffatclan: Would it be feasibly possible for GOG to port it? Is there a limit to the age of games that they can remaster/release? Now would be the time to do it with all the publicity that the Kickstarter campaign is getting
While Fargo may own the name of the game again, EA still owns the original game itself. If we're lucky we still might see it here, but with the randomness of a lot of releases I wouldn't count on it. It certainly wouldn't need a 'port' as it should run perfectly fine in DOSBox.
Posted March 17, 2012
I was only 3 when it came out, so a little before my time.

I love Fallout, however, which I played tons of as a kid, so I have faith in a Brian Fargo post-apocalyptic RPG.
Posted March 18, 2012
I played Wasteland, though I never got very far. I do like the choices and consequences it had at that time though. It isn't as dynamic as Fallout, but I was fascinated by a world that was more than just the "shoot first, who needs to ask questions" approach, and had some really interesting dialogue. Admittedly I played Wasteland after Fallout (in 2001), and the game hasn't really aged very well at all, but nevertheless I'm excited to sit down for a proper playthrough after my exams.
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timppu: If oldskool means no automap (when one is required, e.g. 3D dungeon crawlers) and no quest log, I'll probably pass it nowadays. Too hardcore even for me.

Other than that, I'm all for the old kind of CRPG gameplay, with tactical turn-based combat, steep learning curve (you die easily in the beginning, and have to tread lightly at first), where every earned experience point matters etc. Graphics don't matter so much, e.g. ADOM.
I don't want a "quest" log or automap, but I would like to have a message log of some sort, so I can scroll through past conversations and make notes out of them. I'd also like to be given a notepad in the game, but all notes are to be manually written by me. I don't want to have the computer remind me what to do. Not that I have a problem with that, but in a game like Wasteland, I want to simulate the PnP experience as far as possible, with "modern advances" that do not, as far as possible, lead the player by the nose.
Post edited March 18, 2012 by lowyhong
Posted March 18, 2012
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Moffatclan: Would it be feasibly possible for GOG to port it? Is there a limit to the age of games that they can remaster/release?
They sell the first King's Quest and Ultima. If it's a classic, GOG wants it.

GOG doesn't port their games either, they don't have access to the source code. All they do is repackage the game the best they can with the resources available to them :)
Posted March 18, 2012
I just sat down for a proper game of Wasteland, for about an hour. This is so that I can comment on the game without any nostalgia-influenced references - and besides my memories of the game were really hazy prior to this. Anyway, all I have to say is, barring the really archaic dialogue system (which I suppose was remarkable anyway when it was first released) and graphics, the game's really aged quite gracefully, once you get the hang of the hotkeys. One reason I never got into the game's combat was because I always used the mouse, but once I started focusing on hotkeys, the game felt really smooth and intuitive.

I'd really gladly play for a few hours more (and I really want to), but I've got an assignment to rush, so Wasteland will have to wait, but for those of you who want to see what the fuss is about, download the game and the manual from Abandonia, have one DOSBox installation in the game's directory, and go learn the hotkeys. It won't take you more than 3 minutes to get the hang of it. Also, V = wait = heal, and space bar = party roster.

Also if you're planning to play it, you have to play it with the Fallout OST:
http://auralnetwork.com/releases
Post edited March 18, 2012 by lowyhong
Posted March 18, 2012
Way before my time, never played it. Any new post-apocalyptic RPG would get my attention though, especially one that is PC focused.
Posted March 18, 2012
I think people really confuse "old school" with "limitations of hardware at the time". No no no no NO, those two are NOT the same!

In most ways, "old school" really means "less hand holding & tougher". I mean, I'm sure you all want the improved and fleshed out quests from modern RPGs? The more detailed and unique worlds vs the copy & paste look of the old RPGs due to lack of diskspace?

If they give us a large open sandbox world with a lot of quests, unique locations, a setting that feels right and plenty of stuff to do but without holding our hands, I'll consider it a successful marriage of old school and modern RPGs.
Posted March 18, 2012
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Red_Avatar: I think people really confuse "old school" with "limitations of hardware at the time". No no no no NO, those two are NOT the same!
Or "limitations of hardware" with "turn-based". One isn't a direct subset of the other, though there's some overlapping. I know of turn-based games that are quite demanding on resources, and not always because they're poorly optimized.

Anyway going to copy and paste my previous post here in case someone misses it. I really hope more people give Wasteland a go, even if it really is quite an old game.
I just sat down for a proper game of Wasteland, for about an hour. This is so that I can comment on the game without any nostalgia-influenced references - and besides my memories of the game were really hazy prior to this. Anyway, all I have to say is, barring the really archaic dialogue system (which I suppose was remarkable anyway when it was first released) and graphics, the game's really aged quite gracefully, once you get the hang of the hotkeys. One reason I never got into the game's combat was because I always used the mouse, but once I started focusing on hotkeys, the game felt really smooth and intuitive.

I'd really gladly play for a few hours more (and I really want to), but I've got an assignment to rush, so Wasteland will have to wait, but for those of you who want to see what the fuss is about, download the game and the manual from Abandonia, have one DOSBox installation in the game's directory, and go learn the hotkeys. It won't take you more than 3 minutes to get the hang of it. Also, V = wait = heal, and space bar = party roster.

Also if you're planning to play it, you have to play it with the Fallout OST:
http://auralnetwork.com/releases
Post edited March 18, 2012 by lowyhong
Posted March 18, 2012
To be honest, I played it for 2-3 hours and wasn't that impressed. I love post-apocalypse settings but mostly because of the atmosphere, to see what happened to the world since then, the sense of survival, etc. but Wasteland just isn't that great a game. There's a lot of RPGs I discovered and loved decades after their release (Realms of Arkania being just one example) but Wasteland is just not deep enough for me. It's highly repetitious and doing the simplest of tasks takes several steps unless you use a macro.

Even combat gets annoying quickly - I did the quest to find the bunny master and was attacked every 3 steps I took and each attack meant repeating the same actions over and over and over - that's not what RPG combat should be! I don't expect them to have the depth of Baldur's Gate but I want more than "attack".

The game has a lot of cool personal touches that seem to be added on a programmer's whim - it's this kind of stuff I miss in modern games - but I wish they had made combat more appealing and less repetitive and tedious.
Posted March 18, 2012
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SimonG: Therefore I want to know who here has actually played the game? And did you like it?
I played it about three years ago. It holds up well, provided you don't care about things like graphics, UI, or sound. The core mechanic is still fun, just like the core mechanic around the Gold Box games is fun even though the game themselves look like the "Attack of the Windows 3.1 Icon Art".
Posted March 18, 2012
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SimonG: Therefore I want to know who here has actually played the game? And did you like it?
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TheEnigmaticT: I played it about three years ago. It holds up well, provided you don't care about things like graphics, UI, or sound. The core mechanic is still fun, just like the core mechanic around the Gold Box games is fun even though the game themselves look like the "Attack of the Windows 3.1 Icon Art".
WASTELAND COMING TO GOG CONFIRMED
Posted March 18, 2012
I was not fortunate enough to play it when I was little, and without nostalgia value I find that I cannot play it really.

I've tried and I understand why it is revered as it is, but I think I will never truly experience it.

I'm hoping I might be wrong, though.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionWho has actually played the original Wasteland? And did you like it?(62 posts)(62 posts)
(62 posts)
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