I used to run a BBS in Ottawa called the Holodeck. I used the MajorBBS SW from Galacticomm, which cost $$$ "back in the day" (early 90s) but had LOTS of cool crap, kind of the Cadillac of BBSes. I spent weeks with the ANSI editor to get a semi-animated TNG control panel feel to it (I remember propping up one Star Trek fan magazine or another that had semi-decent pictures of different Bridge consoles next to my monitor and then trying to translate those to blocky chunks of ANSI). After a while my internal visual representation of the world began to resemble a Seurat painting, only with just 8 colors.
By far the coolest thing I set up was a 3rd party SW module (I'd have to go spelunking in my basement to find the name of it) that would allow you to coordinate multiple simultaneous DOOM clients (and games), up to the limit of how many phone lines you had coming in. I vaguely recall that each game could have an associated lounge to hook up & talk trash. My brain exploded with possibilities and possession lust when word of this first hit the Galacticomm scene.
Why? If you were a DOOM junkie, you had already played 2-way games via modem (null or otherwise). If you were really lucky, you also ran your company's Novell IPX-based network at the time and got to enjoy 4-way super-speedy DOOM Deathmatch, until you realized that the early DOOM releases used broadcast for client communication and you killed your network during business hours so then you had to explain how the Novell server "glitched" but you fixed it with your |-rad skillz and it probably wouldn't happen again. And then you had to play only after hours. All this is hypothetically speaking in reference to a hypothetical DOOM junkie.
So with that desperate, craving DOOM junkie background in mind, you can imagine how cool it was to discover the means to hook up with a 4-player game FROM YOUR COMPUTER AT HOME. Not only to discover the means, but to PROVIDE IT. I was micturating with borderline grand mal seizure glee the moment I got the BBS multiplayer SW set up and had some friends dial in to test it. It worked! A little choppy compared to the LAN (duh) but still...4 of us!!!
After that, the BBS kind of transcended "classic" BBSness. It went from being a fairly cool-themed message/sw/FIDO site (Z-modem! Wooo!) to the local oasis, and I mean oasis in the sense of a scarce resource over which competitors (metaphorically) tried to obliterate each other in attempts for possession. There were only 4 lines (best I could afford) and it was fascinating to watch the mechanisms to obtain and keep control evolve. First, it started with semi-amicable timeslot booking in the message areas. As word spread and the user count grew, this fell apart quickly since people deep into the blood lust weren't going to quit a game on schedule. Then the subterfuges began. Fake time booking. Getting your friends to call in (even without a computer) to try and hold lines open (that didn't last long as a tactic, for obvious reasons). Leaving computers logged in all day. Strobing the lines in the off chance that someone would lose carrier and you could get a toe-hold onto the system (the idea being that as more people fell out of a game, eventually the last little Big-Endian would get cheesed and split and the others could kick off THEIR game). At some point I remember checking the server logs and seeing constant activity even through the stupid hours of the morning. I wondered how much was gameplay and how much was holding action.
It was great, reverting-to-feral-cats kind of fun. Thinking back, I coulda got a psych or sociology paper out of it. But the best thing of all...was getting the urge for some deathmatch and bouncing the online players so my buds could dial in...and then reading the messages the next day. But they still kept coming back...
Glad to see that "moving to Canada" cliche is working for Michael. Is there NO ENVIRONMENT in which he can be safe to continue his holy mission of spreading his unique brand of enlightenment?
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I used to run a BBS in Ottawa called the Holodeck. I used the MajorBBS SW from Galacticomm, which cost $$$ "back in the day" (early 90s) but had LOTS of cool crap, kind of the Cadillac of BBSes. I spent weeks with the ANSI editor to get a semi-animated TNG control panel feel to it (I remember propping up one Star Trek fan magazine or another that had semi-decent pictures of different Bridge consoles next to my monitor and then trying to translate those to blocky chunks of ANSI). After a while my internal visual representation of the world began to resemble a Seurat painting, only with just 8 colors.
By far the coolest thing I set up was a 3rd party SW module (I'd have to go spelunking in my basement to find the name of it) that would allow you to coordinate multiple simultaneous DOOM clients (and games), up to the limit of how many phone lines you had coming in. I vaguely recall that each game could have an associated lounge to hook up & talk trash. My brain exploded with possibilities and possession lust when word of this first hit the Galacticomm scene.
Why? If you were a DOOM junkie, you had already played 2-way games via modem (null or otherwise). If you were really lucky, you also ran your company's Novell IPX-based network at the time and got to enjoy 4-way super-speedy DOOM Deathmatch, until you realized that the early DOOM releases used broadcast for client communication and you killed your network during business hours so then you had to explain how the Novell server "glitched" but you fixed it with your |-rad skillz and it probably wouldn't happen again. And then you had to play only after hours. All this is hypothetically speaking in reference to a hypothetical DOOM junkie.
So with that desperate, craving DOOM junkie background in mind, you can imagine how cool it was to discover the means to hook up with a 4-player game FROM YOUR COMPUTER AT HOME. Not only to discover the means, but to PROVIDE IT. I was micturating with borderline grand mal seizure glee the moment I got the BBS multiplayer SW set up and had some friends dial in to test it. It worked! A little choppy compared to the LAN (duh) but still...4 of us!!!
After that, the BBS kind of transcended "classic" BBSness. It went from being a fairly cool-themed message/sw/FIDO site (Z-modem! Wooo!) to the local oasis, and I mean oasis in the sense of a scarce resource over which competitors (metaphorically) tried to obliterate each other in attempts for possession. There were only 4 lines (best I could afford) and it was fascinating to watch the mechanisms to obtain and keep control evolve. First, it started with semi-amicable timeslot booking in the message areas. As word spread and the user count grew, this fell apart quickly since people deep into the blood lust weren't going to quit a game on schedule. Then the subterfuges began. Fake time booking. Getting your friends to call in (even without a computer) to try and hold lines open (that didn't last long as a tactic, for obvious reasons). Leaving computers logged in all day. Strobing the lines in the off chance that someone would lose carrier and you could get a toe-hold onto the system (the idea being that as more people fell out of a game, eventually the last little Big-Endian would get cheesed and split and the others could kick off THEIR game). At some point I remember checking the server logs and seeing constant activity even through the stupid hours of the morning. I wondered how much was gameplay and how much was holding action.
It was great, reverting-to-feral-cats kind of fun. Thinking back, I coulda got a psych or sociology paper out of it. But the best thing of all...was getting the urge for some deathmatch and bouncing the online players so my buds could dial in...and then reading the messages the next day. But they still kept coming back...
Glad to see that "moving to Canada" cliche is working for Michael. Is there NO ENVIRONMENT in which he can be safe to continue his holy mission of spreading his unique brand of enlightenment?
Valve should consult the previous "successes" of Circuit City.
Nice. You used a BFG9000 to send off your reply, I take it...