The penguin seeks advice.

[gridlore]

Now that we have the shiny new computer up and running, I've encountered a rather serious problem. Vista simply will not allow Nethack to run in full screen mode.

bother.

But I was thinking that it might be time to expand my options a bit. I'm going to get Madden '08 (the current version does not allow for playing in coach mode) but am looking for other experiences.

Here's what I like:

• strategic games


• historical simulations


• opportunities beyond combat


• world building

Here's what I don't like:

• first person shooters


• games requiring fast reflexes or excellent keyboard/mouse skills


• anything with overly graphic graphics (PTSD, y'know.)


• games that railroad options

So, any suggestions?

• Athlon 64 X2 (W) 5200+ 2.6 GHz processor with 2000 MT/s (mega transfers/second) and socket AM2
• GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 chipset
• 2GB PC2-4200 MB/sec 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM, upgradeable to 4GB (32-bit OS) or 8GB (64-bit OS)
• 500 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec), 7200 rpm hard drive
• 16X DVD (±)R/RW 12X RAM (±)R DL LightScribe SATA drive
• Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface with 56K bps data/fax modem
• High Definition 7.1 audio with ALC 888 chipset
• Integrated 15-in-1 (4 slot) memory card reader
• 6 USB 2.0 ports, 2 in the front and 4 in the back
• Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Media Center

Comments

[guppiecat]

http://www.adom.de/

Never tried it on Vista, but I left Nethack for ADOM years ago and never regretted it.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Europa Universalis III, or possibly Victoria by the same publishers.

As a baseball fan, you might like Baseball Mogul.

[pompe.livejournal.com]

I second EUIII - it can't cost more than a few USD nowadays, and I doubt you'll find better historical simulation games around. See if you can find the In Nomine version which is the most extensive.

I like semi-shooters, though, so brainier RPGs like Fallout (III) and Mass Effect are my main passion these days. Not sure how they work with your graphics card, though - I prefer to run actionish stuff on the console and use the PC for strategy and 3rd-person isowhatever.

[(Anonymous)]

There is also "Hearts of iron II - Armagedon", same concept but between 1936-1964 or so. A cool feature is that if you get the right versions you can import save games and use all five games from Paradox (Europa Universalis:Rome, Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Victoria and Hearts of iron) and play from 280 BCE to 1964. Haven't tried it as it looks like an alt-history geeks kind of crack and I don't have the time.

Patrik (TML-lurker) Holmström

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, if you're any good at the game at all, you've already conquered the world by the end of EU3, so Victoria and Hearts of Iron are kind of moot in that chain.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

Well, there's Civ of course. (Any version.) But it would eat your brain and/or time.

[caraig.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing a Diablo clone is Right Out. ;) Diablo, Diablo 2, Sacred, Sacred 2, all are fairly open-ended (Sacred2 the most of the bunch) but there IS a linear game in there. Ditto with Morrowind and Oblivion, which are a little more restrictive in their game world.

Something more Nethack/Roguelike is Vulture's Eye, a 3D isometric (but not 3D graphics) version of Nethack. https://launchpad.net/vultures (https://launchpad.net/vultures)

You might like Mass Effect, but the lack of any downloadable content kind of leaves me 'meh' towards it. If you can deal with flight-type sims, X3 by Egosoft would be a good choice: massive universe, forging your own way, charging forth to do battle, trade, or Other; very open-ended.

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is always good crack. =D

You might like Galactic Civilizations II. Actually, Space Empires V is a really crunchy game, light on the graphics but holy shamolie does it let you get under the hood and tweak things!

You might like Darwinia; it's a fairly lightweight game, but very purty, with elements of RTS. It is, though, a touch linear. For something less linear, take a peak at Uplink if you're interested at all in hacker-type games.


Thinking about it, for replay value (for the times I've seen Nethack posts here =) ) I would say Space Empires V, or X3: Terran Conflict. Most RPG-style games these days are linear to some extent. These two games are extremely open-ended. Thinking about it, there's no game currently out there that's as complex, configurable, and open-ended as NetHack. That's... rather a shame.

[jarlsberg71.livejournal.com]

I know. I'm still addicted to Diablo II... Can't wait for Diablo III... III is supposed to be less linear.

