🚀 go-pugleaf

"Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com> wrote in message 
news:rLz4f.853$Jo3.204@tornado.socal.rr.com...
> It looks like Mr. Smart's created world continues to be a splintered pile 
> of
> partially complete and unorganized pieces. A world apart only in its
> overwhelming mediocrity.
>
> Here's some quotes from the half page mini review, PC Gamer, December 
> 2005,
> page 96.
>
> "It'd be easy to laugh away Universal Combat: A World Apart, ... After 
> all,
> there's no real game here at all"
>
> "The integrated FPS game is so horrible, it can barely shoot itself in the
> foot."
>
> "lifeless, vacant bits of real estate with zero tourism value"
>
> "Of course, nothing's particularly well done."
>
> 58%

Uh oh I can just picture a fuming  Taco Commander reaching over for the 
BatPhone to inquire  his team of "legal experts" about possible legal action 
against PC Lamer.   Not to mention rallying of the  toadies and sock puppets 
to fire off hatemail to the reviewer.


hahahaha 58% 

Watch out PCGAMER. You probably just stepped into a world of hurt!!LOL

"bioderm" <shavolski@ladaviski.com> wrote in message
news:11l66t5a2fh2pec@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:rLz4f.853$Jo3.204@tornado.socal.rr.com...
> > It looks like Mr. Smart's created world continues to be a splintered
pile
> > of
> > partially complete and unorganized pieces. A world apart only in its
> > overwhelming mediocrity.
> >
> > Here's some quotes from the half page mini review, PC Gamer, December
> > 2005,
> > page 96.
> >
> > "It'd be easy to laugh away Universal Combat: A World Apart, ... After
> > all,
> > there's no real game here at all"
> >
> > "The integrated FPS game is so horrible, it can barely shoot itself in
the
> > foot."
> >
> > "lifeless, vacant bits of real estate with zero tourism value"
> >
> > "Of course, nothing's particularly well done."
> >
> > 58%
>
> Uh oh I can just picture a fuming  Taco Commander reaching over for the
> BatPhone to inquire  his team of "legal experts" about possible legal
action
> against PC Lamer.   Not to mention rallying of the  toadies and sock
puppets
> to fire off hatemail to the reviewer.
>
>
> hahahaha 58%
>
>

On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 21:38:31 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
wrote:

>It looks like Mr. Smart's created world continues to be a splintered pile of
>partially complete and unorganized pieces. A world apart only in its
>overwhelming mediocrity.
>
>Here's some quotes from the half page mini review, PC Gamer, December 2005,
>page 96.
>
>"It'd be easy to laugh away Universal Combat: A World Apart, ... After all,
>there's no real game here at all"
>
>"The integrated FPS game is so horrible, it can barely shoot itself in the
>foot."
>
>"lifeless, vacant bits of real estate with zero tourism value"
>
>"Of course, nothing's particularly well done."
>
>58%
>

The sad fact of the matter is: Universal Combat: AWA is more shit then
anything Derek has released yet. Maybe even more shit then the
original BC3K.

First off, when I bought UC:AWA, I was sent a CD that didn't even
read! Obviously mass burned on cheap CDs.

Next, I recieved my second CD (without problems I add here), a then we
get into the whole "activation" bullshit. Only 2 activations per key!

Sure, this MIGHT be industry standard, but with almost ALL BC games,
uninstalling and reinstalling is fact of life.

Yes, Derek will give you new keys if you ask. Still, it's a major
hassle.

UC:AWA is still very disappointing. The game isn't even stable. It
crashes more then the original UC ever did.

The graphics are STILL blocky and clipped. Hell, the entire UC series
is really nothing but a BCM graphics overhaul, but it doesn't work on
my kit. Sure, I might be running a 2.4ghz Celeron POS processor, but
it SHOULD run UC:AWA.

Framerates for UC:AWA are pathetic. 

Planetary Ops are still fucked all to hell, and I'm not even going to
go into all the other things that piss me off...I could be here for
days!

Yeah..I'm a BC gamer..will always be a BC gamer...but I sure wish
Derek would release BC open-source...or at least make it moddable!

