Jump to content
XCOMUFO & Xenocide

What Sucked You Into Buying This Game?


bravado11

  

182 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

Erm...

X-COM being in the public domain might not be quite true (my suspicion is that local copyright laws differ...)

Abandonware sites vary by the criteria for which they will put a game up. All the game being on an abandonware site means is they don't think the publisher is likely to sue them for it.

Copyright turned on or off, I would agree with those Abandonware sites. The odds of the publisher seeking to sue you for any of the oriignal 3 X-COM games seems rather remote. Might be slightly more likely to sue for pirating Interceptor, but maybe not, who knows?

In any event, getting the accurate scoop on what is or isn't in the public domain is so annoyingly difficult that I don't think the original games will be released on this site anytime soon. (I do find it interesting that one Abandonware site I went to had Terror from the Deep but didn't think UFO Defense was abandoned yet... haha)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 109
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I don't know where I got it, but I do know that before I bought the game its self, I was mesmorized just on playing the demo (which if I recall was a terror mission, with snakedudes and those scary morphy brainsucking zombie-makers. Ok I admit it, I can't spell their name).

When I finally got the game, I was playing nothing but that and maybe X-Wing for that whole year.

Then one day I was cleaning out my game shelf and lent a bunch to my nephews (once it became apparent I couldn't get it running on my pc then). I finally got it again as a download, however it included someone's hacked saved games with it. I can't even remember where I got it, but it gave me 6 stocked bases with 3 avengers apiece and a whole lotta soldiers at commander rank.

Once that novelty ran out (ok, it didn't really, but I could only max my soldiers stats out so far before they reverted back to worse than new recruit ability...and o'course somewhere after raking in 2 billion, the game suddenly takes that balance and puts me in the negative 2 billion or whatever it is heh), I started a fresh game on easy and I still lost after a few months :D

I really miss those Avengers. You learn to appreciate them when you start over and your Skyrangers and Interceptors barely move across the screen fast enough to catch anything.

Guess I need to go back and rethink my research strategy, after I figure out where to go for my next download (I figure I'll just let the nephews keep my copy), preferably one that's just the core game. I want to try out the editing stuff here but if I use that one cracked one I got, it may interfere with it. I'll probably end up caving in and getting someone's used copy, but I dread hand me downs on ebay or whatever and I shudder to think what condition my copy's in now being in my nephews hands so long :D And downloads are risky in their own right.

Does anyone know if they still sell fresh copies from the developer?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! :)

Now I have a version issue. Do I go with the CE version? I can't remember which one my last one was with the save game cracks on it, but I also see there's a 1.2 for Enemy Unknown. Just curious what the differences are. I never had the CE version, just the original on CD (whichever one that was heh) and the aforementioned cracked one.

I also downloaded the editor thing (the cwxce152.zip) I take it that editor is for the CE version?

Anyway, I'm anxious to try out this other editor. Back in the day it was all hex editing manually and boy did that always confuse me :)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Snakeman' date='Aug 16 2004, 11:30 PM']Thanks! :)

Now I have a version issue.  Do I go with the CE version?  I can't remember which one my last one was with the save game cracks on it, but I also see there's a 1.2 for Enemy Unknown.  Just curious what the differences are. I never had the CE version, just the original on CD (whichever one that was heh) and the aforementioned cracked one.

I also downloaded the editor thing (the cwxce152.zip)  I take it that editor is for the CE version?

Anyway, I'm anxious to try out this other editor.  Back in the day it was all hex editing manually and boy did that always confuse me :)
[right][post="90765"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

CE works (sort of) in windows. Original doesn't. CE also has much suckier sounds, although an intrepid modmaker has released a remedy for that (search these forums thouroughly. I think it's stickied.)

The clark weyer editor suite (what you downloaded) works for both original and CE. Or at least it does for me.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, yeah, I think I also remember someone mentionning a fix for the crappy sounds, where is that??
Can anyone post a link? Please!
I'd very much appreciate getting the same creepy soundscape as the original... with the neat little corrections of the 1.4 CE version (to be able to scroll through the inventory, among other things), and the great mod to slow down the time in the geoscape to the original levels, it would be great!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Mine is family.

My cousin gave us his computer way back when I was around like 8 and my brother and I played TFTD all the time.

Of course we sucked ^_^ and had to use my cousin's saved games as a handicap.

I still remember the first few times my brother and I played it. We thought the Hallucunoid was the queen alien. :D :hammer:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't you played Tftd?, heck, and you call yourself an Xcom fan?, get outta my sight!. Hehe, an Hallucinoid was one of the aliens in Terror from the Deep, a jellyfish like creature.
I didn't buy the game at all, I just found it in a cd full of games, back 7 or 8 years ago.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Paladin' date='Sep 13 2004, 09:13 AM']^_^ Halucinoid as a queen alien?? 
hehe... those even more useless than a reaper thingies were quite cool to look at, but that was it... :D
[right][post="94221"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
Well, we were little so our imaginations and lack of common sense... :blink: You get the picture.

