DOS Game Club

Hello Dostalgicians!

We still haven't quite caught up with our schedule, but we're getting there. One step along the way is this episode in which we discuss Parallax Software's 1995 hit game Descent - the game we played back in March.

Martijn and Florian are joined by Elias ("pumpuli"), Rami ("JikissGamer") and Jonathan ("microwerx") in an attempt to save earth from an alien computer virus by blowing up asteroids. Sounds crazy? Sure, but it's also a lot of fun.

[ download mp3 ] (120 mins, 96 MB)

* UK magazine reviews of Descent scanned in by DGC member Pix

* DXX-Rebirth: Modern source port for Descent and Descent II

* Descent and Descent II on Mobygames

It is the year 2020 and yet, some of us are still fascinated by an operating system that hasn't been updated in nearly 20 years. In this episode we are trying to answer the question "why"?

That DOS is still relevant today is demonstrated by the success of DOS Games Jam - a game jam dedicated to the style of DOS games. 123 games have been submitted to this jam, all of which are either inspired by old DOS games or are even DOS games themselves.

We are also taking a look at other things that are going on in the modern world of DOS. New commercial games, new hardware and productivity software are still being made as well as development tools and various emulators that allow us to enjoy the games of the past with absolute ease.

[ download mp3 ] (106 mins, 86 MB)

* DOS Games Jam

* Haunted PS1 demo disc

* DGJ entry: StellarRoads

* DGJ entry: Kalevala

* DGJ entry: SlipSpeed

* DGJ entry: Witchy Workshop

* DGJ entry: Capax Astra

* DGJ entry: Acronia

* MiniLD 52: The Retro Challenge

* MiniLD 71: The Retro Challenge

* MS-DOS on Github

* FreeDOS

* DOSBox + forks

* ScummVM

* LoveDOS: create 2D games in Lua

* Tapegro: create DOS games in Javascript

* RAD Tracker v2

* OPL3LPT

Bonjour DOS fans!

In our ongoing attempt to get back on schedule, we present to you our podcast episode on Nomad, the obscure 1993 space adventure game we played in February.

The show is filled with DGC veterans, as Florian ("rnlf") hosts for a change, joined by Martijn ("Tijn") and Esko ("FireFyte"). Suggested by DGC member voxel, he sadly couldn't be on the show, but did send in a voice message for which we're very grateful.

So buckle up and get ready for lift off!

[ download mp3 ] (101 mins, 82 MB)

Hello!

We hope everyone is staying safe with all this craziness going on. When in doubt: stay inside and play DOS games, folks!

Back in January we played Worms with the club and boy did we have a lot of fun with that one. We even organised a little club tournament to see who has the best chops.

Now during the tournament, two players eventually rose to the top: our co-host Florian ("rnlf") and DGC member Tim ("spacefarer"). So we thought maybe it would be fun to have the final battle to determine the winner live during the podcast! Of course it became a big mess, but don't worry, because the first part of the show is our normal format in which we discuss the game in more detail. Besides Florian and Tim, also returning to the show are Martijn ("Tijn"), Jozef ("jozy") and Elias ("pumpuli").

Have fun!

[ download mp3 ] (130 mins, 104 MB)

Hello fellow DOS fans!

A while back we ran a Twitter poll to see what people thought a good RPG would be for us to check out. And although Dark Sun, Darklands and Albion all good respectable scores, there was one clear winner: Ultima VII, released in 1992 by Origin Systems. So that became our December game.

As neither our hosts Martijn ("Tijn") and Florian ("rnlf") played the game before, we were very happy that two knowledgable experts were willing to join the show and help us explain the contents and context of this game and the Ultima series as a whole. First of all it's long time DGC member and podcast regular Richard ("Pix"), and last but not least there's Michael ("Moa2020") who is completely new to the club.

Enoy!

[ download mp3 ] (115 mins, 92 MB)

* As ever, Pix scanned in some old magazines with reviews for us. Thanks!

* Exult is an open source reimplementation of Ultima 7 for modern platforms, using the original data files.

Yo yo yo!

It's been a while since we last featured a racing game, so we dove into the suggestion forum and came up with 90s 3D pod racer Wipeout. Most people probably remember this as a title for the Sony Playstation, but the first game in the series actually saw a release for PC as well, so we thought we'd check it out.

Just like we did for Grand Prix Circuit two years ago, we decided to keep a scoreboard this time to see who is the fastest DOS Game Club Wipeout racer. Judging by the times posted, it's quite clear that the answer to this question is TOASTY, who also happens to be the person who suggested that we play this game. Congratulations on your victory, toasty! If you think you're faster than any of us, please don't hesitate to post your own times. We'll keep the scoreboard open forever.

Now on to the podcast: No less than three people are joining hosts Martijn ("Tijn") and Florian ("rnlf") for this one. Returning to the show are first of all veteran DGC member Marwane ("wan"), and also Tim ("Spacefarer"). Last but not least Elias ("pumpuli") completes the guest list. Elias has been a long-time member of our IRC chat channel, but this the first time he's actually joined one of our podcasts.

