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Retro Retro itch - Amiga games and reputable sites

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by ModSquid, 25 Sep 2020.

  1. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    There I was, beavering away relentlessly at my workstation, when from nowhere, Powermonger popped into my head.

    I used to beat myself up on this on the Amiga waaaaaay back in the day, so then I wondered whether it was ever around on the PC. And then I found some abandonware sites.

    Ever the addict and with an increasingly frustrating urge to fill my time with as many games/books/music/hobbies as to be panic-inducingly overwhelming, I thought I'd have a bit of a dig into them.

    Does anyone know whether any of these sites are reputable/trustworthy and/or have any experience with them?

    abandonwaregames.net
    old-games.com
    pcgamesarchive.com
    gamesnostalgia.com
    myabandonware.com

    They mostly look to have streamlined the "having fun" process and give you a single file complete with emulator to download (ie. no separate need for DOSBox), but I'm reluctant to just go around downloading stuff to the machine with reckless "abandon" (ha!) and would rather go with a known entity.

    In which case, grateful for any insight you fine chaps may have!
     
  2. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    If only someone devastatingly handsome had written an article about this kind of thing...

    Oh, wait - that's me!

    Save you a click: there's a massive collection on The Internet Archive, like, over 4,000 titles. Click on any one of 'em, and it'll play right there in your browser - no need to download jack.

    The bad news: Powermonger ain't in there. The good news: it is in the MS-DOS software archive, again playable in-browser. Or maybe you'd prefer the Mega Drive version? Again, one click and you're playin'. It's pretty neat.
     
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  3. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    The hero we need in these dark times.

    Not sure this is quite related, but I've been binging old chiptune music on youtube and I followed the rabbit down the hole and found this little gem for making tunes in ya browser. I've been having a blast with it. Still figuring out how to use it honestly, so I got nothihng to share. But if ya bored give it a whirl :)

    https://beepbox.co/
     
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  4. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    HA! Nice work, G. I think I even remember reading that article at the time, must have overwritten the memory with other mental data since! Bad news also mitigated by the fact they have Xenon II on there. Think I'm going to have to exercise some restraint during the upcoming working days...

    What's the deal with saving games though? I assume these are only good for a quick blast and then you start again/on a different title? In fairness, the rose-tinteds might fall off after a few hours anyway, once the itch is scratched.

    And THIS I will also check out. My main Ableton machine is down at the moment, so this might fill another need!

    Good work all round, team. Gold stars.
     
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  5. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Yeah, pretty much. Some of 'em you can download the disk image and run it in a local emulator, but others - the ones where the company still exists in one form or another and might sue - are stream-only.
     
  6. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    AHAHAHA! Just had a pop at Xenon II - it's pretty unplayable, unfortunately. Too laggy and I never made it to the first shop to unleash Super Nashwan Power! Possibly the tied-first-place weapon upgrade in all of gaming (tied with the Quake powerup from Wipeout). What I loved about that was the fact you spent all your cash on it, only to leave the shop with planet-killing fury at your fingertips and no baddies to really speak of until the powerup ran out!

    Those were the days...
     
  7. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    What browser you using? I just gave it a shot on Firefox, and it seemed fine.

    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

  8. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    Oh! I was in Brave - I'll try Firefox in that case. Cheers G.
     
  9. jinq-sea

    jinq-sea 'write that down in your copy book' Super Moderator

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    Oh what a game. In fact, what a platform. My A1200 is next to me as I type this!

    jinq-sea is supposed to be working, but has gone off to play Amiga games in his browser
     
  10. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    Hurrah! My upgraded A500 is in the loft... It won't be for much longer...

    I sense a revival coming on!

    What screen are you using? I'm wary of plugging into the 42"as it'll no doubt look shocking. What are the options?

    EDIT: Firefox does indeed seem slightly more playable. Good shout that man. Space worms though....jeeeeesus. Annoying x5.
     
    Last edited: 30 Sep 2020
  11. jinq-sea

    jinq-sea 'write that down in your copy book' Super Moderator

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    Being a fully paid-up member of old-school club, the 1200 is plugged into an ex-medical PVM, a Sony PVM-20MDE. It'd be fine on an older LCD TV though, but lots of bigger, newer LCDs are horrid. With a bit of tinkering (or an OSSC) you could connect it to a PC CRT you might still have?
     
  12. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I've an A500P with 512kB RAM board and 68010+FPU acceleration board under the TV in the living room, and on the office shelves an A1200 with 50MHz Blizzard-IV and matching FPU, 32MB, 4GB hard drive, Ethernet dongle, and SCSI CD-ROM (although I can't use the Ethernet dongle and the CD-ROM at the same time, as they're both PCMCIA).

    They both look crackin' via RGB SCART on the old Samsung 1080p TV in the living room.
     
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  13. jinq-sea

    jinq-sea 'write that down in your copy book' Super Moderator

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    Amiga sound-off. Excellent. I've an A1200 with a 50MHz 030 accelerator (it's a Blizzard, but don't recall if it's a IV (it must be, right?)), 32MB, 4GB CF HDD, 3.1.4 KS ROMs, WB 3.1.4.1, ethernet PCMCIA card (BBS wot?), and an A600 with no accelerator, 1MB RAM upgrade, and 3.1.4 KS ROMs. I think that's also got a 4GB CF in it too. Both have working floppy drives, and I have a Gotek in an external Amitek enclosure, from which I have stored another working floppy drive. I've also a PCMCIA-CF adapter which I use with them. And a couple of nice RGB cables from retrogamingcables.

    Good to know it looks good via RGB on the LCD!
     
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  14. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    I want to join in. I'm an Amiga noob in this fine company though. I have an Amiga 1200, but it is standard. I always wanted to upgrade it but I never did. My baby still sits next to me now though. I never parted with her, and I never will.
     
  15. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    Is Retro Envy a thing? Because I'm definitely suffering from it right now :D
     
  16. Byron C

    Byron C Multimodder

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    Even without sound I can hear this gif. That soundtrack was mind-blowing back in the day.
     
  17. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    Bomb the Bass :)
     
  18. Byron C

    Byron C Multimodder

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    It pops up on my Spotify 'daily mix' playlists quite a bit! :grin:
     
  19. ModSquid

    ModSquid Multimodder

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    MmwuuhuhahHAHAHA! We've created a monster here!

    I think we need to get a Xenon II highscore challenge on the go. Amiga-only, no cheat codes, pictorial evidence required. Network issues prevented me getting in the loft this weekend, but I did manage to dig out this:

    QuickShot.jpg

    (Incidentally, does anyone know what the limit is for posting pics on here? I can't do it from my phone, even with the settings at their lowest. I have to open it in Paint on the desktop and resize it).
     
  20. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I think this might be of interest...

    [​IMG]
     

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