Octopus Overlords

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 12:36 am


I have a nostalgic soft spot for Sid Meier's Covert Action, so I'd love to see a modern revival that incorporates updated and improved gameplay mechanics. Despite its age, the original game’s core gameplay is still engaging, though some minigame mechanics are undeniably outdated and clunky. A modern adaptation could revamp and refine those minigames, making them more polished and enjoyable. The procedurally generated cases were also a standout feature of the original, providing a strong sense of player agency, as characters within a given plot could be intercepted at any moment or go into hiding if their particular job was completed or rendered impossible by your actions. With today's technology, those elements could be further developed, offering richer and more complex narratives to further enhance the intrigue and overall experience.

Oh my god yes, this. One of my absolute favorite games, and ahead of it's time.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 11:46 pm

Zarathud wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 11:21 pm Wasteland

Wasteland has 2 modern sequels as well as a 2020 remaster of the original game. That's probably as rebooted as it's going to get.

Yep, I have all of them. I tried to play the remastered original and just …couldn’t.

I did put quite a few hours into the Bard’s Tale remaster that was fine by the same team IIRC.

I was really hoping they were going to announce the long-rumored reboot/remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics during Sony’s State of Play yesterday. Alas…

Emperor of the fading suns and Merchant Prince were both strategy games where you competed against other players while requiring you to occasionally cooperate with them. That's a mechanic I would like to see duplicated. I think there is something on steam coming out around fading suns.

dfs wrote: ↑Wed Sep 25, 2024 11:45 am I think there is something on steam coming out around fading suns.

There is, it's been on my wishlist for about 6 months now but it doesn't seem to have a release date yet. It looks like they have a demo, though.

Good call on Lemmings. Played that a lot in the 90's. I think the series crashed and burned after they tried making a 3d version. But it wasn't so much their fault so much as many early 3D games were very clunky. These days, I think they could easily use 3d models instead of sprites.

Definitely Thief... though we already tried that and it didn't go so well. I'd settle for a Dishonored 3 if it stuck closely to how the first 2 games played.

I also still wish Nintendo would re-do Metroid Zero Mission, Samus Returns, Super Metroid, and Fusion for the Switch using the engine used for Dread. That would be awesome.

Yeah, I'd love another Dishonored, but with half the creative force behind the series gone thanks to the closure of one of Arkane's studios, that will likely never happen. I loved the first two and disliked Death to the Outsider. Arkane's strengths definitely like in the immersive sim genre.

Pirates! needs a reboot. Or a re-peg.

We seem to see a new one once every few generations, but I agree, it's probably time to see a new one. I think the last one was the one where they introduced the dancing minigame. I'd love to see them give it a first-person point of view as an option.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2024 3:52 pm We seem to see a new one once every few generations, but I agree, it's probably time to see a new one. I think the last one was the one where they introduced the dancing minigame. I'd love to see them give it a first-person point of view as an option.

Um. not how I recall reality.


First, while there are a number of pirate games out there - none of them are remotely trying to be a reboot of Pirates!.

Second, in the game: Pirates! - on release in 2004, there was (and as far as I know, always) a dancing mini-game for romancing the daughter at the Goverer's ball.

Unagi wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2024 6:41 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Fri Sep 27, 2024 3:52 pm We seem to see a new one once every few generations, but I agree, it's probably time to see a new one. I think the last one was the one where they introduced the dancing minigame. I'd love to see them give it a first-person point of view as an option.

Um. not how I recall reality.


First, while there are a number of pirate games out there - none of them are remotely trying to be a reboot of Pirates!.

Second, in the game: Pirates! - on release in 2004, there was (and as far as I know, always) a dancing mini-game for romancing the daughter at the Goverer's ball.

First version I was aware of was through my a friend of mine's C64. This version was also available on multiple platforms at the time, including the NES. Then in the 90's they redid it as Pirates! Gold. Pretty much the same game, but with better graphics, using the original game and its menus as a basis. The 2004 version is the one you remember, it's the one they attempted to modernize by using 3d graphics, and that one is the one that added the dancing. It wasn't in any of the previous versions that I had played. I remember hearing how annoyed people were at the 'new' dancing minigame. This was the most recent version of the game, and there hasn't been a new Sid Meier's Pirates! since.

So, it's surprisingly been more than 24 years since the last last one and I definitely think we're overdue.

I think Rumpy's got it correct.

I played the original on C-64 as well, sometime in the mid-80s IIRC. Looks like it was released in 1987 so I guess I was in college at the time. I thought it was earlier than that.

Pirates! Gold was like a Super VGA update to Pirates!

The dancing game, and the sneaking into town and hiding behind hay bales was all in 2004. I still have that game, in its box, on a shelf above my computer although I haven't played it in years and don't even have a CD/DVD drive in my current PC. I think my paper map from the original C64 Pirates! is in there, too!

I played tons of the original and the 2004 version, much less of Pirates! Gold.

Sierra Games SWAT franchise and Rainbow Six the way it used to be with the mission planning, not this multiplayer stuff we have today.

But at least Door Kickers 1&2 scratches that mission planning itch.

(Big fat apologies to Rumpy)

Wait, I must have played both of these games then?, and I'm conflating the two.


edit/update: Okay - I looked up some history - and watched video of 1987 Pirates!