Also, my brother and I didn't read the UFOpaedia so we tried to use weapons that worked underwater on land... :cussing:

I remembered when we first saw a Calcinate(SP?). We thought it was a woman civy. And when it killed our troops, we thought it was slapping them to death... :LOL:

We hesitated about a few turns before we shot it and found it was a freaking alien.... :stupid: :hammer:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Geesh, talk about lack of common sense... :LOL:
I was, like 15 the time XCOM came out, and I had some help with it, so I guess it's hard to imagine how you came to think that...
Then again, I had time to finish XCOM1 Wayyyyy before I tried TFTD, so I was'nt surprised that much, I was just glad for the interface & graphics ameliorations... :D
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Paladin' date='Sep 14 2004, 10:26 AM']Geesh, talk about lack of common sense... :LOL:
I was, like 15 the time XCOM came out, and I had some help with it, so I guess it's hard to imagine how you came to think that...
Then again, I had time to finish XCOM1 Wayyyyy before I tried TFTD, so I was'nt surprised that much, I was just glad for the interface & graphics ameliorations...  :D
[right][post="94393"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
I also had another tactic of cruelty. :devillaugh:
This was made up when I was like 12 or 13.

I basically did this:

If you're on a desert map and there's like a hill and the top of that hill stretches for a like maybe 8x8. You can Psi all the aliens and make a weapons testing center.

Start shooting holes in the 8x8 hill. If you shoot a hole, the hole will be deep enough so that the alien can't get out unless you shoot a hole by the edge of the hill.

Once you've made enough holes, make all the aliens drop into the holes in the hill. Now float all your guys up if they're near the hill. The holes are deep enough so aliens can't get out, besides Floaters.

Then use a Blaster Launcher and basically blow them up.

If the hill is fairly large enough, you can probably drop different bombs and stuff to test how resiliant an alien is. :devillaugh: Edited by ChinShu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
i first got this game ina compliation. I had a copy of Beneath a Steel Sky on floppy and the disks got corrupted. I wanted another copy cos it's a ace game, so i called a mail order company who told me i could get the game on it's own for £25, or i could get it in a compliation for £10.

The other games in the set were:

Dune 2
Ufo - Enemy Unknown
Beneath a Steel Sky
F16 Interceptor

All for £10!! bargain.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
i was about 14 or so and i remember it was when you could rent pc games from blockbuster (only for a short time) and my friend had rented TFTD. needless to say i was awestruck and just fell in love. i later (about a week or two later) played the original when i found out that another buddy of mine (lived two doors down from my friend who had TFTD) owned the original.

so i've been playing and have beaten both, but now am just getting back into it because i found out about DosBox.... thank the pc lord :rock:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I originally bought X-Com: UFO Defense (USA) on the PSX in 96 and I was totally absorbed in it. It is probably one of the best games that I have ever played, but it suffered from slow loading times and eventually the game was put away for this reason, but it was never forgotten. :boohoo:

I then bought UFO: Enemy Unknown (Europe) CDROM on ebay 2 years ago, but the speed issue was ridiculous even with mo'slo the sectoids were wizzing about the planet like they were on speed, and in the Geoscape a day came and went in a nano-second...not good. Then I upgraded to XP pro and it wouldn't load at all. Back in the box it went for another 2 years, but not forgotten. :boohoo:

I Recently searched for and found UFO: Enemy Unknown v1.2 which I got working on XP with DosBox, and last night I found the UFO Gold Collection version. My life is now complete. :rock: I can't wait to kick some alien butt when I get home from work later. Has anyone noticed that the European version is a bit harder the American one, or is it just me? :argue:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

X-Com UFO Defense I saw in the discount bin at a Software Etc nad got it for around $5 bucks. I had $20 so I got the strategy guide as well for like $15. Had to be 93-95 I dont remember, it was the dos cd, which I still have and the 1.4 patch cause for some reason it never accepts the pass codes from my manual.

TFTD I got a Computer show along with its Unofficial Strat Guide for about $10 total, the game was only $2 or $3. Played it as soon as I got home, didn't read the manual or anything :idea: , just installed and played. Imagine how upset I was when I got to my first terror mission and none of my weapons worked (that'll teach me not read the stinking manual) :hammer: :stupid: :hammer:

I know read the manual of every game I get at least twice before even installing it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
sorta old thread, but it's near the top..so meh..whatever...anyway

I bought it back in oh...93 I'd say (either that or 94). To be completely honest, I have no idea why I bought it. I saw it sitting there, I saw that "avenger" type ship on the front. I gave the back a look-over and shrugged. After looking around I bought it instead and boy....was that my best mistake ever. I've been playing ever since, with some small lapses since I have an attention span problem (like 4 months of a game and I've had enough for a long time) bought TFTD, bought Apoc, and bought Interceptor.

