Wasteland

[Saxon1974]

I didn't see a topic on this great classic gem of a game.

I have started it many times but for some reason have not finished it, so Im getting pretty close to finishing it for the first time.

Im a fanstasy RPG enthusiast but I have to say this is the one non-fanstasy themed RPG that is a contender for my favorite RPG of all time. It's definitely in my top 5 no question.

The post-apocolyptic atmosphere is done better in this game than any other I think (Including the fallout games, even though I liked them). You can freely explore using many of your skills. If you find a big steal door you can try and use pick lock, or you can blow it up with TNT or find a security pass card to open it etc....you can find safes that you can use the "Safecrack" skill to try and open....so many fun options in this game.

The graphics are nothing to write home about, and they weren't even when this game was released back in 1987\88 but its one of those rare games that actually makes me feel like im really exploring in the alternate universe.

I have to say the writing is very good as well, towards the end of the game some of the design choices are great. (I won't give examples as I dont want to ruin it for anyone).

It's one of those few games where I can't really find any flaws, pretty much everything works perfectly.

Im playing it using the CCS64 commodore 64 emulator because I just dont like the feel and color scheme of the Dos version.

What is everyone else's thoughts on this game?

[renkin]

I'm a big fan of Fallout, so I've been thinking that I should definitely play Wasteland. So far I've just given it a quick try, and I was a little put off by the fact that you need to access the manual for some dialog. There was also a serious lack of music or sound effects in the version I was playing (DOS), but I can probably get used to that. Which version of the game would you recommend? I know there's a C64 version (the original?) for example. It's it worth getting an emulator for that?

EDIT: Ok, I apparently skipped the second to last paragraph in your post. I guess I'll get myself a C64 emulator.

[Saxon1974]

Well there are some who like the DOS version best, but I just like the feel of the original version\versions. They are a bit darker and even though the graphic and color capability are better on DOS, i think the portraits and game world look better on the C64 version.

There really isn't much sound in the game, there are crashing noises if you break down a door, there are bumping noises if you hit a wall and when you get a submachine gun and you burn a whole clip it makes a blip, blip, blip noise. What little sound there is though does sound better on the C64 version.

A couple of words of advice on using an emulator.

I would probably recommend CCS64 for Wasteland, although I use Vice more often as its a bit more front end friendly.

I have played it on both CCS64 and on Vice. One of the things that takes a little getting used to is C64 load times. They aren't that bad, but we are spoiled now with not having any load times at all.

If your using Vice You can toggle load times by hitting ALT+W I believe while loading then switch it back of for actuall play. This pretty much eliminates load times. Warning: My game got corrupted near the end and I have a suspcision using the warp speed toggle function (Warp mode) had something to do with it, but it might have just been coincidence.

In CCS64 you can speed up the game in the options but it speeds up the whole game not just load times, I usually set it to 150% game speed.

Also, If your gonna use vice makes sure you have True drive emulation turned on or the game wont run. It's a setting you can toggle from the main toolbar.

While using CCS64, my games never got corrupted but the sound was a little tricky, for some reason it would cut out after a while. Seems like turning the sound emulation settings down helped.

It's not really that hard using a C64 emulator, just a few things to be aware of.

Which ever one you choose make sure you make a seperate copy of your game disks each time you play so you dont get your save games corrupted.

I think its well worth it to use the C64 emulator as opposed to the DOS version.

Let me know if you have any questions and I can get more specific on the settings when I get home.

It's a great game and one every RPG enthusiast should play.

I find myself playing many old games on the C64 emulators now, at least those that never got released for the AMIGA. The old games DOS ports aren't usually very good, especially in the sound department.

If you play I would love to hear your impressions of the game.

[renkin]

Thanks for the info, it will be useful. I'll definitely give the game a shot, but I recently started playing Might & Magic III (another classic I hadn't played), so I'm probably gonna finish that first. Love it, by the way.

[Saxon1974]

No problem.

Im a big fan of the Might & Magic games as well. MMIII - V are still on my play list. My favorite has always been MMII, I just like the look and feel of the game. Even though I like what little I play of MMIII I dont like the look and feel of the game as much, can't really put my finger on why though. Didn't care much for the new engine and hordes of combat they introduced in MMVI though.

I think I will eventually give MMI a shot since I have not played that since I was a kid.

[Zakhal]

I have never plaeyd wasteland but I know the game. I actually just bought Ultimate RPG Archives collection few weeks ago just for the sake to play that game. Its a classic and in certain ways a historical computer game too.