The answer is self-evident. =P

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 22:17:38 GMT, Shingen <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net>
wrote:

>Yeah..I'm a BC gamer..will always be a BC gamer...but I sure wish
>Derek would release BC open-source...or at least make it moddable!
>
>The answer is self-evident. =P

That answer would be Derek dying of shame when the public do a better job than
him. Knowing what he is like that would be reason alone never allow to let
anyone else get a hold of the code. Lets face it, no one is going to make any
money from it.

"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message 
news:vv4dm15vidg143b5l1i7c8cjodgcrj198d@4ax.com...
> Yeah..I'm a BC gamer..will always be a BC gamer...but I sure wish
> Derek would release BC open-source...or at least make it moddable!

I'm sure that seeing his code would lead a lot of programmers to suicide. =)

// Xan, Ph.D.
// I worship His Shadow. 

"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message
news:vv4dm15vidg143b5l1i7c8cjodgcrj198d@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 16 Oct 2005 21:38:31 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
> wrote:
>
> >It looks like Mr. Smart's created world continues to be a splintered pile
of
> >partially complete and unorganized pieces. A world apart only in its
> >overwhelming mediocrity.
> >
> >Here's some quotes from the half page mini review, PC Gamer, December
2005,
> >page 96.
> >
> >"It'd be easy to laugh away Universal Combat: A World Apart, ... After
all,
> >there's no real game here at all"
> >
> >"The integrated FPS game is so horrible, it can barely shoot itself in
the
> >foot."
> >
> >"lifeless, vacant bits of real estate with zero tourism value"
> >
> >"Of course, nothing's particularly well done."
> >
> >58%
> >
>
> The sad fact of the matter is: Universal Combat: AWA is more shit then
> anything Derek has released yet. Maybe even more shit then the
> original BC3K.
>
> First off, when I bought UC:AWA, I was sent a CD that didn't even
> read! Obviously mass burned on cheap CDs.
>
> Next, I recieved my second CD (without problems I add here), a then we
> get into the whole "activation" bullshit. Only 2 activations per key!
>
> Sure, this MIGHT be industry standard, but with almost ALL BC games,
> uninstalling and reinstalling is fact of life.
>
> Yes, Derek will give you new keys if you ask. Still, it's a major
> hassle.
>
> UC:AWA is still very disappointing. The game isn't even stable. It
> crashes more then the original UC ever did.
>
> The graphics are STILL blocky and clipped. Hell, the entire UC series
> is really nothing but a BCM graphics overhaul, but it doesn't work on
> my kit. Sure, I might be running a 2.4ghz Celeron POS processor, but
> it SHOULD run UC:AWA.
>
> Framerates for UC:AWA are pathetic.
>
> Planetary Ops are still fucked all to hell, and I'm not even going to
> go into all the other things that piss me off...I could be here for
> days!
>
> Yeah..I'm a BC gamer..will always be a BC gamer...but I sure wish
> Derek would release BC open-source...or at least make it moddable!
>
> The answer is self-evident. =P

The sad part of this story is that the original vision that Mr. Smart had
for Battlecruiser is almost universally praised as great. He had problems
executing to that vision primarily (IMHO) because he was inexperienced and
consistently had unrealistic assessments of his own capabilities. He seems
to have lost that vision in his more recent releases. His game continues to
have problems that I believe are primarily rooted in Mr. Smart's own
personality disorder. That is unrealistic assessments of his own
capabilities. Unrealistic assessments of gamers' desires, their wants/needs
and what they think is fun. Inability to accept constructive criticism in
anything associated with himself or his game. Inability to get along with
others.

On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:28:15 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
wrote:

>
>The sad part of this story is that the original vision that Mr. Smart had
>for Battlecruiser is almost universally praised as great. He had problems
>executing to that vision primarily (IMHO) because he was inexperienced and
>consistently had unrealistic assessments of his own capabilities. He seems
>to have lost that vision in his more recent releases. His game continues to
>have problems that I believe are primarily rooted in Mr. Smart's own
>personality disorder. That is unrealistic assessments of his own
>capabilities. Unrealistic assessments of gamers' desires, their wants/needs
>and what they think is fun. Inability to accept constructive criticism in
>anything associated with himself or his game. Inability to get along with
>others.
>
See..you could almost equate Derek with The Great Breadbin...and
conversely, you could equate David with The Supreme Commander...