Through out the years though I've lost 5 retail copies of x-com, 2 of TFTD, 1 of Apoc, and well..I just sold interceptor back since I didn't like it (which is odd because I love Wing Commander and other such games)

BEST....GAME.....EVER :wub: Edited by Mzuz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I picked in up in either late 96 or early 97. I read an article in one of the game magazines about the 50 greatest games ever and it was in the top 10. A month or so later I was looking thru the bargain bin at CompUSA and saw X-com for $3.99 - I remembered it was on the list so I bought it even though I wasn't sure if I would like the game. Well I loved the game but a few months later I got a new computer and couldn't get X-com to run on it (and I had already sold my old computer).

Just recently I stumbled onto info about DosBox & with some tweaking I have it running on my newest computer. I've never been so excited to play a game that had just been laying about my house for 6 years!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Mzuz' date='Feb 8 2005, 12:45 PM']sorta old thread, but it's near the top..so meh..whatever...anyway

I bought it back in oh...93 I'd say (either that or 94). To be completely honest, I have no idea why I bought it. I saw it sitting there, I saw that "avenger" type ship on the front. I gave the back a look-over and shrugged. After looking around I bought it instead and boy....was that my best mistake ever. I've been playing ever since, with some small lapses since I have an attention span problem (like 4 months of a game and I've had enough for a long time) bought TFTD, bought Apoc, and bought Interceptor.

Through out the years though I've lost 5 retail copies of x-com, 2 of TFTD, 1 of Apoc, and well..I just sold interceptor back since I didn't like it (which is odd because I love Wing Commander and other such games)

BEST....GAME.....EVER  :wub:
[right][post="109914"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]
You bought it instead of what?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
EldritchEvil's reports on battlereports.com.

You can read them here:

[url="http://www.battlereports.com/users/thedrone/xcom1/br.html"]Part 1[/url]

[url="http://www.battlereports.com/users/thedrone/xcom2/br.html"]Part 2[/url]

[url="http://www.battlereports.com/users/thedrone/xcom3/br.html"]Part 3[/url]

[url="http://www.battlereports.com/users/thedrone/xcom4/br.html"]Part 4[/url]

[url="http://www.battlereports.com/users/thedrone/xcom5/br.html"]Part 5[/url]

Then I searched for X-Com forums and found then here. Edited by wakiki
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I originaly found it after a friend told me about a site for abandoned games after I asked where to find a copy of Civ2 (I used to have it) When he did he said, "In search type in UFO and try the game that comes up. Its really good." After exploring the site for a few days I remembered his words and tried the game.

It was X-Com UFO Defence Gold Edition. I had a long run of playing the game, I started to play it during computer science class (for learing VB) one of those days we had a substitute. The guy that ran the computer lab Mr Forester.

Well as I was playing he yelled "Mr Lancto is that X-com?" I thought I was in trouble but it turned out he was a huge fan (he's kinda old but loves computers) He ended up telling me about how much of a "jewel" it was and that it had a few sequels. Then he asked me where I found it cause he had lost his copy. So I told him and my friend saw him playing it later that afternoon.

I would buy it but I dont have much of a means to. I havnt seen it once at a store and I cant order it online as I'm the only one who knows how to use a computer in the house. Edited by Tithis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

well
if you used to have a copy then i think you should be able to download it, my copy is safe in my desk, but won't run on XP, so i downloaded it. And i feel fine
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine are all on zips and the the EU cd is the cd book, UFOD floppies were thrown out after being put on zip, X-Com 2 is in my "Favorites" cd book, and X-Com 3 is in my friends lap top. I always know where ALL my copies are :D Edited by Mustang
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='blehm' date='Aug 5 2005, 07:27 PM']well
if you used to have a copy then i think you should be able to download it, my copy is safe in my desk, but won't run on XP, so i downloaded it.  And i feel fine
[right][post="127647"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]

If you've bought a copy, the law permits you to make one extra copy in case of damage or theft to the original, or to acquire another copy free of charge from another source. I think.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I watched a friend playing UFO on an A1200. Back then it came on floppy disks but the AGA version at least didn't have disk activity every time you scrolled the battlescape. It was magic.

I got a shot at UFO myself a little later with a rather decreipt A500 with, you guessed it, the not-so-good version which churned the disks for data quite regularly. So I persevered with it a while, and I think I must have beaten it at some point.