That's all for now. Please enjoy the show!

[ download mp3 ] (117 mins, 94 MB)

* Forum thread with contemporary reviews, including some magazine scans by Pix.

* Both DGC members kdrnic and Spacefarer made videos comparing the DOS version of Wipeout to the one on the Playstation

* "The making of Wipeout" originally published by Edge Magazine (issue 142, 2004), now hosted by Kotaku UK

Oh hello there!

Every year in October we try to pick a game that fits with the spooky nature of the Halloween season. This year that game was The 7th Guest, developed by Trilobyte and released by Virgin in 1993 on not one, but two (!) CD-ROMs.

Both our hosts Martijn ("Tijn") and Florian ("rnlf") aren't too familiar with this title, so we're excited that two very knowledgeable experts were willing to join the show and tell us all about what makes The 7th Guest a cool and special game. First of all it's Esko ("FireFyte"), who was previously on the Monkey Island and Tyrian episodes. Also joining is Adam ("Pseudo_C"), who was previously heard in voice messages, but now is the first time he's on the show as a guest. Both Esko and Adam are big 7th Guest fans and have been playing it since childhood, so they're the perfect people to share what makes this game great.

Enjoy!

[ download mp3 ] (134 mins, 108 MB)

* Forum thread with contemporary reviews, including some magazine scans by Pix.

* Promotional "making of" documentary about The 7th Guest (VHS)

* 7/11 soundtrack of both The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour, by George "the fat man" Sanger

* The 13th Doll, fan-made sequel with an official license from the original creators of The 7th Guest

Sail ho!

Back in September we appropriately played Sid Meier's Pirates!, the classic 1987 pirate game by Microprose. While not Sid Meier's first game by any stretch, it is the first game which has his name in the title, firmly establishing him as the famous game designer he's known as today.

We're excited to announce our regular co-host Florian ("rnlf") is joining Martijn ("Tijn") once again, after being absent for the past two episodes. Joining the show are David ("EvilCommieDictator") and Jonas ("don_amar"). David has previously been on the Knights of the Sky episode, and has also kindly supplied us with voice messages. Jonas on the other hand is completely new to the podcast, it's always great to see new members joining us.

So get your cutlass ready, arm your cannons, raise the sails and enjoy Pirates! Arrrgh!

[ download mp3 ] (124 mins, 99 MB)

* The Digital Antiquarian on the origins of Sid Meier's Pirates!

* Sid Meier's psychology of game design (GDC 2010)

* Print-it-yourself version Barbarian Prince, a solo board game designed by Arnold Hendrick, who would later work on Pirates! at Microprose.

Hello!

We're back with another podcast, and this is a big one! We're discussing the game we played in August, which was UFO: Enemy Unknown, known in North America as X-Com: UFO Defense.

As in our previous episode, regular co-host Florian ("rnlf") had to miss this one due to his holiday and moving house. Luckily everything is settled now, so he should be back for future episodes like normal.

Now that doesn't mean that our host Martijn ("Tijn") has to discuss this game alone, because thankfully there's no shortage of club members who are willing to be on the show. Joining this time are returning guests Jozef ("yozy") and Tyler ("corgibuttz"), accompanied by first-timer Matthew ("Canageek").

Also DGC member David ("EvilCommieDictator") was kind enough to send us a voice message.

Now it turns out UFO / X-Com is a big game, so we had a lot to say about it, resulting in an episode that's almost 2.5 hours long. Have fun!

[ download mp3 ] (146 mins, 117 MB)

* Talk by X-Com game designer Julian Gollop at GDC 2013 about the game

* DGC member Richard ("pix") scanned some contemporary UK magazine reviews of X-Com

* OpenXcom is a modern reimplementation of the original game with several enhancements and mod support.

* UFOpeadia is a great wiki with all sorts of X-Com resources, which has been running for a very long time.

* ADG #98 about X-Com by Pixelmusement / Kris Asick

* A cool collection of X-Com sound effects and music, recorded from various hardware

Hi fellow DOS fans!

Remember us? We used to make podcasts about DOS games, haha. It wasn't easy to schedule this episode about Theme Hospital, the game we played back in July. But we've pulled through and here it is!

Sadly Florian ("rnlf") isn't joining us for this one, as he's away on holiday and also moving house. Who did make it onto the episode are our regular host Martijn ("Tijn"), joined by returning DGC member Phil ("PixelProphecy") who has never played the game before, and new DGC member Edd ("vext01") who played this game as a kid back when it originally came out.

Enjoy!

[ download mp3 ] (98 mins, 79 MB)

* Peter Molyneux talks at GDC about the origins of Bullfrog Productions

* CorsixTH, open source modern reimplementation of Theme Hospital

* DGC member Richard ("Pix") scanned some of his old UK game magazines, with contemporary reviews of Theme Hospital