Both games had the same flaws. 

Both were in fact the best PC space-sims ever created...

Both were horribly buggy and crash prone. Neither had a competent AI,
or industry graphics,  but they both had enough to addict certain
gamers..such as myself. This fact should NOT be taken lightly.

If you look at either BC3K/BCM and/or Frontier - FFE, you would see
the same issues.

Derek was able to produce more then David, and David was able to
produce more then Derek.

It's a Pandora's Box

Maybe, in the year 2525, we can get a spacesim worth it's salt.. =P

On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 07:16:47 GMT, Shingen
<shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote:


>
>Maybe, in the year 2525, we can get a spacesim worth it's salt.. =P

..and now fo your listening pleasure:

"Sorcerers of madness
Selling me their time
Child of God sitting in the sun
Giving peace of mind
Fictional seduction
On a black snow sky
Sadness kills the superman
Even fathers cry

Of all the things I value most of all
I look inside myself and see
My world and know that it is good
You know that I should

Superstitious century
Didn’t time go slow
Separating sanity
Watching children grow
Synchronated undertaker
Spiral skies
Silver ships on plasmic oceans
In disquise

Of all the things I value most in life
I see my memories and feel their warmth
And know that they are good
You know that I should

Watching eyes of celluloid
Tell you how to live
Metaphoric motor-replay
Give, give, give!
Laughter kissing love
Is showing me the way
Spiral city architect
I build, you pay

Of all the things I value most of all
I look upon my earth and feel the warmth
And know that it is good"

"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message 
news:l0aem15e1bfbsmkn0pufqckns1psv8e6ju@4ax.com...
[thnip]

Are you aware of the two studio songs recorded by Ozzy et al in 1998? Cool 
stuff.

// Xan, Ph.D.
// I worship His Shadow. 

"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message 
news:898em152ggfoos8n36nbi9l6gbbe5rbcg2@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:28:15 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
> wrote:
> See..you could almost equate Derek with The Great Breadbin...and
> conversely, you could equate David with The Supreme Commander...
>
> Both games had the same flaws.
>
> Both were in fact the best PC space-sims ever created...
>
> Both were horribly buggy and crash prone. Neither had a competent AI,
> or industry graphics,  but they both had enough to addict certain
> gamers..such as myself. This fact should NOT be taken lightly.

Im glad I noticed that you said 'almost equate' when comparing the BK and 
Elite games - I was about to write a massive flaming post on how no-one 
could ever favourably compare the crap of BK with the fanastic beauty of the 
Elite games. Both Frontier and First Encounters were well ahead of their 
time in terms of graphics, open gameplay, size, flexibility, immersion, fun 
and stellar depiction etc etc and both games kept my attention for years. No 
game in any genre has even come close to rivalling these since. As for BK it 
has always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which 
always resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.

Nats 

"Nats" <nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message 
news:dkap4n$4si$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Im glad I noticed that you said 'almost equate' when comparing the BK and 
> Elite games - I was about to write a massive flaming post on how no-one could 
> ever favourably compare the crap of BK with the fanastic beauty of the Elite 
> games. Both Frontier and First Encounters were well ahead of their time in 
> terms of graphics, open gameplay, size, flexibility, immersion, fun and 
> stellar depiction etc etc and both games kept my attention for years. No game 
> in any genre has even come close to rivalling these since. As for BK it has 
> always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which always 
> resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.

BK? Burger King?

Nice try, Mr. etc etc etc. No ceegar.

// Xan, Ph.D.
// As you command, Divine Shadow. 

