Slashdot Mirror

So this Slashdot article mentions that GameSpot ran an article saying how nice it would be if a new Descent game was released.

How about some actual news, about something that has actually happened in the last three months (from the time of this article being posted)?

Descent 2 @ Steam has been made available for $9.99 (on February 19, 2014). Related videos have also been released: Descent 2 video @ Steam: Opening
Descent 2 video @ Steam: Game Play ... or, for those who wish to get even greather value per penny spent: Descent 1 and Descent 2 @ GoG.com (one payment of $9.99 covers both games). Descent @ Steam ($6.99) is also available.

For Descent 3, once again GoG seems like it may have an edge:
Descent 3 with Expansion, @ GoG.com ($9.99)
Descent 3 @ Steam ($9.99)

So, regarding this parent post recommending:

For those of us who still have the binaries around

... for those of us who have suffered hard drive crashes, floppy disk damages, or were just too cash-strapped as youth, there are now some convenient, legal ways to get access to those binaries.

Descent 2 Source Code @ Descent Developer Network (DDN) @ Descent2.com,
Descent 1 Source Code @ Descent Developer Network (DDN) @ Descent2.com. The code for Descent 1 includes the MINER level editor. It does not include some of the code that was copyrighted by someone else, such as low-level code related to serial port (including modem) handling, and sound libraries. The license says non-commercial use only. A forum post indicates that there are some troubles with those download links, and recommends the Icculus D2X Project for source downloads. That website has Source Code for Descent 1 for PC @ Icculus.org, Source Code for Descent 1 for Mac @ Icculus.org, Source code for Descent 2 @ Icculus.org, plus the source code for the Icculus D2X project, and other downloads like shareware versions and Descent 2 game patches, and references to resources like Descent Developer Network (DDN) which might be of interest to anyone wanting to enhance the source code. Hyperlinks to download official updates/patches for the second game were found at that site, but not for the first game. However, patches for the first game are available, and may be found at TOOGAM's page of Retail Games: section related to Descent (my site which has hyperlinks to download from Interplay, and also hosts the game patches in case Interplay stops hosting those downloads), and mentions other projects like MacDescent3Dfx, and D1X Project.

The web page for the D2X-XL project, a project mentioned by this parent post, starts with a giant banner that states, “This Project Needs Funding”. (That seems very questionable, as it may be running afoul of the non-commercial clause of the source code release...) The Descent Level Editor (DLE) on the same website, does not have that same funding-se

So this Slashdot article mentions that GameSpot ran an article saying how nice it would be if a new Descent game was released.

How about some actual news, about something that has actually happened in the last three months (from the time of this article being posted)?

Descent 2 @ Steam has been made available for $9.99 (on February 19, 2014). Related videos have also been released: Descent 2 video @ Steam: Opening
Descent 2 video @ Steam: Game Play ... or, for those who wish to get even greather value per penny spent: Descent 1 and Descent 2 @ GoG.com (one payment of $9.99 covers both games). Descent @ Steam ($6.99) is also available.

For Descent 3, once again GoG seems like it may have an edge:
Descent 3 with Expansion, @ GoG.com ($9.99)
Descent 3 @ Steam ($9.99)

So, regarding this parent post recommending:

For those of us who still have the binaries around

... for those of us who have suffered hard drive crashes, floppy disk damages, or were just too cash-strapped as youth, there are now some convenient, legal ways to get access to those binaries.

Descent 2 Source Code @ Descent Developer Network (DDN) @ Descent2.com,
Descent 1 Source Code @ Descent Developer Network (DDN) @ Descent2.com. The code for Descent 1 includes the MINER level editor. It does not include some of the code that was copyrighted by someone else, such as low-level code related to serial port (including modem) handling, and sound libraries. The license says non-commercial use only. A forum post indicates that there are some troubles with those download links, and recommends the Icculus D2X Project for source downloads. That website has Source Code for Descent 1 for PC @ Icculus.org, Source Code for Descent 1 for Mac @ Icculus.org, Source code for Descent 2 @ Icculus.org, plus the source code for the Icculus D2X project, and other downloads like shareware versions and Descent 2 game patches, and references to resources like Descent Developer Network (DDN) which might be of interest to anyone wanting to enhance the source code. Hyperlinks to download official updates/patches for the second game were found at that site, but not for the first game. However, patches for the first game are available, and may be found at TOOGAM's page of Retail Games: section related to Descent (my site which has hyperlinks to download from Interplay, and also hosts the game patches in case Interplay stops hosting those downloads), and mentions other projects like MacDescent3Dfx, and D1X Project.

The web page for the D2X-XL project, a project mentioned by this parent post, starts with a giant banner that states, “This Project Needs Funding”. (That seems very questionable, as it may be running afoul of the non-commercial clause of the source code release...) The Descent Level Editor (DLE) on the same website, does not have that same funding-se

The hat doesn't count as "more axes". It was merely one "joystick" mounted on another. Just like an XBox controller, you still just have 2 x 2-axis sticks (or buttons). Again granted, some joysticks had a little more but buttons don't count.

