Long day

[altivo]

But don't have to go back to work until Weds. evening.

Poking around in old/vintage computer game stuff looking for something to suit Gary's interest in Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey novels. In other words, sailing ships, late 18th to early 19th century. Could be pirate-based, or military, or exploring, but needs some elements of actual maneuvering of a square rigged sailing ship. I found some that were largely concerned with accumulating treasure or merchant goods, but nothing that had much about dealing with winds, weather, and navigation. Anyone have ideas?

I'm thinking something along the lines of the modern board game "Regatta" which is a yacht race thing where you have to decide points of sailing and observe right of way rules. Only it would involve older ships.

He's also interested in steampunk, and I gather that "Space 1889" fits into that genre. Any others?

And off to bed.

Comments

[calydor.livejournal.com]

My first thought is Sid Meier's Pirates! Either the version from the early 90s or the newer one from ... 2003, I think.

My second thought is a game title from back in my Amiga days, never played it myself but the title '1864' sprang to the forefront almost immediately.

[altivo]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have Sid Meier's Pirates on my list. I think your other might be 1889 or "Space 1889"? I had that on the Amiga as well, though graphical adventures never worked well for me and I didn't get anywhere with it. I think the PC version is available as "abandonware" and I'll check.

There's something called "Merchant Prince" or "Machiavelli" as well. Ever hear of that one? He's more interested in ship management than in wealth collection, so that's what I'm really looking for.

In the process I ran across something called "Wolf" that I'm going to have to look at myself. It's a simulation in which you are a wolf and have to get along in a pack...

[calydor.livejournal.com]

I've heard of Wolf, it's rather awkward to play if it's the one I'm thinking of.

I'm pretty sure of the title 1864 - it's rather easy for a Dane to remember since that's the year we lost a good part of Jutland to Germany. I have no idea what it's about, though, just remember that the art on the box was a large ship with sails.

[altivo]

Ah, the Schleswig-Holstein War? That would make sense, and apparently there is a game still actively being sold based on that.

But perhaps the one you're thinking of is 1869? Description and download here.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's quite possible. That second image with the title looks like the image left in my head. It's been some 18 or 20 years by now, after all.

Guess I did remember it wrong after all.

[altivo]

I'll spare you any jokes about aging and memory. Last week I drove into town to deposit a check. The bank is next to a gas station. I noticed that the price of gas was (temporarily as it turned out) down by ten cents from the other places in town, so I filled my tank. That was sufficient distraction that I forgot to stop and deposit the check before going home. When I got home I realized I still hadn't deposited the check, but fortunately it wasn't urgent and two days later I finally took care of that. Some people call it a "senior moment" but I think it was more like "Oooh, shiny..."

I've acquired 1869, and two different instruction sets for it. One is the original, transcribed, and the other was written by someone who figured out how to play it by experimentation. We'll see if this meets Gary's requirements. I'll probably get Machiavelli and Pirates! as well, since none of them are large downloads. He'd better not ask me how to play them well, because these things are definitely not my forte.

Straightforward puzzles, like most text adventures or something like Lemmings are more my kind of thing.