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 00:10:40 GMT, "Xan" <me@1.com> wrote:

>"Nats" <nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message 
>news:dkap4n$4si$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
>> Im glad I noticed that you said 'almost equate' when comparing the BK and 
>> Elite games - I was about to write a massive flaming post on how no-one could 
>> ever favourably compare the crap of BK with the fanastic beauty of the Elite 
>> games. Both Frontier and First Encounters were well ahead of their time in 
>> terms of graphics, open gameplay, size, flexibility, immersion, fun and 
>> stellar depiction etc etc and both games kept my attention for years. No game 
>> in any genre has even come close to rivalling these since. As for BK it has 
>> always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which always 
>> resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.
>
>BK? Burger King?
>
>Nice try, Mr. etc etc etc. No ceegar.

Oi! You leave Stan alone.  At least he tries to post properly these
days.

Bloody robots.

Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
news:c0qim1d96kuuv80rdevhr6r8rm8ss30je8@4ax.com...
> Oi! You leave Stan alone.  At least he tries to post properly these
> days.

I will not leave Dewey alone! =D

> Bloody robots.

I don't bleed.

// Xan, Ph.D.
// I worship His Shadow. 

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 01:45:22 GMT, "Xan" <me@1.com> wrote:

>"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
>news:c0qim1d96kuuv80rdevhr6r8rm8ss30je8@4ax.com...
>> Oi! You leave Stan alone.  At least he tries to post properly these
>> days.
>
>I will not leave Dewey alone! =D

Your =D key appears to be stuck.

>
>> Bloody robots.
>
>I don't bleed.

Dream on.

Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 22:17:38 GMT, Shingen
<shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote:

>The sad fact of the matter is: Universal Combat: AWA is more shit then
>anything Derek has released yet. Maybe even more shit then the
>original BC3K.

Oh my GOD! 
Nothing could be that bad.

"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
news:h60jm1pn2sc31r7mv2m053k6ujuk88k0l8@4ax.com...
> Your =D key appears to be stuck.

Of course it's stuck! I don't wanna take it out!

> Dream on.

I don't dream.

// Xan, Ph.D.
// I worship His Shadow. 

"Nats" <nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dkap4n$4si$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...
...
> As for BK it
> has always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which
> always resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.

I played BC3K once (the free version) for a few hours. True that it was
frustrating but I enjoyed the frustration because it made me laugh at how
stupid Derek was. So Stan, I'm at least one minor exception to your
statement. Have a nice day.

On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 03:39:11 GMT, "Xan" <me@1.com> wrote:

>"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
>news:h60jm1pn2sc31r7mv2m053k6ujuk88k0l8@4ax.com...
>> Your =D key appears to be stuck.
>
>Of course it's stuck! I don't wanna take it out!

Dirty boy.

>> Dream on.
>
>I don't dream.

I had heard you dreamed of electric sheep.  

Was that a lie?

Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
news:alvnm119hfrhd7kpfvvhi8iuqjeue7jrpm@4ax.com...
> Dirty boy.

You asked for it!

> I had heard you dreamed of electric sheep.

I dream of rat salad.

> Was that a lie?

Yes. I mean no. Argh!

// Xan, Ph.D.
// I worship His Shadow. 

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 00:49:28 GMT, "Xan" <me@1.com> wrote:

>"Lemming" <thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote in message 
>news:alvnm119hfrhd7kpfvvhi8iuqjeue7jrpm@4ax.com...
>> Dirty boy.
>
>You asked for it!
>
>> I had heard you dreamed of electric sheep.
>
>I dream of rat salad.
>
>> Was that a lie?
>
>Yes. I mean no. Argh!

Amateur.

Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 16:22:50 -0000, "Nats"
<nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

>"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message 
>news:898em152ggfoos8n36nbi9l6gbbe5rbcg2@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:28:15 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
>> wrote:
>> See..you could almost equate Derek with The Great Breadbin...and
>> conversely, you could equate David with The Supreme Commander...
>>
>> Both games had the same flaws.
>>
>> Both were in fact the best PC space-sims ever created...
>>
>> Both were horribly buggy and crash prone. Neither had a competent AI,
>> or industry graphics,  but they both had enough to addict certain
>> gamers..such as myself. This fact should NOT be taken lightly.
>
>Im glad I noticed that you said 'almost equate' when comparing the BK and 
>Elite games - I was about to write a massive flaming post on how no-one 
>could ever favourably compare the crap of BK with the fanastic beauty of the 
>Elite games. 
..and "no one" in your assumption would be? I fear your mind is
entirely closed to be of any use. I mean, we ARE talking and PC games
here! Sure, Elite was the first of it's kind, as was Frontier/FFE, but
also so was BC3K! 

