Bulletin Board Systems... BBS. I had a variety of different ones I'd call into - with the computer's modem of course - to check for new games and other things to download, or to check email on the various different systems. Of course you had to share things you found with other BBS' to keep a certain upload/download ratio so you didn't have to pay.
Some computers have wired the turbo button in a way that if the button is pressed in, the computer is running in the slower speed. While the turbo button can be configured this way, this is not the intended way of using the button, as the computer is intended to run at full speed when the button is pressed in, hence the name turbo.[10][11] This caused a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the purpose and naming of the button in retro computer forums and communities[citation needed]. This issue can be solved by reconnecting the wires in the correct way on either the display, or on the motherboard of the computer. If the turbo LED is on, that always means the CPU is running at full speed, regardless of how the switch is wired.[12][13][14][15]
I remember getting the shareware disk at the checkout at Compusa for like $5. I couldn’t wait to buy the whole thing.
The concept of shareware was so cool. Without the need for hard media any more, it just wouldn’t make sense right now.
Just hope that a buddy or relative knows how, so they could show you. Otherwise you could locate a book at the library after using their card catalog to help you figure out the Dewey Decimal number for that topic. We had our ways. ;)
You could add the dial-up deathmatch. Your modem would dial someone else playing Doom (literally you needed their phone number) and there’s the origin of deathmatch. It was on IPX protocol.
I was watching a retrospective on Ultima 7 and they mentioned the piracy checks referencing the manual. Oh and the cloth map and coin that came in the box. The memories came flooding back!
In 1993, once\twice a year my dad would take me to a nearby ballroom and pay $10 for entry for us to go to a "Computer Show". The ballroom was setup with tables where people were selling monitors, PC parts, software, etc.
I always remember one guy's shtick was to be doing the "memory testing" for his RAM sticks so you knew it was good quality before he was putting it in his plastic holders and selling it. This was a traveling roadshow, so you didn't want to buy some hardware, go home, find out it was junk and then be out $100 bucks. Computer shows were where I first learned the difference between EGA and VGA graphics, or what was in the "Adult Only" CD-ROM 'XXX' box (I got yelled at by a nearby customer, not the asian guy behind the table, although no way I would have tried to make that purchase).
Of course, there were the tall racks of ShareWare. $5 for any 5 floppy disks. Commander Keen was there, or a nifty pinball game. But one was DOOM. The label looked cool, and even more rare the game itself was better than what the label predicted. And the game went on FOREVER (at least thats how I remember it). Normally shareware was 30 minutes of gameplay, just enough that you would find the order form for the full game and mail it in. Not DOOM. You got several levels! And it was badass! BAD-ASS. You would go to school, and another kid would make a reference to that game, and you'd be like "oh you play DOOM too?".
Then you got the full game, and it was AWESOME. Then the nerdy kid would tell you that you can use your computer modem to play against other people online, and the instructions on how to get to the online menu, configuring stuff, then finally dialing your friend to play together and deathmatch... and that was like crack. The amount of awful things I yelled at my mom because she dared to pick up the landline telephone mid-match... I should probably send her some flowers today.
DOOM 2 came out, and there was actual hype over it. There were sneak peaks and little trailer videos sent on CD ROM showing the leveled up cacodemons or the new skeletons with rocket launchers. This of course ushered in the era of Quake, Unreal Tourney and on and on and on. Over time, your CD rack became more games than music, then AOL took over, and then AOL Instant Messenger.. and learning the difference between AOL and what "Internet Explorer" was. My dad used to tell friends and family about this new thing called "the world wide web" and how awesome it was...
I always remember one guy's shtick was to be doing the "memory testing" for his RAM sticks
My best friends dad would take us to the Computer Show and this is what I remember as well. The guy had a little device he plugged his RAM into with a little LCD screen that showed how much memory was on each stick. I also remember buying like 4MB off that guy for pretty cheap(for back then) to bump me up to 8MB(or maybe it was 12MB) so I could play some game that I can't remember.
This of course ushered in the era of Quake, Unreal Tourney and on and on and on.
I remember when id sent out a shareware/demo version of Quake(I think) and it had all of their games on it but they were encrypted. Someone wrote a keygen and you could unlock them. We passed that CD around like a hot potato. Those were the days.
Buckle springs were so good. There are some decent mechanical keyboards out there these days but there was something special about the click and response those huge heavy metal monsters had.
