Classic Games Gone Freeware
TheWizard
Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10553Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2002-12-11 Member: 10553Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Know of any?</div> AFAIK, several classic games have gone freeware in the past few years. I am pretty sure the original DOOM has gone freeware, and Heretic/Hexen.
Know of any more and perhaps where to find the freeware versions?
<=== But I don't wanna be the queen.
Know of any more and perhaps where to find the freeware versions?
<=== But I don't wanna be the queen.
Comments
[edit]Mirrors, including BitTorrent file option:
<a href='http://www.3dgamers.com/games/hiddendangerous/' target='_blank'>http://www.3dgamers.com/games/hiddendangerous/</a>
<a href='http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=116' target='_blank'>http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=116</a>
Never played through the whole thing, found it too hard.
Probably not, it's like changing Half-Life's models and pulling off as FreeWare.
Negative. Wolf3D, DOOM, Duke3D, Quake, Quake 2, and afaik Heretic/Hexen are *NOT* Freeware.
Engine source released != Freeware. These are two very different things. All the map content + sprites/models + textures are still non-public, and the games as a whole are actually still being sold.
So don't link to any of these full games least you get pwned.
Of course! Thats why I was asking. Any linking I would do would be from the developer's own site.
That's the only one I've heard.
Or maybe that's what you guys meant when you said 'Doom'...
Moving along... classics? One Must Fall: 2097, Abuse, Out of this World, <b>Star Control II</b>; those are the only oldies I recommend that come to mind which shouldn't get you into trouble.
For the ones I am less sure of: Worms (original), Comix Zone, Raptor: Call of the Shadows, and Commander Keen.
(My condolences; I hate being queen as well. If you could, please advocate to the admins into bringing my post count into the negatives)
Or maybe that's what you guys meant when you said 'Doom'... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
They were shareware, basically 1/3 the entire game, but not the entire game. That's what 80% of us played. Freeware would then mean the whole game, which is rare, but existent.
Nowadays, we have demo (crap) that have only one/two levels and weighing in >100MB's.
Nope, it was shareware. The first 1/3 of the game was completely free, but you had to pay for the other 2/3.
I'm sure you meant SimCity....
You can be sure that if it's on home of the underdogs that it's abandonware.
Yes, but abandonware isn't freeware, it's just a form of warez by another name. The copyright holders might not be actively cease-and-desisting the sites, but it's still just as dubious.
I wish more older games <i>would</i> be re-released as freeware, or at least shareware. Frontier: Elite 2, a gloriously open-ended space piracy/trading/whatever game, is <a href='http://www.eliteclub.co.uk/download/' target='_blank'>available as shareware</a>, I imagine there are others like it.
I wish the lifespan of some games could be a bit longer; I missed out on buying System Shock 2 when it was still available, and I'm still kicking myself for doing so...
<u>Link me. </u>
<span style='color:orange'>Now!</span>
Argh, I had that a while ago and I got stuck after you get the schriebmann's port put in, or whatever it's called....
You can be sure that if it's on home of the underdogs that it's abandonware. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
But be warned. Not everything on Underdogs is abandonware. A good number of games they have up are still available in stores and have been noted by several abandonware sites to not be abandonware. Infact, a good deal of it is illegal.
<u>Link me. </u>
You can find the original DOS one at the Underdogs.
There's also a Win32 compatible one here:
<a href='http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~scot4875/' target='_blank'>http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~scot4875/</a>
Werd.
BASS is a great game, and the CD version has pretty decent voiceovers (far from excellent however). The game is INCREDIBLY hard and there's no way I would've got far in it without a walkthrough. BTW, after you get the schriebmann port, go back to the security sign WAY at the beginning (you should know what I'm talking about), attach the hook to the rope, throw the rope to the sign, and jack in ^_^.
One last thing, it's been said again and again, but never underestimate the sheer gaming pwnage of The Underdogs (search for it on google -- not sure if you're allowed to link here :\). I'd write a list of underdogs recommendations if I had enough time <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->.
<u>Link me. </u>
You can find the original DOS one at the Underdogs.
There's also a Win32 compatible one here:
<a href='http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~scot4875/' target='_blank'>http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~scot4875/</a> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
/me cries tears of joy
YES! I LOVE THIS GAME!
Although, the name was a bit awkward, me playing it at like 5...
Korax Heritage is a mod of Hexen, also freeware, using the Hexen source released by Raven (the people who made Hexen) Korax basically adds in new stuff like "damage skins" that show up when a monster is under half health, uses the jHexen (or was it Vavoom?) 3d engine to re-run Hexen in HIGHER resolutions (for FAR sharper walls and graphics) and adds nice stuff like lens flares, as well as some 3d models for items/enviroment things. it also re-vamps the <b>entire</b> character creation adding RPG elements like stats and cash to buy items with. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> Silver is the basic unit, and 1 gold is worth 5 silver. each enemy you kill gives you exp and you gain levels and EVERY character has their own spells, with the Mage having the most (obviously <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> ).
Basically a total revamp of how Hexen works to make it far, far nicer to play visually and gameplay wise giving it a RPG aspect that it never had.
//shameless pimpage off <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Also, akaik, XCOM 1 + 2 are [not] freeware (thx for the info, Marik!), along with god-knows how many other excellent others that are or might be (dungeon keeper, sim earth, sim city, etc). Magic Carpet 2: The Netherworld is also a good one... //<b>shameless pimpage jerks to the "ON" position, chewing Maveric's arm up in the process</b>
it was the first game to my knowlage where it had actual real-time world alteration uses. gravity well spell made this HUGE pit in the ground; volcano made a volcano; fireball was able to level small hills. o.0 as you can see, the game had magic in it; you were basically a magician flying on a carpet where you have to go out, put down a castle to: 1) respawn at 2) store mana 3) defend mana and then you go out and collect mana by casting a spell on it, a balloon from the castle comes out and gets the captured mana, brings it back to the castle, and the castle gets bigger and sends out more balloons as it has more mana. the more mana you have in the castle the more and better spells you can cast. mana can be found just laying on the ground or gained through killing monsters... or civilians and their cattle. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> through the levels you become more powerful in the spells area; the more you cast a spell the more exp you gain in it until you level up that spell and get a new ability for that spell. (fireball turned into rapid fireball, and then into firestorm) the main goal is to go and defeat the big baddie at the end of the game map, and trust me, it was <b>HARD</b> to get to even the second-last and one level took me <i>two plus hours</i> to beat w/o cheats. (there is no spell to give you level 3 spells, so even if you level-skip to the last level you're gonna be weak)
//Maveric fiddles with the off switch with his stump, and somehow unplugs the pimpage machine, shutting it down perminately.
/edit 2 - anyone notice how all the revolutionary games die before their times or just fall into obscurity?
Also, akaik, XCOM 1 + 2 are freeware, along with god-knows how many other excellent others [...] <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The x-com series is <i>not</i> freeware, and I am very proud to have recently paid $10 at an EBworld store for a boxed set of the first three in the series with a poster for the now-canceled(?) X-Com Alliance.
Agreed, there's no sure way of knowing how many other excellent others there are. But it's even harder keeping track of whether the ones out there are not fully legal to download...
[edit]An exception might be made for subscribers to PCGamer, who got X-Com 1 minus the cutscenes (and perhaps some other material) on one of the monthly discs.
ARGHHHH
die
*bash bash bash*
*goes to play system shock 2*