If I remember correctly, Frontier was horribly flawed out of the box,
as was FFE. Frontier was at least playable. FFE wasn't playable for
several patches.

BC3K was horribly flawed..and STILL, even after the last 2.09 patch,
not very playable. BUT, Derek AT LEAST kept to the vision, and now, BC
is VERY playable. YOU may not play it, but it doesn't change price of
tea in China.

>Both Frontier and First Encounters were well ahead of their 
>time in terms of graphics, open gameplay, size, flexibility, immersion, fun 
>and stellar depiction etc etc and both games kept my attention for years. No 
>game in any genre has even come close to rivalling these since. As for BK it 
>has always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which 
>always resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.
>

David left Elite with FFE. John Jordan MADE the game playable!

Nevermind..I'm preaching to the choir... =P

>Nats 
>

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 21:19:50 GMT, Shingen
<shingen@aolsuks.sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 16:22:50 -0000, "Nats"
><nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>"Shingen" <shingen@aolsuks.sbcgloabl.net> wrote in message 
>>news:898em152ggfoos8n36nbi9l6gbbe5rbcg2@4ax.com...
>>> On Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:28:15 GMT, "Bill Huffman" <bhuffma1@san.rr.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> See..you could almost equate Derek with The Great Breadbin...and
>>> conversely, you could equate David with The Supreme Commander...
>>>
>>> Both games had the same flaws.
>>>
>>> Both were in fact the best PC space-sims ever created...
>>>
>>> Both were horribly buggy and crash prone. Neither had a competent AI,
>>> or industry graphics,  but they both had enough to addict certain
>>> gamers..such as myself. This fact should NOT be taken lightly.
>>
>>Im glad I noticed that you said 'almost equate' when comparing the BK and 
>>Elite games - I was about to write a massive flaming post on how no-one 
>>could ever favourably compare the crap of BK with the fanastic beauty of the 
>>Elite games. 
>..and "no one" in your assumption would be? I fear your mind is
>entirely closed to be of any use. I mean, we ARE talking and PC games
>here! Sure, Elite was the first of it's kind, as was Frontier/FFE, but
>also so was BC3K! 
>
>If I remember correctly, Frontier was horribly flawed out of the box,
>as was FFE. Frontier was at least playable. FFE wasn't playable for
>several patches.
>
>BC3K was horribly flawed..and STILL, even after the last 2.09 patch,
>not very playable. BUT, Derek AT LEAST kept to the vision, and now, BC
>is VERY playable. YOU may not play it, but it doesn't change price of
>tea in China.
>
>>Both Frontier and First Encounters were well ahead of their 
>>time in terms of graphics, open gameplay, size, flexibility, immersion, fun 
>>and stellar depiction etc etc and both games kept my attention for years. No 
>>game in any genre has even come close to rivalling these since. As for BK it 
>>has always been an overhyped bugged mess of a franchise, playing which 
>>always resulted in frustration rather than enjoyment.
>>
>
>David left Elite with FFE. John Jordan MADE the game playable!
>
>Nevermind..I'm preaching to the choir... =P

Shin, I really wish you'd stop picking on Stan.  It's not at all fair
to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

Derek
Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 23:43:41 +0000, Lemming
<thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote:


>
>Shin, I really wish you'd stop picking on Stan.  It's not at all fair
>to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
>
>Derek
>Lemming

Well don't let me confuse you here. I hold the Great Breadbin in FAR
more higher esteem then our Taco Commander.

Hell..did BC3K have Gravitational Planetary Orbits? Red Giants and
Binary Star Systems? Pseudo-Neutonian Physics? Astronomical Units of
Measurment? Gravatational Relativity? 