Kids today will never understand how much WORK it took to get the memory necessary to get games to run. How getting anything above 600k was a feat to rival the gods.
I swear I had games that took a dozen floppy disks, each with a fraction of a zip file on it, to just load the game onto your hard drive, then you had to go through like a 20-minute install process.
I think this is the reason I have no mystery around technology. Learning these things as a kid made me really get a feel for how they worked. My kids now look at these things like magic boxes and have no idea how they do what they do.
Greatest thing ever was when we figured out my friend’s Packard Bell came with a program that could close Windows, run the game, then restart Windows again. Launching DOS games from an icon felt like the future.
I remember when we got our first SoundBlaster card. We had the "WHAMP WHAMP" PC speaker when playing Wolfenstien 3D. Made those games WAY more intense.
We're not saying there's no radiation from this monitor, but it is low. I had a different but the same sticker and I put it on my microwave in my first apartment and it made everyone feel better about the popcorn.
My buddy used to reinstall doom every time he wanted to play it because that was the only way he knew to launch it. His whole family thanked me when I taught him the launch prompts
OMG this takes me back. My Dad was an IBM technician, and I was learning DOS at 6 years old. Anyone remember the Simpsons Doom mod (it was horrible, but I didn’t think so as a pre-teen)
I distinctly remember the transition from command line gaming to Windows gaming. I was so sceptical that Windows left enough system to run the games well.
I forgot about the "low radiation" flex. It's like "look: we're not going to tell you there's no radiation blasting in your face, but we're doing the best we can here."
According to that Steam year end review thing, Doom 2 was one of my most played games last year. Only difference is now I’m playing it on my Steam Deck in bed instead of the family desktop in the living room.
I'm currently finishing Doom Eternal for the first time. Been taking the last couple of levels slow like a good meal. Probably gonna replay it as soon as I finish up. Rip and tear brother 🍻🤘💥💥💥
barters81@reddit
The best part was no internet so you had to have had someone show you all this first hand, then you had to remember it for yourself.
OctopusMagi@reddit
Bulletin Board Systems... BBS. I had a variety of different ones I'd call into - with the computer's modem of course - to check for new games and other things to download, or to check email on the various different systems. Of course you had to share things you found with other BBS' to keep a certain upload/download ratio so you didn't have to pay.
TurdFerguson2OOO@reddit
This is incomplete, they didn't mess around with irq settings.
drKRB@reddit
OG Doom back in the day was the shit
angrybirdseller@reddit
No daddy, not playing doom past bedtime 😎
Outrageous-Power5046@reddit
Ahhhh, that healthy BIOS beep when you hit the power button!
Alokeen011@reddit
Anyone remember "Defender of the Crown"? That needed booting from the game floppy. I had it on my PC on the, indeed floppy, 5.25 disks :)
plagiarismtoday@reddit
I have to admit, the sound of the drives spinning/reading took me right back. That's something you don't get anymore.
Alokeen011@reddit
I was halfway through when I realized I NEED SOUND!!!
therealRustyZA@reddit
The sound of the disk being read made me smile.
That was such a great time.
graveybrains@reddit
Did it take you back a long time ago? In a galaxy far, far away?
Bitey_the_Squirrel@reddit
Sounds better on the floppotron 3.0
graveybrains@reddit
Shit! It looks better, too! 😲
furyian24@reddit
I miss my 486 with the turbo button.
TOHSNBN@reddit
Always make sure you do not have a PC with a fucked up turbo button.
Inverted button behavior
Some computers have wired the turbo button in a way that if the button is pressed in, the computer is running in the slower speed. While the turbo button can be configured this way, this is not the intended way of using the button, as the computer is intended to run at full speed when the button is pressed in, hence the name turbo.[10][11] This caused a lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the purpose and naming of the button in retro computer forums and communities[citation needed]. This issue can be solved by reconnecting the wires in the correct way on either the display, or on the motherboard of the computer. If the turbo LED is on, that always means the CPU is running at full speed, regardless of how the switch is wired.[12][13][14][15]
canadasecond@reddit
Haha..that was totally my first reaction hearing this. Even the clicking of the keyboard...
m8remotion@reddit
Sweet sound that entire generation isn't aware of.
lawnboy1155@reddit
I tried explaining DOS prompts to my kids lol. "It was just a black screen and you had to enter a secret code".
new_wave_rock@reddit
I remember getting the shareware disk at the checkout at Compusa for like $5. I couldn’t wait to buy the whole thing. The concept of shareware was so cool. Without the need for hard media any more, it just wouldn’t make sense right now.