[omimouse.livejournal.com]

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is always good crack. =D

Especially if you get into the mods that the fanbase makes for it. http://www.civfanatics.com is a really good resource for those. I highly recommend the "Fall From Heaven II" mod set.

That mod, the Belseraph civ, and Perpantarch as the leader is a really fun combination for a Civ veteran that wants a challenge. :)

[fangedfaerie.livejournal.com]

Space Empires V is a really crunchy game, light on the graphics but holy shamolie does it let you get under the hood and tweak things!

Amen on both counts. We love that one.

There are, of course, Age of Empires, (Empire Earth can be pretty bloody, but the cavemen are hilarious), Warcraft and Starcraft.

[netquiddler.livejournal.com]

Did EA put NFL Head Coach 09 out for PC?

[clinkerbuilt.livejournal.com]

Well, there's Galactic Civ, that someone mentioned already. There's Sim City - Societies, of course, as well as Spore...Both of which are fun, but will rot the brain.

For something different, you might try Activision's "The Movies" - in the campaign mode, you can stat in he 20's and go forward...It also allows you to make your own movies.

Although the newer versions seem to all be FPS's, take a look at an older version of "Close Combat"; it is more platoon-level TDG than FPS. Don't know if that works or not for you, though.....

Hope that helps...

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

The problem I had with SPORE is that the endgame is a cunning trap. There's not much point in building a vast empire when all it gets you is more planets and more neighbors who all demand that you come running Right Now and put out their fires, because apparently no one else is capable. You can't really build an economy or an industrial base, and pretty soon you can't even explore, because you're spending all of your time fending off pirates or Grox or dealing with other disasters.

[caraig.livejournal.com]

The Movies is a lot of fun! It's one of those games I keep installed because *eventually* I get back to it when I'm not, y'know, distracted. =D

[caraig.livejournal.com]

Almost forgot about this very handy page: http://www.skorks.com/2008/08/top-indie-games-you-wouldnt-mind-paying-for/ There might be something there you like!

[melchar.livejournal.com]

Civilization - &/or Alpha Centauri = both great games.

[whiteknucklejoe.livejournal.com]

I recommend Spore :D

It's interesting that you don't like the highly graphic shooters because of your PTSD...that actually is one of the things that soothes me. Such an interesting condition...I've really never met anyone who has combat related stress that manifests in the exact same way. One Marine I met got twitchy when he heard fire crackling.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I react badly to gore. I just suck at FPS. :)

[whiteknucklejoe.livejournal.com]

Or you could always be assimilated and come play World of Warcraft :D Should ya decide, I'll tell ya what server I play on...

[john-appel.livejournal.com]

A little bit off the wall and not exactly lining up with your stated interests, but that you might find interesting, are some of the various "virtual tabletop" tools. In the freeware realm, VASSAL is a great program for playing a traditional board wargame with remote opponents (it got it's start as VASL, built explicitly for ASL). Cyberboard is another freeware (or perhaps shareware?) program - I used this to run the double-blind game of Fifth Frontier War PBEM a few years ago. (Aide de Camp is a commercial alternative.)

There's a host of similar programs for pencil-and-paper RPGs, and while many have a DND focus, they're easily adaptable. I actually use a commercial program called Fantasy Grounds for the Castles & Crusades game I play in, while other folks swear by the free alternative MapTools.

And while I do play MMOs occasionally, I class myself as a "recovering addict" in that category. If you're really looking to ramp up your writing then I strongly suggest staying away.

[robertprior.livejournal.com]

Jon Zeigler likes Mount & Blade:

http://www.taleworlds.com/

Looks cool, but as I have a Mac I can't try it…

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a big fan of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. First-person RPG with an interesting plot, but very, very sandboxy. Massive quantities of free user-made mods, some of them excellent. Its graphics are probably very clunky by current standards (it came out in '01 or 02 or something), but I prefer it because of the weird setting... insect-herding Drow living on a mushroom-infested volcano with their living gods, with a sort of Sumerian~Japanese (peasanty Japanese, not otaku Japanese) aesthetic.
-- Kenji