Did it??

All Hail the Great Breadbin and pray for the release of Elite 4! 

So moot let it be! =P

On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 21:19:50 GMT, Shingen
<shingen@aolsuks.sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>..and "no one" in your assumption would be? I fear your mind is
>entirely closed to be of any use. I mean, we ARE talking and PC games
>here! Sure, Elite was the first of it's kind, as was Frontier/FFE, but
>also so was BC3K! 
>
>If I remember correctly, Frontier was horribly flawed out of the box,
>as was FFE. Frontier was at least playable. FFE wasn't playable for
>several patches.
>
>BC3K was horribly flawed..and STILL, even after the last 2.09 patch,
>not very playable. BUT, Derek AT LEAST kept to the vision, and now, BC
>is VERY playable. YOU may not play it, but it doesn't change price of
>tea in China.

Derek, that you ?

On the 5 Nov 2005, Shingen <shingen@aolsuks.sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 16:22:50 -0000, "Nats"
> <nstutt@nstutt.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:

<snip>

> Sure, Elite was the first of it's kind, as was Frontier/FFE, but
> also so was BC3K! 
> 
> If I remember correctly, Frontier was horribly flawed out of the box

You're going senile. ;-) The full-retail Amiga version of FE2 (the one
DB did) was rock-solid out of the box, with the exception of Beta
Lyrae (which you couldn't reach in normal gameplay anyway), scanning
your own arrival cloud and a bizarre arrival cloud bug I once
encountered.

The PC conversion was undertaken by Chris Sawyer, of Transport Tycoon
and Rollercoaster Tycoon fame.

Elite Trivia: in some versions of FE2 and/or FFE, an advert for "Chris
Sawyer's New Transport Game" can appear at starports. The game in
question is  

> as was FFE. Frontier was at least playable. FFE wasn't playable for
> several patches.

The sad thing is that, after v1.06, FFE was actually more stable than
Privateer 2 (which I bought after cancelling my BC3K order). FFE is an
example of a game that was screwed by its publishers, Gametek UK. Note
that the UK release of BC3K was also being handled by them.

<snip>

> David left Elite with FFE. John Jordan MADE the game playable!

While I obviously commend JJ's efforts with JJFFE, FFE v1.06 was, IME,
very stable on its target platform (DOS). Difficulties people encounter
getting the official version working on XP are more to do with
Microsoft than DB.

Funny thing is, I never did manage to get X-Wing working on Win95 OSR2.
It remains the only space sim I've not even been able to start playing.

-- 
Jades' First Encounters Site - http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm
The best Frontier: First Encounters site on the Web.

nospam@jades.org /is/ a real email address!

On Tue, 8 Nov 2005 19:08:31 +0000 (UTC), Graham Thurlwell
<nospam@jades.org> wrote:

>You're going senile. ;-) The full-retail Amiga version of FE2 (the one
>DB did) was rock-solid out of the box, with the exception of Beta
>Lyrae (which you couldn't reach in normal gameplay anyway), scanning
>your own arrival cloud and a bizarre arrival cloud bug I once
>encountered.
>
>The PC conversion was undertaken by Chris Sawyer, of Transport Tycoon
>and Rollercoaster Tycoon fame.

I have the boxed PC version of both games, and I remember that the
first rule of Frontier was to SAVE OFTEN! Why? Because the games would
lockup and CTD unexpectedly. Certainly not as frequent as BC3K did,
but stil,l it did happen alot. Frontier was alot better then FFE
though.
>
>Elite Trivia: in some versions of FE2 and/or FFE, an advert for "Chris
>Sawyer's New Transport Game" can appear at starports. The game in
>question is

Yeah.. I remember seeing those advert banners on the inside of
stations and ports.  I think I bought that game as well.
>

><snip>
>
>> David left Elite with FFE. John Jordan MADE the game playable!
>
>While I obviously commend JJ's efforts with JJFFE, FFE v1.06 was, IME,
>very stable on its target platform (DOS). Difficulties people encounter
>getting the official version working on XP are more to do with
>Microsoft than DB.

