don't get it =\
i played total annihilation instead of starcraft

1997 was definitely the pinnacle year in portraying what video games could become. Like someone said, GLQuake was a breakthrough in 3D graphics card support (obviously meaning that before it - the 3d engines were rendered in SOFTWARE mode), Quake II came out, Fallout was one of the most intelligent, dark and humorous games ever released - even to this day AND - the original Grand Theft Auto came out - so obviously 1997 should be 1.


There were so many great games from 1997 - here's an incomplete list of games from 1997 via Wikipedia:

* February 10 - Mario Kart 64 (N64)
* February 28 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64)
* March 20 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS) (Sega Saturn)
* April 30 - Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (PC)
* May 31 - MDK: (PC) (PS)
* June 26 - Dungeon Keeper (PC)
* July 1 - Star Fox 64 (N64)
* July 30 - Carmageddon (PC)
* August 25 - GoldenEye 007 (N64)
* August 31 - HeXen II (PC)
* September 7 - Final Fantasy VII (PS), (PC)
* September 19 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PS), (PC)
* September 30 - Fallout (PC)
* September 30 - Total Annihilation (PC)
* October - Grand Theft Auto (PC)
* October 9 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)
* October 26 - Age of Empires (PC)
* October 29 - Riven (PC) (Mac)
* October 31 - The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)
* November 14 - Postal (PC)
* December 6 - Quake II (PC)
* December 19 - Wing Commander: Prophecy (PC)
* December 23 - Gran Turismo (PS1)

EVE Online is about the only game I consistently play right now.

Some older favorites:

Neverwinter Nights and Expansion packs (One of the best game experiences ever especially Hordes of Underdark, NWN 2 was disappointing)

Sacred (This was like Diablo set in a larger open world, I actually finished this game 3 times)

Counter-Strike 1.3 (after that and Source it wasn't the same at all - The AK47 was so awesome in this version)

Quake 1, 2, 3. - Bots, Multiplayer and gibs. Nuff said.

Unreal Tournament (The original is still the best, UT3 was a huge consoley disappointment)

Freelancer 1 & 2 (Anyone remember pulling GTVA space patrols in a nebula? It was my own personal BSG)

Transport Tycoon Deluxe (Laying roads, train tracks, air and sea transport routes, was never so much fun, Locomotion was a huge disappointment)

Jagged Alliance 1 & 2 (Squad control mercs! Ivan Dolvich was hilarious)

Ivan Dolvich: You do not speak Russian? Ah, I miss days when Russia was at war with everybody.
Ivan Dolvich: [Speaking Russian; after killing an enemy in a rather brutal way] And that's why my nephew is an alcoholic.
Ivan Dolvich: [Speaking Russian; upon finding a weapon he likes] If I keep quiet, I will be able to keep it for myself!

Soldner (Like a JA clone set in a pulpish WW2 setting)

UFO: Alien Unknown (Oh my god this game was so scary, especially when you started getting Psiattacks from the aliens, still unrivaled today, even though countless companies tried direct copies, I didn't really like X-Com because of the underwater setting)

Heroes of Might & Magic 3 (I loved the 2D graphics, the newer 3D one isn't as magical nor did it have near the amount of units/artifacts/heroes as HMM3)

Rise of Nations (This was really one of the best and most enjoyable RTS games I ever played)

Total Annihilation (Visceral, primal RTS combat with robots, Supreme Commander lost that magic touch)

Morrowind (Oblivion was good but not as good as Morrowind which had more of an open ended feel, and not as consoley based as Oblivion)

I would say my favorite genre is FPS, though so far all am looking forward to is Fallout 3 and Jagged Alliance 3/3D/4 (if it ever makes it), I was looking forward to a shooter that was said to cover all the weapons from the 20th to 21st centuries following a familial history but I forgot the name, it had a really cool trailer too.

As time rolls foward, the more money these corporations pump into pseudo-science bullshit to stem the flow of renewable, sustainable energy forms from taking foot, the more emboldened it makes those who are in the business of ridding humanity from its oil/coal dependancy.

Non-energy corporations are waking up to the fact that once initial investment capital has been paid off from an economical energy source, the fuel for the energy thereafter is 100% free, and virtually unlimited, with extremly low maintenance and upkeep costs. Long term, switching over is far cheaper than keeping the status quo.

So to all those asswipes who think we have no control over global warming, who have no idea about the physics thats seated behind the theory of global warming (which by the way, in scientific nomenclature, a 'theory' is the highest level of prestige awarded to human understanding, theories explain facts under observable and crucifiable situations), who have had no formal education in even physics 101 where thermal dynamics is taught, who have never read a book in their lives, and have a slippery, astro-glide encased grasp on any concept of economics, I give you, a big shut the fuck up, sit down, and accept that renewables are the way of the future, wether you fucking like it or not.

So sick and tired of these stall tactics that are continually pushed in the face of humanity for no other reason than to promote corporate greed, all at the expense of the humanity they sell their shit to.

