Decline Sell me a First-Person Shooter.

[Justicar]

You use guns to make bad men go away if that doesn't sound enticing to you dont play fps games.

 

[Morenatsu.]

the original DOS version of Quake has darker gamma than WinQuake

Since when? It looks the same to me. Are you sure you weren't just using the wrong settings in DOSBox?

Also cdaudioproxy is better than _inmm, especially as the latter can't even be used with GLQuake.

Is this a trick question because I wrote ‘gamma’ instead of ‘brightness’? At the lowest setting, the DOS version looks darker whether I use a renderer like surface or direct3d:

Spoiler

DOS Quake:

WinQuake:

It's true about _inmm not working with GLQuake. I wanted to mention that it doesn't work with all games, but for a moment I wasn't sure whether I had the problem with GLQuake or a certain Quake II engine game.

I actually just didn't want to put any effort into checking it myself lololololo. I kind of felt like it was the case, but I wasn't sure. And what about the aspect ratio, can't forget about that. 320x200 masterrace!!!

Proper GLQuake on a 3Dfx card is even brighter, did you know.

 

[schru]

Also cdaudioproxy is better than _inmm, especially as the latter can't even be used with GLQuake.

It's true about _inmm not working with GLQuake. I wanted to mention that it doesn't work with all games, but for a moment I wasn't sure whether I had the problem with GLQuake or a certain Quake II engine game.

Actually, it turns out that installing version 0.98 alpha of GLQuake fixes that problem, making _inmm work fine with it.

Why would anyone play Quake on anything that's not a modern-day sourceport though? Like, why? Can you think of a single reason?

In order to have everything work and look the way it did originally, without any minor changes in behaviour or graphics that source ports usually come with. I know there are source ports that retain the software renderer, but often, if not always, even those require you to disable smooth animations or certain minor effects to get the game look like it did originally, and these things matter for the atmosphere because they contribute to Quake's ‘rough’ look. The way the weapon looks, with that peculiar warping, is another thing that's often ‘corrected’ in source ports.

Generally, I started out wanting to play all old games in source ports or ‘enhanced editions’, but then I started noticing that this or that thing was missing or broken, or that an original software effect was more interesting than what it was replaced with, so I now take the stance that DOSBox, wrappers, emulation, etc. should always be preferred over any ports. The frequently used GZDoom for example doesn't have certain compatibility settings on by default, which causes monsters in the original games to become active and move around in a completely different way from the way they behave in the original game, which spoils the enemy placement.

Proper GLQuake on a 3Dfx card is even brighter, did you know.

Well, that's the charm of an alternative version.

 

[JarlFrank]

E.Y.E. - Divine Cybermancy
...
..
.
I don't even

 

[Venser]

Start with Wolfenstein 3D and go from there.

 

[JarlFrank]

Start with Wolfenstein 3D and go from there.

I'm not usually one to call games outdated, but...

Wolf 3D and its clones are completely obsolete thanks to Doom. Incredibly restricted single-plane 2D level design doesn't allow for much variety compared to Doom's introduction of height levels. Anything pre-Doom is obsolete and only a historical curiosity at this point.

 

[Curratum]

Come on, JarlFrank , Wolfenstein 3D is still fun. It's just as fast and furious as Doom and I still have a blast with the mazes and level design, even at this super-rudimentary level. I do a playthrough of Wolf 3D and SoD once every year and it's fun every time.

 

[JarlFrank]

I guess I just didn't catch it when it was cool. Only started playing FPS in the late 90s and when I explored the old classics, Wolf 3D didn't give me anything Doom didn't do better.

 

[Venser]

I've actually played Wolf 3D for the first time in 2013 and I liked it. Fast paced shooter with memorable music, voice lines and boss fights. The biggest problem with Wolf 3D is the pacing, as it gives you all the guns early on in the episodes and then it's just more of the same till the end. Very repetitive. Spear of Destiny was even worse offender with bigger mazelike levels that went on forever and didn't make any sense. Might as well be procedurally generated. But the final level of Spear was pretty badass.

 

[Baron Dupek]

E.Y.E. - Divine Cybermancy
...
..
.
I don't even

P. accurate for a joke picture, both parodying and selling it.
This game is a mess but they put some parts that made it memorable among the janky games.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

Just Cause series seems right up your alley, it's basically like being in 80s action movie. Over-the-top action and exploration of gorgeous environments all in one package.

 

[Morenatsu.]

an original software effect was more interesting than what it was replaced with

You mean Doom's invisibility effect, don't you. Refraction replaced with lazy translucency, wtf.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Fallout4.

But seriously: STALKER or Metro Exodus.

 

[Hag]

My ideal shooter will be often stressful but rarely frantic, with a confident, measured pace, plenty of quiet moments, and excellent audio/visual feedback from the combat, like solid booms from the guns and the satisfying ping of an ejected clip. You know what I'm talking about.

If weapons sound and feedback is a dealbreaker you may want to check Doom 3. A bit dated but still good looking, it took some deserved flak from old-schooler for being the game that brought the corridor shooter genre, but it is by no mean a bad game, with good pacing and incredibly satisfying weapons. They all feel powerful and pleasant to use, reloading the assault rifle is pure dope to the ear. Enemies are credible and fights are intense while fair, it is a great shooting experience all around.
Its greatest flaws are the linear level design and having to deal with those PDAs to find codes and whatnot, which is sometimes rewarding when you find weapon caches but gets old eventually.