DriftlessHang@reddit
IDDQD
clan23@reddit
IDKFA
NoBot-RussiaBad@reddit
idwtw
UncleLeeroy0@reddit
IDKFA
Dog_Baseball@reddit
How the fuck did people learn DOS? There was no book that came with the computer. There was no easy internet access to get instructions. How!!??
jonasgrimms@reddit
"help command" then follow the rabbit.
Junebug35@reddit
Just hope that a buddy or relative knows how, so they could show you. Otherwise you could locate a book at the library after using their card catalog to help you figure out the Dewey Decimal number for that topic. We had our ways. ;)
bigmean3434@reddit
Brooooo
stillish@reddit
I could have done this blind folded when I was 8 years old now I don't remember shit.
Yupyup287904@reddit
Gotta have that 386dx processor.
SarahBear81@reddit
It never occurred to me to use xcopy and install from hdd.
Oh well
Immediate-Agency6101@reddit
we had to learn to code to play a game lol.
Biscuits4u2@reddit
Time to bust out the Retro Brite
Killahdanks1@reddit
IDDQD IDDKFA
Hey-buuuddy@reddit
You could add the dial-up deathmatch. Your modem would dial someone else playing Doom (literally you needed their phone number) and there’s the origin of deathmatch. It was on IPX protocol.
skywalkerRCP@reddit
Bliss.
VRtrooper86@reddit
93 'til infinity
plotholesandpotholes@reddit
Something I hadn't thought about in years until this week.
Boot Disks
Copyright Protections that had you read through the paper manual to verify you had made the licensed purchase.
WholeLog24@reddit
Everything I know about the Battle of Agincourt I learned to pass those piracy checks in Castles II.
plotholesandpotholes@reddit
I was watching a retrospective on Ultima 7 and they mentioned the piracy checks referencing the manual. Oh and the cloth map and coin that came in the box. The memories came flooding back!
spaaackle@reddit
In 1993, once\twice a year my dad would take me to a nearby ballroom and pay $10 for entry for us to go to a "Computer Show". The ballroom was setup with tables where people were selling monitors, PC parts, software, etc.
I always remember one guy's shtick was to be doing the "memory testing" for his RAM sticks so you knew it was good quality before he was putting it in his plastic holders and selling it. This was a traveling roadshow, so you didn't want to buy some hardware, go home, find out it was junk and then be out $100 bucks. Computer shows were where I first learned the difference between EGA and VGA graphics, or what was in the "Adult Only" CD-ROM 'XXX' box (I got yelled at by a nearby customer, not the asian guy behind the table, although no way I would have tried to make that purchase).
Of course, there were the tall racks of ShareWare. $5 for any 5 floppy disks. Commander Keen was there, or a nifty pinball game. But one was DOOM. The label looked cool, and even more rare the game itself was better than what the label predicted. And the game went on FOREVER (at least thats how I remember it). Normally shareware was 30 minutes of gameplay, just enough that you would find the order form for the full game and mail it in. Not DOOM. You got several levels! And it was badass! BAD-ASS. You would go to school, and another kid would make a reference to that game, and you'd be like "oh you play DOOM too?".
Then you got the full game, and it was AWESOME. Then the nerdy kid would tell you that you can use your computer modem to play against other people online, and the instructions on how to get to the online menu, configuring stuff, then finally dialing your friend to play together and deathmatch... and that was like crack. The amount of awful things I yelled at my mom because she dared to pick up the landline telephone mid-match... I should probably send her some flowers today.
DOOM 2 came out, and there was actual hype over it. There were sneak peaks and little trailer videos sent on CD ROM showing the leveled up cacodemons or the new skeletons with rocket launchers. This of course ushered in the era of Quake, Unreal Tourney and on and on and on. Over time, your CD rack became more games than music, then AOL took over, and then AOL Instant Messenger.. and learning the difference between AOL and what "Internet Explorer" was. My dad used to tell friends and family about this new thing called "the world wide web" and how awesome it was...
My goodness what a good time.
pmarsh@reddit
I miss those shows so much. So many small shops. Haggling, seeing bins of old hardware and software.