/rant

To appeal to the corporate, democratic, industrialised capitalists out there still on the fence about global warming and our need to act or not. Put the whole debate out of your head, and think from your hip-pocket.

Imagine a world where the energy required to run everything in your house, is literally, free.
It is uninterrupted, enviornmentally friendly, unlimited, free energy.

From a business point of view, even if this energy, after investment capital was paid off (read: wind, concentrated solar thermal, geo-thermal or wave power), was sold for 3c/kwHr, you would still be making a huge proffit. And, worst case scenario on maintaining status quo, you would be save near total annihilation of the human race.

There is no sane argument against going to electrical cars, powered up by a grid that sources it energy from 100% renewable and sustainable energy, anyone who claims otherwise is a fruitcake.

Yeah, this died in the queue a week ago. I'll say the same thing here that I said there:
"Jump in." Hmm.. I remember gaming before it was cool to game. Command and Conquer for DOS anyone? How about Doom? Duke Nukem 3D?
And more 'recently': I remember playing Total Annihilation and being bummed that I couldn't use that awesome map because I didn't have 16 MB of RAM. Or maybe Carmen Sandiego? Oregon Trial? Those were the days.
I think the first computer game I ever played was "sopwith camel" on our Tandy 1000.

But I'm not sure that a commercial that depicts the country as trigger happy people is a smart move for a console company. More fuel for the "Video games make people violent" morons.

"Jump in." Hmm.. I remember gaming before it was cool to game. Command and Conquer for DOS anyone? How about Doom? Duke Nukem 3D?
And more 'recently': I remember playing Total Annihilation and being bummed that I couldn't use that awesome map because I didn't have 16 MB of RAM.

But I'm not sure that a commercial that depicts the country as trigger happy people is a smart move for a console company. More fuel for the "Video games make people violent" morons.

Yes, very cool Jeff, very cool. Damn he wrote a buncha books- I read 3 about him, only one by him.....20 years ago....jeez!-(me feeling crusty)

So the best of these as far as I am concerned is The Center for Responsible Nanotech-What you can be assured of, is that when the production of the raw materials facilitates the changes tantamount to the splitting of the sacred atom earlier last century, the paradigm will be the same, and the military will (already) have the keys to the kingdom-As always, the threat of power in the hands of the one, will be the rub. Will we spiral into oblivion as a race, when we are able to transform a soup of matter into complex tangibles with a thought, or will we see the futility of need, desire, and control, and use those little robot dingles, to give the planet the house cleaning it needs, to take us to the next, and the next levels of awareness? The safe bet is total annihilation....I see it already happening, cause as always, the shit we are allowed to know about, is usually 30 years behind technology.

Oh, PostMortem... no, no, no...

Choggie only visits this plane of existence when the planets are aligned just so. And even then, he's not fully "here". You are trying to reply to him about 45 hours since his last post. Do you realize just how far the moon travels in that amount of time, not to mention Venus and, of course, Pluto? Hell, where choggie is from, Pluto is still a planet! Thousands of years ago, sages prophesied the end of the world would be at hand when "Chaos and Madness know each unto the other as brother and brother". Just me, and just a theory, but I think that means the world will end when choggie and westy engage each other in meaningful conversation. Don't invite doom upon us all by seeking one or the others' input! Both of them in the same thread is to flirt with disaster and total annihilation!

Anyway... just a theory. Still workin' on it.

"Everyone knows the next great RTS will be Supreme Commander by Chris Taylor, of the Total Annihilation series."

Despite only mediocre beta tester impressions? I'd add my own comments but the game browser that GPG has implemented is just about unusable, I've been in the beta for two weeks and I have never successfully joined a game. I still hold out hope for the game but so far the buzz from people who have actually played isn't that positive.

Some facts you lost along the way:

* The game that created the RTS genre was Dune II. Stonkers if you want to be anal retentive.

* The original Command and Conquer used sprites for graphics.

* As the paragon example of gameplay refinement, Cavedog Entertainment's acclaimed Total Annihilation from 1997 distilled the core mechanics of Command & Conquer, and introduced the first 3D units in real-time strategy games. A significant achievement in the days before graphics cards with hardware based 3D acceleration became commonplace.

C&C3 will be a good game, but Supreme Commander will be a great game. And this is not fanboyism, it's a conclusion I reached after watching both games being demoed, and seeing what each one is setting out to achieve.

In response to the C&C3 trailer put up.

This is Supreme Commander, the spiritual continuation of the Total Annihilation series that Chris Taylor started back at Cave dog Entertiament.

Terrible. Dismal. Pathetic. No these are not descriptions of Benjee from women around the world. But rather my feelings towards the C&C3 franchise. It looks every bit the rehash C&C Generals was. Everyone knows the next great RTS will be Supreme Commander by Chris Taylor, of the Total Annihilation series.

But I'll upvote for the sheer joy these games used to give me back in the day, the original Command and Conquer and Red Alert 1. Oh Tanya, oh NOD obelisk, Oh the memories.