 

[CanadianCorndog]

Amid Evil
Retro boomer shooter, fast-paced, unique environments, lots of saturated colours, fun bosses, amazing verticality in levels, great level design and a final level that is a little mind bending

 

[Ol' Willy]

I though FC2 was supposed to be decent too? It looks interesting on paper, anyway. I was planning on playing it soon.

I'll tell you the problem with FC2, alright.

Shooting part is decent. Gunplay is okay, enemy AI is not completely braindead. Shooting people is enjoyable to a degree, and game is really gives you freedom for that - various weapon types, tactics and ways to approach. Back then, when I was actually playing it, me and me buddies called it "Steven Seagal Simulator".

The problem that it is a sandbox type game when killing people gives you absolutely nothing. No loot, no money, no XP, no reputation, you can't even reclaim the land, absolutely nothing. There's two factions in the game and they differ in absolutely nothing. They use the same troops (even the same models), they always hostile to you, you can't even tell whom you are fighting at the current moment. And they respawn instantly: you clear the outpost, go away for literally 200m, go back and it's already repopulated. You kill people all the time and it's absolutely pointless.

The game would have really worked if there have been two distinct factions: you join one of them and start driving the other one from the map. Or something like FPS version of JA2, with capturing cities and training militia with the goal to completely liberate the island. But it's boring instead.

 

[Ol' Willy]

Wolf 3D and its clones are completely obsolete thanks to Doom. Incredibly restricted single-plane 2D level design doesn't allow for much variety compared to Doom's introduction of height levels. Anything pre-Doom is obsolete and only a historical curiosity at this point.

The problem with Wolf 3D is that it is a hitscan fest which heavily promotes doorfighting. There's almost zero enemy variety and primitive level design. Doom would have been equally boring if it had only hitscanners.

 

[Curratum]

Wolf 3D and its clones are completely obsolete thanks to Doom. Incredibly restricted single-plane 2D level design doesn't allow for much variety compared to Doom's introduction of height levels. Anything pre-Doom is obsolete and only a historical curiosity at this point.

The problem with Wolf 3D is that it is a hitscan fest which heavily promotes doorfighting. There's almost zero enemy variety and primitive level design. Doom would have been equally boring if it had only hitscanners.

Unless you're fighting zombies which are very hard to stunlock reliably, Wolfenstein 3D is a finely choreographed dance of stunlocking enemies in the right sequence and alternating between them, even when you're fighting in more open spaces. Sure, your first instinct is to try and funnel enemies into a door / 1x1 tunnel, but there are a lot of levels and areas where this is not really possible.

Plus there's nothing I enjoy more than a level with the same floor code over like a dozen rooms and you'd fire at one enemy, then the entire level hear you and come scrambling to get to you. Every playthrough will have you encountering enemies in different spots and fighting in different combinations and locations. And the maze-like designs really help with that. It's almost like you're playing a bit of a first-person roguelike in this sense.

I love the thrill of opening a door and never knowing whether it's safe on the other side or a supersonic white Fritz will shoot at me the moment the door is half-open.

 

[JDR13]

Anyone who wants to get into the Wolfenstein series today should just start with RTCW.

Wolf 3D is cool to try as a history lesson, but that's about it.

 

[curds]

Wolf 3D is obviously lacking compared to later FPS games. But considering it's arguably the first entry in the genre, and if you look at it that way, it's pretty fucking fun.

It was actually the first game I played a few years back (2017ish) when I first decided to get into the FPS genre (had pretty much never touched the genre before then), and I found it a pretty fun experience overall. Wasn't enough to make me wanna play Spear of Destiny as well, though.

 

[Morenatsu.]

RTCW isn't actually any more fun than Wolf 3D.

 

[curds]

RTCW isn't actually any more fun than Wolf 3D.

I finished Wolf 3D and enjoyed every second. RtCW I dropped a few levels in.

 

[Curratum]

Wolf 3D is obviously lacking compared to later FPS games. But considering it's arguably the first entry in the genre, and if you look at it that way, it's pretty fucking fun.

It was actually the first game I played a few years back (2017ish) when I first decided to get into the FPS genre (had pretty much never touched the genre before then), and I found it a pretty fun experience overall. Wasn't enough to make me wanna play Spear of Destiny as well, though.

Do try SoD, it's better in a lot of places.

 

[curds]

Wolf 3D is obviously lacking compared to later FPS games. But considering it's arguably the first entry in the genre, and if you look at it that way, it's pretty fucking fun.

It was actually the first game I played a few years back (2017ish) when I first decided to get into the FPS genre (had pretty much never touched the genre before then), and I found it a pretty fun experience overall. Wasn't enough to make me wanna play Spear of Destiny as well, though.

Do try SoD, it's better in a lot of places.

I plan to someday. I did always assume it would essentially be a more refined Wolf 3D (thus, better in a lot of places), I just didn't care enough to play it right after Wolf. But, yeah, I plan to play it someday.

 

[JarlFrank]

Wolf 3D and its clones are completely obsolete thanks to Doom. Incredibly restricted single-plane 2D level design doesn't allow for much variety compared to Doom's introduction of height levels. Anything pre-Doom is obsolete and only a historical curiosity at this point.

The problem with Wolf 3D is that it is a hitscan fest which heavily promotes doorfighting. There's almost zero enemy variety and primitive level design. Doom would have been equally boring if it had only hitscanners.

That's why I love Quake's Arcane Dimensions mod so much.

No hitscanners at all. Just projectiles.

Hitscan is a shit mechanic.