The one in NJ Raritan center I believe was the biggest we went to a number of times
BickNlinko@reddit
My best friends dad would take us to the Computer Show and this is what I remember as well. The guy had a little device he plugged his RAM into with a little LCD screen that showed how much memory was on each stick. I also remember buying like 4MB off that guy for pretty cheap(for back then) to bump me up to 8MB(or maybe it was 12MB) so I could play some game that I can't remember.
I remember when id sent out a shareware/demo version of Quake(I think) and it had all of their games on it but they were encrypted. Someone wrote a keygen and you could unlock them. We passed that CD around like a hot potato. Those were the days.
Timotron@reddit
Kids don't realize how nuts it was seeing DOOM explode out of such crappy dos interfaces.
It was like WHERE DID THIS COME FROM
digdugdoink@reddit
C:/run.exe.
Redditsaves2020@reddit
Yes, finally getting to get some game time.
...Ugh...what's up with my speakers?!?
Oh I forgot I left my Nokia here...seems I'm getting a phone call...strange
boothy_qld@reddit
Look at me fancy pants here with his sound card!
Atillion@reddit
God I want that keyboard at my desk. I wish to drive EVERYONE in my office crazy with its delicious tactile feel and sounds.
KongUnleashed@reddit
Thunk tappa tappa thunk really does just take me back
TangFiend@reddit
I have a clicky key computer I got it from Red Dragon from Korea
It's so satisfying .. and has colored LED's
Nonsenseinabag@reddit
Buckle springs were so good. There are some decent mechanical keyboards out there these days but there was something special about the click and response those huge heavy metal monsters had.
ClimtEastwood@reddit
Straight nostalgia. Lands of lore! The Throne of Chaos. So good. Wolfenstein. Doom. Gobliiins 2: The Prince Bufoon
SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit
Kids today will never understand how much WORK it took to get the memory necessary to get games to run. How getting anything above 600k was a feat to rival the gods.
GitPushItRealGood@reddit
Loadhigh for autoexec.bat Devicehigh for config.sys
Rearrange and reboot to try and reach peak conventional memory like Gary Sinese in Apollo 13
TangFiend@reddit
I love how we all got free IT training because computers were so difficult back then.
Indubitalist@reddit
I swear I had games that took a dozen floppy disks, each with a fraction of a zip file on it, to just load the game onto your hard drive, then you had to go through like a 20-minute install process.
SquirrelyMcNutz@reddit
And then you get to the last disk...
Disk Read Error
Abort/Retry/Cancel
BickNlinko@reddit
This happened with my copy of TIE Fighter. I was super bummed and had to wait until my buddy could make me a copy of the disk before I could play it.
Indubitalist@reddit
Haha, that takes me back
canadasecond@reddit
hit that boot disk too
lordtaco@reddit
I had to learn to write autoexec files as a kid and make boot disks for different games to support different memory access types.
BookerV79@reddit
I think this is the reason I have no mystery around technology. Learning these things as a kid made me really get a feel for how they worked. My kids now look at these things like magic boxes and have no idea how they do what they do.
xnef1025@reddit
Greatest thing ever was when we figured out my friend’s Packard Bell came with a program that could close Windows, run the game, then restart Windows again. Launching DOS games from an icon felt like the future.
thewilldog@reddit
LOADHIGH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE.COM
musicpheliac@reddit
This was the start of my career in IT, and all because of Doom!
TrappistBanana@reddit
Same here, but was Elite on my Dad's 'work' PC (was a big beige typewrite with a screen basically)
Diver_Ill@reddit
Lol, same bro. Got into pcs and software in order to pay DOS games
RLIwannaquit@reddit
writing out those long ass DOS commands to copy a multi disk game or program to other multiple discs got pretty complicated
Centmo@reddit
himem.sys :)
TangFiend@reddit
Learning TCP/IP stack and how to get everyone on a network was my peak Xennial moment.
Also, I can kick any of of your butts at Quake 1. Come at me
SloppySquatchy@reddit
damn nostalgia you win again.....giving me 5th grade anxiety hearing those beeps and bops!!
NoBot-RussiaBad@reddit
What you know about dir/p.... Bitch??!!!!??!!!
Peeping-Tom-Collins@reddit
I remember when we got our first SoundBlaster card. We had the "WHAMP WHAMP" PC speaker when playing Wolfenstien 3D. Made those games WAY more intense.
