The value of old versions of Pirates!

[SirDrago]

I am also for the Pirats! Gold version. Its basicly the same as the original but with updated graphics. And i would love to have a version that will run without a problem on my system here

 

[Keith]

You know it may be a mute point, so far all firaxis have said is that this is an "updated" PIrates!, considering that would you really play the old game for very long? since the new one is exactly the same game with a few additions and better graphics

 

[Letterhead]

I think you should make the game a free download for people who join the Pirates! community (or get the newsletter) because that way people could download whichever version you are going to offer (I haven't had the priviledge of playing any of them so I can't request one) and play it to whet their appetites for the upcoming updated version. As Keith said above, getting an old version of Pirates! with the new one would make little sense (which would you rather play?) but getting an old version beforehand as a way of getting new players into the Pirates! universe and getting them used to how the game plays would probably get more people, more excited about the 3d version.

 

[Spaz]

I would love it if it was Pirates! Gold on there. and even if it's an updated version the classics are still classics. and even though i have EA's Madden 2004 i still enjoy playing my old madden 97 with friends. and same goes for all those Final Fantasy games... even though they arent remakes of the same game they do go from incredibly ugly games to the incredible great looking games they are now.. and i would still play (and do) the old ugly ones just because they are still fun to play. The same can be said about Metal Gear Solid they just remade that and i love playing it. and i plan on buying the remake of Metal Gear aswell. so yea even if the new Pirates! is exactly the same as the old one I'd still keep on playing the old one aswell just because its a great game oh and the whole register to get the classic is a good idea

 

[CatalinaThePirate]

Oh yeah, I still play Uncharted Waters, New Horizons. It's the `play-ability` that's the thing...

 

[NathanKell]

First, welcome, you two, to our humble community!

I too have fond memories of P!G on my 386 (first PC, before that was Macs); and, in fact, have the Windows version running on XP fine (all it needs is something like CPUKiller to slow it down).

So, if you can fix the timer issue, that version will require the least work. And besides, P! is all about the great writing anyway (and the P!G graphics are still beautiful...)

Also, perhaps you could include professional renditions of the truly _excellent_ MIDI music that came with P!G? Both the arrangements and the original tunes.
(IIRC Origin did something like that for the Kilrathi Saga, "rendering" the WC1 and 2 MIDI music out to digital).

 

[Scaliwag]

Kind of new myself, but I do read these forums somewhat often. :

I fell in love with the Sega version of Pirates on `Sega-TV`. (Anyone remember that?)

I was `heart-broken` when the month changed and it was off the list. I looked for it many times after that, but have never been able to play it again.

An inclusion of it in this new version is definetely something I think you guys should put in the game, perhaps as an easter egg. Maybe a "treasure" you can find, or by a conversation dialogue which was mentioned earlier in this thread.

At any rate, I've been looking forward for a remake of Pirates, and you have no idea how ready I am to try it out.

 

[eobet]

<!--`QuoteBegin-Jeff_ATARI`+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeff_ATARI)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->How much do you care about playing older versions of Pirates! on your PC?[/quote]

I'm a bit strange, perhaps, because I have more old games installed on my computer, than new ones (here's a testimony to how odd I am: http://www.eobet.com/temp/muahaha.jpg ).

I see two options for you. Either include DosBox (an open source DOS emulator from http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/ ) or you could try to get Ludvig Strigeus to port the game to SDL (Windows), if the original PC Pirates! was coded in assembly language (Ludde is the one who made the original ScummVM, an application for running old LucasArts games, and have lately done a perfect `re-implementation` of Transport Tycoon, called OpenTTD).

<!--`QuoteBegin-Firaxis_Barry`+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Firaxis_Barry)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->If Atari were to include a playable version of the original game, which one would it be?[/quote]

I think Pirates! Gold is a sad and buggy update attempt. I have heard that the Windows version can be made to run under XP with a bit of effort, though. I still have the box on my shelf, and my memory about it might be wrong, but I do remember playing the Atari ST version infinitely more than the Gold version (which I, of course, also still have the box + map for).

These days, I favour the Sega Megadrive version (same as the Amiga CD32 version, which is very different from the standard Amiga version), because there is a rather good emulator for it. I'm still looking at Ebay as often as I can remember for a proper Amiga CD32 version of the game, though, as that included a nice CD audio soundtrack.

Anyway, sorry for blabbering on too much. As I said, I think the PC EGA version with a DOS emulator is your best chance to actually getting people to play it (unless you spend some money creating a reverse engineered implementation).

I mean, if you want to include the Amiga version, you would have to supply an Amiga ROM image, which would be rather hard to acquire a lincense for, I'd imagine (same for contacting SEGA/Nintendo/Apple for licenses of their systems).

 

[sampow]

I tried out the original Pirates on my PC the other day; my opinion is just focus on the new version...

 

[sundog]

I think the best version is the Amiga, hands down. I still own it and play it through either the WinUAE or Winfellow Amiga emulators, both of which play the game perfectly. That would be the version I would say best represents Sid's original game. But that of course would require an emulator and as mentioned, licensed Amiga ROMS. I thought Pirates Gold! was a very poor update, the gameplay wasn't near as polished as the original. Possibly because Sid had nothing to do with Gold, it was just a quick attempt by MPS to cash in on Sid's earlier work (they did the same thing with Railroad Tycoon Deluxe, another bad update). I'm in the minority here, but I don't think the Gold version should be offered.

Instead of the game, I think including some form of the original manual would be of more value (not a PDF). The original Pirates manual was one of the best ever created for a game. Reading it always put me in the mood to play, lots of historical background, it really fleshed out the game itself. At least that's something that everyone can enjoy and appreciate, and it would be a nice collectors item for those that don't have it. Just an idea.

 

[DJ1]

Hod do you make a `data-disk` so that you can save the game in Winuae?

If I just knew how to do that it would be really fun to play....

 

[sundog]

<!--QuoteBegin-DJ1+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DJ1)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hod do you make a `data-disk` so that you can save the game in Winuae?

If I just knew how to do that it would be really fun to play....<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Well, you CAN save games to the Pirates game disk itself (ADF image), there's enough room to have several games stored. But if you want to make a separate blank disk just create a standard Amiga 880k floppy in WinUAE (in the floppy tab).

Another Amiga emu is WinFellow, which I think plays Pirates a little smoother and faster than some of the latest versions of WinUAE.

 

[capt cookie]

i have and can run piartes gold on my xp machine

 

[DJ1]

<!--QuoteBegin-sundog+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sundog)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-DJ1+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DJ1)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hod do you make a `data-disk` so that you can save the game in Winuae?

If I just knew how to do that it would be really fun to play....<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Well, you CAN save games to the Pirates game disk itself (ADF image), there's enough room to have several games stored. But if you want to make a separate blank disk just create a standard Amiga 880k floppy in WinUAE (in the floppy tab).

Another Amiga emu is WinFellow, which I think plays Pirates a little smoother and faster than some of the latest versions of WinUAE.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

thank you!

I will test it out when I get home from work..... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

 

[Rabiddogg]

You should make it downloadable so we can play it while waiting for the new one to be released. I never played the computer versions of pirates, only nintendo and genesis versions. So either of these two would do.