Not-so-classic 3D

Post by **Levellass** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:41

So I just finished playing Spyro The Dragon, the original 1998(ish) game on this delightful 'PSx' program thing that lets me play Playstation CDs.

Gracious it brings back memories. Everything is made from blocky polygons (Even the sprites.) there's a steady loss of detail as things get further away, primitive enemy A.I., glitches that let you see through solid walls, and of course, elvels bounded by 1.) bottomless pits, 2.) deadly liquid, 3.) high walls or at a pinch 4.) invisible barriers.

When you look at what is available now, the severe limitations of such things. It reminds me of Duke 3D, with its flat textures plastered on everything (And flat sprites.) or DooM, or even Catacomb 3D (But of course much less violent.)

So I wonder, does anyone else have a favorite not-quite-classic game that you can look back on and say 'Wow, this was cutting edge back then'

And yes, aside from Keen.

Grimson · Post by **Grimson** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 5:47

Well I played a lot of the classic Spyro games. I also played the Crash Bandicoot series, and I got to say how awesome those games were. The 1-3 are the best, with 2 perhaps being my favourite although I played it the least (still beated each game 100%, except CB 1 where I never found 3 gems!

)

The developers of the classic Crash Bandicoot games had a silly habit of hiding things like gems or crystals (that you have to collect in order to beat the game 100%) in the weirdest of places, and these places are often impossible to find unless you do the extremest exploring. For example, there are invisible paths above bottomless gaps, some gaps are actually fake and lead you to a secret path, or then you have to jump off-screen (because the camera is usually locked behind you) from one of those jump-boxes (with an arrow showing up) and land PRECISELY on another box which you can't even see! In Crash 3, you even have to "kill" yourself once to get to a secret level

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:21

Star fox and donkey kong country. Honestly, they're not so classic anymore even though people still talk about them. I remember the mile-long waiting list to rent DKC at a video store. Seriously, the thing scrolled out on the floor like a carpet

DaVince · Post by **DaVince** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:33

The Need for Speed was pretty cutting-edge in its time, but I didn't play it until much later... and it's not my favourite.

Actually, I don't think I've ever owned a "cutting edge" game. Maybe some 3D stuff in DOS, like Tomb Raider? But I'm not too fond of that game.

Post by **tulip** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:44

Cutting edge as in early 3D?

I always thought of Pandaemonium as revolutionary, but it ran only on a single machine I had.
Gran Tourismo 1 would an example for an outstanding PS1 game I think.

But that's about as many 3D games as I played.

DHeadshot · Post by **DHeadshot** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 14:25

Sony have never been good at graphics. The PS1 came out after the N64 and was worse in every way - its only advantage was the fact more games were available (and of course because they were on CD they were easier to store). The PS2 came out after the Dreamcast and became successful through a series of brilliant marketting tricks, despite the fact that games that had versions for both were of lower quality on the PS2 (a friend of mine bought the PS2 version of a game he played on the DC. What was rendered as fur and hair on the DC came out blocky and/or grainy on the PS2). The PS3 has finally achieved good graphics through the implementation of a 16-core supercomputer, graphics that its competitors have achieved on their much lower-powered consoles!

Scarlet · Post by **Scarlet** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 15:27

I do not like the cutting edge of today's computer games. I prefer DOS much more.

But here is one that I suppose might fit this category.

Outlaws, by lucasarts.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/Sylpher/videos/3/
Anyone remember this one?

DaVince · Post by **DaVince** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 15:33

The PS1 came out after the N64 and was worse in every way

The PS1 came out two years before the N64, in fact, they made Nintendo hurry up with their own console because the PSX was doing so well. Also, it was the most advanced console at the time. The only way in which it was "much" worse than the N64 was the lack of antialiasing, making the borders in 3D look very jaggy.

Also, its other advantage was the storage space. Full-motion video or CD quality audio wasn't as feasible on N64 cartridges because of the limited storage space.

Spikenexus · Post by **Spikenexus** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 15:43

My family had a PS1 back when I was growing up, and I remember never having much of an interest in it until we rented a copy of Spyro the Dragon. I was addicted to that game and the two Spyros that followed it for PS1. They all certainly look their age, but I guess having grown up with them I don't find it at all jarring, though someone looking at the games for the first time might.

I'm the same way with Duke3d. It's clearly not a recent game, but when I play it, I still see it as it was back at its release. Wouldn't want it any other way!

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 15:57

It's the closest thing you can get to virtual reality without a helmet!

That was always my favorite quote from PiD's advertizing. In fact, I think almost all FPS from the early-mid-90's were marketed in the same way. I had a Hexen poster that said something like "It's the greatest 3D experience ever." Too bad I lost it

But that's not to say they were bland or came up short. In fact, those games rocked. Hard. I'm unsure why I'm feeling it's necessary to post this then, other than the fact a modern-day layman would read the over-the-top advertising, take a look at the screenshots and lol, thinking "What a joke!"

thehackercat · Post by **thehackercat** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 15:59

Cutting-edge? Well, in the Mac community, there was a game called Nanosaur, which I believe I've shared with y'all before.

In the much broader PC community:

You would absolutely have to include the Quake, Build, and DooM engines. I say engines because many popular games were based off of them.

But, I think the first cutting-edge 3D engine was LithTech, as in Blood II: The Chosen. (Sorry, Carmack, use some real colors next time.)

_mr_m_ · Post by **_mr_m_** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 21:28

Myst, anyone?
Everyone was like holy fucl! MYST!

Oh yeah, it's not 1993 anymore. Some of you weren't even alive in 1993.

Scarlet · Post by **Scarlet** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 21:30

Aww nobody remember outlaws. Whatever happened to those good ol' lucasarts games?

Howabout...

...phantasmagoria?!

Now that is a really creepy game. It came out in 1995 er so, and had like 6 CDs.

DHeadshot · Post by **DHeadshot** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 21:50

_mr_m_ wrote:Myst, anyone?
Everyone was like holy fucl! MYST!

Oh yeah, it's not 1993 anymore. Some of you weren't even alive in 1993.

I never understood MYST. It was just weird...

RoboBlue · Post by **RoboBlue** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 23:22

Scarlet wrote:Aww nobody remember outlaws. Whatever happened to those good ol' lucasarts games?

Howabout...

...phantasmagoria?!

Now that is a really creepy game. It came out in 1995 er so, and had like 6 CDs.

Spoony did a full playthrough of Phantasmagoria 2, if you're interested.
Man was that game weird... and it had lots of sex (which he had to cut).
http://spoonyexperiment.com/category/phantasmagoria/