I think 1.06 still would crash because your relative position to
certain stellar bodies wouldn't always update correctly. It happened
alot especially in binary systems, or systems with very large gas
giants. Also alot of the Thargoid missions could suddenly leave you
staring at your desktop/DOS prompt, going: "WTF?! ARRRGH!!!" 
>
>Funny thing is, I never did manage to get X-Wing working on Win95 OSR2.
>It remains the only space sim I've not even been able to start playing.

Actually, I never really got into any of the Xwing games. I bought
X-wing Alliance, but never made it past the first couple of missions.
Those games were too much on rails, and they just bored me to tears.

On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 03:00:36 GMT, Shingen
<shingen@aolsuks.sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 23:43:41 +0000, Lemming
><thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>Shin, I really wish you'd stop picking on Stan.  It's not at all fair
>>to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
>>
>>Derek
>>Lemming
>
>Well don't let me confuse you here. I hold the Great Breadbin in FAR
>more higher esteem then our Taco Commander.

I wasn't in any doubt about that - any sane person would feel the
same.  I was just trying to stick up for poor Stan.

>Hell..did BC3K have Gravitational Planetary Orbits? Red Giants and
>Binary Star Systems? Pseudo-Neutonian Physics? Astronomical Units of
>Measurment? Gravatational Relativity? 
>
>Did it??

Dunno, did it?

I'm not certain, but I don't think Elite, FE2 or FFE had the first and
last items in the list either.  IIRC planetary orbits were effectively
rails (albeit rails that were calculated based on real gravitational
effects) and time ran at the same speed wherever you were.  I could be
wrong though.

>All Hail the Great Breadbin and pray for the release of Elite 4! 

Yeah, it could happen too.

>So moot let it be! =P

Lemming
-- 
Curiosity *may* have killed Schrodinger's cat.

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 21:57:30 +0000, Lemming
<thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote:


>
>I wasn't in any doubt about that - any sane person would feel the
>same.  I was just trying to stick up for poor Stan.
>
You really are a Lemming, aren't you?

>>Hell..did BC3K have Gravitational Planetary Orbits? Red Giants and
>>Binary Star Systems? Pseudo-Neutonian Physics? Astronomical Units of
>>Measurment? Gravatational Relativity? 
>>
>>Did it??
>
>Dunno, did it?
>
>I'm not certain, but I don't think Elite, FE2 or FFE had the first and
>last items in the list either.  IIRC planetary orbits were effectively
>rails (albeit rails that were calculated based on real gravitational
>effects) and time ran at the same speed wherever you were.  I could be
>wrong though.
>

Well I'm certain it was all "simulated" per say. But you could sit on
the surface of any given planet/moon, accelerate time, and watch as
the stellar bodies in that system moved through your field of view.

Couldn't these be concieved as stellar/planetary orbits?

Also, you could "sling-shot" around stars and gas giants, so that
leaves me to believe there was some sort of "gravational relativity".

Shit! Now I'm going to have to reinstall FFE just to prove (or
disprove) my point.

>>All Hail the Great Breadbin and pray for the release of Elite 4! 
>
>Yeah, it could happen too.
>
Possibly..but in our lifetime?

>>So moot let it be! =P
>
>Lemming

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 21:57:30 +0000, Lemming
<thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>and time ran at the same speed wherever you were.  I could be
>wrong though.

I would agree here. There was actually no way to "fly" outside the
system you were in. The only way to move between systems was to
"hyperjump", and even that, kept time constant.

>Lemming

On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 23:05:04 GMT, Shingen <shingen@aolsuks.sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 21:57:30 +0000, Lemming
><thiswillbounce@bumblbee.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>and time ran at the same speed wherever you were.  I could be
>>wrong though.
>
>I would agree here. There was actually no way to "fly" outside the
>system you were in. The only way to move between systems was to
>"hyperjump", and even that, kept time constant.

Constant but it was still possible to have a lighter ship exit hyperspace
before a heavier ship. I can't see how that would have worked in a MP
environment but for single player it worked fine.