The key difference to an xbox controller, and the reason it relates to your original post is that all 5 axes (hand joystick x/y/twist + thumb joystick x/y could all be controlled with a single hand.

As I recall the genuinely good ones also cost upward of $100

Supply and demand. I'm confident the $100 sticks would easily have been in the xbox controller price range had they been ubiquitously sold with a major console like that, in those kinds of numbers.

The controller came with a copy of Descent, if you remember that, which had direct 3D movement (unlike an airplane) and used all 6 degrees.

I recall the old microsoft sidewinder was a pretty decent controller for that game as well. find this on google...

http://www.descent2.com/patty/controls/side.html

You can see they juse the pitch/yaw axes as you'd expect, with twist for banking left/right and the hat for slide "strafe left right / move up / down)" all with one hand.

The second hand controlled the thottle slider, and buttons on the base for changing weapons, afterburner, and flares.

Decent is a game I wish still existed. Same with Wing Commander. These games (both space flight/combat) were very fun, and Descent had some very fun multiplayer.

Oh, It still exists., now on wiiware... Since the source code was released, it's been and ported to at least XP (don't know about Vista or 7 -- been a while since I had a MS OSs).

(Wait...What the hell am I doing replying to an Anonymous Coward's wall of text?!)

I wrote Hoggle you insensitive clod!

We play Descent II on a LAN using outdated machines (Pentium 233, Pentium Pro 200) and outdated graphics cards (S3). It is now open source and available for Linux, Mac, and Windows - thanks Matt Toschlog (Outrage Entertainment) and Mike Kulas (Volition Inc.)!

My new favorite multiplayer networked game is BZFlag - but it needs some horsepower (fast CPU and 3D GPU) and won't run right on my outdated machines.

Check out Descent: Freespace, or Descent 2.

Jouster

Also check out the amazing 4k demos by Sanction - especially the unbelievable Omniscent demo from 1997. It is a clone of the popular 3D game Descent (it was popular a few years ago) - in 4 kilobytes! It even has music. Most of the wall textures are calculated on-the-fly as the demo runs, only the animated stars texture is predrawn.

There are also two other 4k demos on the same site, but I personally prefer Omniscent.

When runing, those 4k demos use a lot more memory than 4k, however. Commonly around 500-600k which is the maximum amount of memory avaliable under 16-bit real-mode MS-DOS (without using EMM386 and other expanders). Usually, the 4k binary is compressed using clever compression techniques and is decompressed when the binary is run. But still, cramming a 3D world with textures and music into 4k is quite an accomplishment!

With sources out for games like Descent I (and II), and Doom/Heretic/Hexen, etc... I'm awaiting to see someone port these games to GBA...

With sources out for games like Descent I (and II), and Doom/Heretic/Hexen, etc... I'm awaiting to see someone port these games to GBA...

With sources out for games like Descent I (and II), and Doom/Heretic/Hexen, etc... I'm awaiting to see someone port these games to GBA...

I should have done a bit of research :) Descent 1 music is here

Anyone into descent check out Descent4.net

I go out into the Big Blue room to be retro, and do some shopping in this place called a store, and when I get back, what do I see?

Anyhow, my two bits of webbased strips:

Sabrina -(mirror here) - Life as a dedicate Amiga user, etc.

Vinny The Vampire - Almost everyone is a hollywood classic monster of one sort or another. But other wise it is a more or less "normal" world.

Supermegatopis - the worlds largest open air insane asylum

FreeFall - Space Opera Lite

GeekComics - 'nuff said

Long after Descent and Quake have been forgotten, Marathon will live on via its source code.

Except a quick Google search tells me that Quake is released under GNU GPL and so are Descent, Descent 2, and a Tetris clone that gives you motion sickness like Descent. But the mission pack in many games (required for the game to run) is written by artists and level designers and is not GPL'd. This is why open source is thought not to be able to produce professional quality games: how do the artists and level designers eat?

Long after Descent and Quake have been forgotten, Marathon will live on via its source code.

Except a quick Google search tells me that Quake is released under GNU GPL and so are Descent, Descent 2, and a Tetris clone that gives you motion sickness like Descent. But the mission pack in many games (required for the game to run) is written by artists and level designers and is not GPL'd. This is why open source is thought not to be able to produce professional quality games: how do the artists and level designers eat?

The programmers have worked hard on these, and I'd hate to see them go to waste.

A neato software program for windows that is use is Foxplay. It is great for organizing music files .. from mp3s to midis to real audio to mods ... etc .. The author even considering a Linux port (with possibilities of releasing the source!) http://descent2.com/dorsola/ is the url. I don't know much about the equipment djs use, but this tool is certainly nifty and my proove to be so for djs :)