S1ayer@reddit
"Your Soundcard works perfectly"
Vinoy_Double-Wide@reddit
Wolfenstein is where it was at. Hours and hours playing that game
comicshopgrl@reddit
Loved Wolfenstein so much.
5kin5uit@reddit
now do multiplayer
actionerror@reddit
Don’t forget to enable your math co-processor for that extra oomph of speed!
ProfessorMAGAForever@reddit
Good old days
LilAssG@reddit
We're not saying there's no radiation from this monitor, but it is low. I had a different but the same sticker and I put it on my microwave in my first apartment and it made everyone feel better about the popcorn.
The_C0u5@reddit
My buddy used to reinstall doom every time he wanted to play it because that was the only way he knew to launch it. His whole family thanked me when I taught him the launch prompts
nosocivil@reddit
Install those wads!
sauvandrew@reddit
Doom was my jaaaaaaaam!
kanekong@reddit
This felt like putting on an old pair of pajamas.
AccordingMycologist4@reddit
I miss the days of editing autoexec.bat and trying to get enough bloody RAM! Tbh probably spent more time on that than playing the games!
nostyleguide@reddit
If only they knew that in a few years we'd have MacOS 7.5 and Marathon. Amazing how much things improved in so short a time.
COME ON, NERDS. WHO WANTS TO BEEF LIKE IT'S 1997?
Swimming-Trifle-899@reddit
OMG this takes me back. My Dad was an IBM technician, and I was learning DOS at 6 years old. Anyone remember the Simpsons Doom mod (it was horrible, but I didn’t think so as a pre-teen)
redfalcondeath@reddit
Yes! The Simpsons mod was the first I’d ever installed onto a game. Was able to swap out some of the sound files and thought I was a hacker, lol.
psychohistorian8@reddit
Wolfenstein 3D for me
my dad gave me a floppy disk with instructions written on a piece of paper how to get into DOS, switch drives, and launch the game
redfalcondeath@reddit
Oh how I wish to go back to those days of gaming again.
selfishaddict@reddit
iddqd
frougle_mcdugal@reddit
Yeah, Doom was cool. But how does everyone feel about Loom?
Beezel_Pepperstack@reddit
Well, either that or...
emtreebelowater@reddit
I distinctly remember the transition from command line gaming to Windows gaming. I was so sceptical that Windows left enough system to run the games well.
pwmg@reddit
I forgot about the "low radiation" flex. It's like "look: we're not going to tell you there's no radiation blasting in your face, but we're doing the best we can here."
Jash09@reddit
I used to be so good at DOS. Wolfenstein 3d taught me everything I needed to know
RightInTheBuff@reddit
Wolfenstein
Hot-Permission-5287@reddit
IDKFA bitches!
philouza_stein@reddit
Being a PC gamer in the 90s is probably why I'm not a PC gamer today. So many headaches.
Global-Jury8810@reddit
I wouldn’t know how to start a game now but I sure did back then.
jessewest84@reddit
You need to have like a 4000$ computer to run doom at today's standards.
My 90s pc was a 286.
This phone blows it out of the water.
And it's weird.
RLIwannaquit@reddit
should add the doom eternal music to this lol "We send unto them, only you"
DanCooper666@reddit
30+ years later and I'm still playing the hell out if Doom games 🍻🤘
BlackieDad@reddit
According to that Steam year end review thing, Doom 2 was one of my most played games last year. Only difference is now I’m playing it on my Steam Deck in bed instead of the family desktop in the living room.
DanCooper666@reddit
I'm currently finishing Doom Eternal for the first time. Been taking the last couple of levels slow like a good meal. Probably gonna replay it as soon as I finish up. Rip and tear brother 🍻🤘💥💥💥
DLeck@reddit
Beat DOOM using only the pistol when I was 7. Around 7 at least.
Iconic game. It changed everything.
MarkyGalore@reddit
It's amazing how we ever got that to work.
xnef1025@reddit
I did not copy the disc to the HDD and install from a folder. I only had 30MB to work with. I installed right off the A drive.
seivad9@reddit
Was watching this without sound but could still hear the drive. Ah, memories…
Bertybassett99@reddit
Some of us had Amigas and didn't fuck about like that.
DeadpoolAndFriends@reddit
Then_Increase7445@reddit
We were a Mac family, had the standard desktop display in the 80s already.
No_Attention_2227@reddit
About the time I got a compaq presario from price club. Bought a 3dfx card like 2 years later