The old ones are the best..

he old ones are the best..

So as you know I like my old gaming
Really like it.
(hell! the title of the blog should kinda hint at that dont you think?:))
I've already enthused about the joys of reliving old classics by emulation.Gradually though I've begun to collect old consoles and computers to actually play the games the way they were intended (fuzzy screens and long loading times included)

I'd already amassed a collection of about 6 or 7 tabletop games like this
.And had nearly all the tomytronic 3D's (the ones that looked like a weird set of binoculars and had a nifty 3D effect, see here for details , oh and the scanned instructions on that page are actually from a mint boxed Game I bought:) )

But I've gradually been able to start collecting some bigger stuff ,
so far bar modern consoles I've managed to get a boxed original NES, an N64, an original (modded)playstation(not PS1) and a Dreamcast.
In the past month a mate of mine donated an Atari ST(an upgraded 520 STe).
SO after perfecting a method of getting stuff from internet friendly disk images to a DD formatted disk (involves splitting files and the wonderful M.S.A program!)I've been reliving classics like Turrican, Rick Dangerous, New Zealand Story and Badlands.

Plus discovering stuff like ECO (bizzare wireframe 3d game where you have to eat/mate and evolve , it was created by denton designs who did the obscure but great Starace on the c64).I'd managed to pickup an old Amiga -Cruiser joystick and a Quickshot II so controls so these work very well with the ST.
Best of all though I finally gave in and bought an original 'Woody'Atari VCS from Ebay.I've wanted one of these since I was six so to finally get one was kind of my gaming holy grail!

It took me quite a while as shipping prices on anything remotely big to Ireland tend to be a nightmare, but I finally picked one up for about 30 quid all in , with Combat, Breakout,and Night driver.Bar one slight hiccup (the postman dropped it in front of me , resulting in me having to superglue back a few small bits of plastic)it worked perfectly.(sidenote-I'd originally thought it was an even more rare machine called a "heavy sixer" , but alas its not , see http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74450) )No controls with it though , so I had to use the aforementioned joysticks.Also Breakout and Night driver needed paddle controllers to work properly, but I managed to borrow a set of these off a mate of mine (cheers mick!).Oh and I'd remembered that the "book exchange" in Capel St had one 2600 game in stock (centipede), hidden away in the showbox of NES games they keep in stock, so I picked it up for a fiver! I wonder if thats the only classic atari game to be sold over a counter in Dublin in 2005?
Its a cliche I know , but despite , or possibly because of their simple nature stuff like Centipede and Breakout are still so much fun to play today.
Its really such a blast of pure fun that its very hard to put the controller down.I've been playing them on the VCS between loading stuff on the PC, and quite often got so engrossed that I've ended up ignoring the modern game and keep playing the Atari!
Anyway I've another game (Asteroids)in the post from ebay, so hopefully I wont get bored.

Actually theres a thing : if you're based around Dublin and you've an old Speccy or C64 or atari 800xl in your loft that needs a home , send me an email:){wink}.
I'd love to add to my collection , but getting stuff shipped in to Ireland is insane!!

Oh and hello to Hans who prompted me to post about the Atari!

Warcraft Diary 5:..the other side

So another entry , and another months-spanning gap.

Man! I'm so laaaazy .
First up hello to Meushibunta from the Frostwhisper server in Warcraft, who came up to me in-game and mentioned the blog!(and apologies too as I've probably mispelled his name.)
Also I've been told the site shows up in google if you search for "frostwhisper gold", so if you're planning on buying WOW gold with real money, shame on you , supporting Chinese gold farmers is naughty and wrong and makes baby jesus cry.
So whats new?
Well a fair bit..

Firstly I left the guild I was in -Compulsive treehuggers.The majority of them are nice guys (epecially Mooh the leader), but theres an aful lot of kids there now , and I just got sick of the rubbish they were chatting about in guild chat.(I think it was when one guy spammed "disco stu likes disco poo" that I snapped and left the guild)
So I bummed about for a bit and was offline for a couple of weeks doing a few real life bits and bobs , anyway! Eventually myself and my mate Lex decided to form our own guild.An Irish themed one "tir na nog".Unfortunately setting up an Irish guild on a server where theres only two Irish people may not have been the smartest move , so things have been a bit stagnant as of late, I'm thinking of having a bit of a reorganisation in the coming weeks and doing a bit more work on it , or else giving the keys to whoevers online and leaving.
I've also been seeing a bit of Warsong gulch action.
This is an arena where you play against the enemy in teams of ten ,trying to capture their flag.Its more of a sport than a battle , and when the teams are evenly balanced and every one knows what they're doing its a lot of fun.

I've managed to get my character to the stage where I can enter some interesting areas like the Scarlet Monestery(sort of a 'Spanish inquisition' style stronghold).Very big thanks by the way to (may have to correct the spelling here) Domovterg, who led a group of lower level players through the area ,even though he was getting very little out of it , and helped me get a few decent pieces of equipment along the way.Really helped restore my slightly lagging faith in the game that!

I've also set up a new character on a different server , Stormreaver.
I'd been curious to see what the Alliance side plays like (My main character Luas , belongs to the opposing faction , the horde)
Also theres actually a few Irish players there , and its a high population server so theres less of the lull you get at Frostwhisper when theres only 2 or 3 players in your playing area.
I've started playing as a human priest, and since FrTed was gone and it wouldnt let me call him EamonnCasey, I've gone with drbob, appropiately since priests are the games main healers.(The name looks a bit out of place in the medieval setting , so I've come to refer to him as Bob, lets say the "dr" bit is silent ,look it helps me alright! )
The rumours about the more efforst having gone into the alliance part of the game are true.The starting enviroment is a lot more impressive, the NPC's say and do a lot more , and theres specialised quests (I got to heal and buff a NPC ..wow!).on the downside theres constant lag , probably because its a higher pop. server.I've brought him up to level 7 , so I'm going to switch back and forth between the 2 characters.
anyway thats my lot for now.
I've another totally non Warcraft related post due in the next day or two by the way ..