I picked it up for the PC a few years later, and of course it played a bit better. Since then it's been on and off.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...
[quote name='koriand'r' date='Dec 18 2005, 08:53 AM']My Dad brought it years and years ago for the PC since it was cheap *under the 3 for £10 game offers* And became addicted to it since.
[right][post="142288"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]


I bought it when I was 11..... Friend had played it so I bought it and LOVED it then I bought the other two as well.... B)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
Owned a Video-Game Store and was requested by my best customer (Playstation Version)..ordered it for him n saw what an awesome game it was...I was hooked.

heh when I saw TFTD in a Bargain bin in a Electronics store for $1.99 i bought it immediatly....a week later i bought close to $2,000 bucks worth of computer crap to play it on heh..whatta bargain 1.99
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I`d only just bought my new state of the art PC, (DX2 66mhz). B)

So was looking for something to start me off with it, as I`ve always been inclined towards strategy I bought Master of Orion which was bundled with a game called UFO:Enemy Unknown.

The combination of those two games nearly cost me my job. LOL

 

Pretty good buy if you ask me. :D

Edited by Sir Crashalot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
I didnt buy it. Long time ago i had a friend who had it, and i loved it (i was only like 11 too). Now, years later, i found it legally for free online!

 

I've been on an old PC game kick since the oldest games I had played presiously were Doom, Duke3D, and Blood. I saw a high rating for this and downloaded it earlier tonight nad checked it out. It's VERY confusing at first and still is, I'll have to check out some guides on how to play the damn thing, but I really love what I see so far. They definitely do not make em like this anymore! These old games are complex. The atmosphere and "feel" of the early days is really exciting in these older games and this game should be a new experience for me. I love Sci-Fi games in outer space. Can wait to delve further into this game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the forums!

 

This game is as buggy as anything, and very difficult to learn if it's your first time at it (well, your soldiers die - a lot.) But all said, it's a good game once you've learned the ropes.

 

Be sure to ask any questions you've got. The regulars will gladly deluge you with answers and suggestions for you to try and steer you in the right direction.

 

- NKF

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought this new at the shop in the mall. One of my first computer games. I loved sci-fi at the time and the theme was great.

 

I think I was making good progress in the game at that time, but the 1.0 version had a bug. If you saved with troop ships heading to a crash site, your save was subtley corrupted. Then you would load it and it would play ok for some random time and crash.

 

I couldn't stand all the crashing and I couldn't play an entire game in one sitting. So I gave up on it for years. Then one day I got on an "oldschool" kick. Did some internet searches and now every year I play WAY too much for a while.

 

I think I only finished the game once. Once I reach and equilibrium with money and bases I get a little board, plus it takes SOOO long to make those psi labs and get ready for mars.

 

-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

X-Com TFTD was my first computer game i ever, ever played. I got it in tandem with my first PC, because it had a cool cover. After that, I bought UFO:EU, because I thought "hey, tftd is so cool, lets try that too!"

 

While TFTD was way, way too hard for me when I was ten, UFO was much more manageable. Thusly, more fun. (that was ten years ago :c ... what a midget i was back then :x)

 

:)

Edited by Cornuthaum
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Back in 1997 I bought a Playstation just for Final Fantasy 7. Shortly after that it was Civ 2. Then I was in a game store one day with a friend of mine, and he suddenly picked up the PS version of X-Com and started telling me how it was my cup of tea. I bought the game for $20 USD, and played it non-stop (with a few breaks for school and work). I eventually found another guy who had X-Com 1-3 for the PC, and got my hands on the Dos versions of all 3. I played X-Com and Apoc on a 3.1 machine until I was regularly using Windows XP and I couldn't get them to work anymore. Then DOSBox came along and I play it almost by default (with a few breaks for eh... something... I forget what...).

 

By the way, UFO: ET is the new X-Com. Forget the other "laser squad" games. UFO: ET IS THE NEW X-COM. Believe me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Well well... My first post :D

It all started, when I was rather young, about 4 or 5, I don't remember. I was playing a lot of DOS games, had a CD full of DOS games, 600 Mb-s of pleasure.

Eventually I've found UFO. (well actually I've found TFTD, because it's executable was "terror.bat" or something like that, and I wanted to be terrorised B) .

I was quite disappointed, I couldn't speak English, and there was that Earth thingy, and those shadows, and stuff, I asked myself "Where is the terror??? :( ". I didn't understand a thing. But I did buy some things, and I liked the pictures of the guy holding a suitcase of money, and I love money, so I've continued.

When I spotted a UFO, I've miracelly sent the subs, and got it downed, I was all happy and all. But then they've all kept going, and I didn't know what's going on.

5 years later I've found the CD again. I've then learned basic English, so I was all "WTF THIS GAME ROX, I WANNA BUY THIS!!!!!" and so I did. On eBay. Thanks a lot for my dad =b . I love the pictures on the box :D .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...