I dare say that, nostalgically, and as far as my original "We need a reboot of:" comment; I think I'm only a 2004 "Sid Meier's Pirates!" fan. I recall the very-original, but had backgrounded that game as an entirely other thing, played breifly on my neighbor's IBM.

I am indeed speaking to the 2004/Sid Meier's labeled version (which was a reboot of the 87' version)


So yes, while Pirates! has been rebooted before (back in 2004) - I'm wanting a new new one.

And, totally drop the dancing mini-game.

I bought the 2004 version twice, once on the XBox 360 and again on Steam. I played the OG version on the Amiga, but I don't believe I ever had it on PC.

I bought the 2004 version, loaned it out, and never got it back. I barely remember it because of this. My uncle had it on the Amiga. Presumably the SVGA upgrade version and I remember it having exception graphics for the time. It felt like the most realistic thing I had ever seen on a computer and that it would hard to ever match.

Unagi wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 10:27 am (Big fat apologies to Rumpy)

Wait, I must have played both of these games then?, and I'm conflating the two.


edit/update: Okay - I looked up some history - and watched video of 1987 Pirates!

I dare say that, nostalgically, and as far as my original "We need a reboot of:" comment; I think I'm only a 2004 "Sid Meier's Pirates!" fan. I recall the very-original, but had backgrounded that game as an entirely other thing, played breifly on my neighbor's IBM.

I am indeed speaking to the 2004/Sid Meier's labeled version (which was a reboot of the 87' version)


So yes, while Pirates! has been rebooted before (back in 2004) - I'm wanting a new new one.

And, totally drop the dancing mini-game.

No worries. I get it. I feel that there have been enough versions to confuse them. And I'm really surprised we haven't seen a new one at this point, as pirates are generally pretty popular as a gaming era and would generally be an easy sell. But that does make me wonder, who holds the rights? Fireaxis?

I've been fascinated and addicted to the series ever since I first saw it on my friend's C64. I really had no idea that such a game was possible at the time, and it ignited a sense of imagination and adventure. Possibly one of the first truly open-world games at the time, which is pretty impressive for the 80's. And it's a really unique series in the sense that rather than spawning sequels, it's gotten reboots or new versions once every few generations. I definitely would be curious at what they could do with newer technology. I think the 2004 version feels rather clunky right now. And I agree, definitely drop the dancing minigame.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 9:51 am Sierra Games SWAT franchise and Rainbow Six the way it used to be with the mission planning, not this multiplayer stuff we have today.

I’d like to add these to my list, please.

I thought of another, Laser Squad Nemesis. I think it's Julian Gallop's best game.

Thought of another, Anvil of Dawn

Edit: Also like to add Sin and Septerra Core

Oh, it should have occurred to me sooner - we had a short burst of first/third person strategy games in the late 90s/early 2000s, and the genre has quietly vanished. So, I'll add:

Battlezone
Sacrifice

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 9:18 pm Oh, it should have occurred to me sooner - we had a short burst of first/third person strategy games in the late 90s/early 2000s, and the genre has quietly vanished. So, I'll add:

Battlezone
Sacrifice

Battlezone did get a remake back in 2016:

Hammer of the Gods - it wasn't the most exciting game ever, but between the norse mythology/pantheon and the quests, it really worked for me.

Imperialism 2.
Star Fleet Command 2 (not 3).
Dawn of War 1 (2 was ok but different, 3 was meh, really like the playstyle of 1; and no COH does not do it for me - though that's probably in part the theme, WW2 is a decent enough theme for a war game, but WH40K is much more visually cool and interesting sounding).

Terra Nova Stike force Centauri
Mission force Cyberstorm

Archinerd wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:12 pm I thought of another, Laser Squad Nemesis. I think it's Julian Gallop's best game.

Good lord I hope it was an AI playing the swarm on that one because that was one terrible performance.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 10:05 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Oct 01, 2024 9:18 pm Oh, it should have occurred to me sooner - we had a short burst of first/third person strategy games in the late 90s/early 2000s, and the genre has quietly vanished. So, I'll add:

Battlezone
Sacrifice

Battlezone did get a remake back in 2016:

I've played it. It's just a remaster - not a continuation or reboot.

Jaddison wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2024 8:09 am Terra Nova Stike force Centauri
Mission force Cyberstorm

Never played Terra Nova Strike force Centauri.

I'd be interested in a Mission force Cyberstorm remake though. That's fairly similar in style of play to the Battletech game release a couple years back with turn based movement/control.

Zenn7 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2024 6:15 pm Never played Terra Nova Strike force Centauri.

Oh, you're missing out. Surprisingly fast powered armor with customizable loadouts (to an extent, it's no Mechwarrior), pretty good story, extremely cheesy cutscenes that surpass Wing Commander III and the original Command & Conquer, huge variety and quantity of missions. Ordering your squadmates around while getting shot at. So much fun.

The control scheme is god-awful now because people hadn't figured out basic WASD + Mouse yet back when it was released. No, it's gotta be arrow keys and then look around with another set of keys but you can still use the mouse for some things...

Personally, I could go for some Freespace or TIE Fighter.

Granted, Freespace doesn't really need a reboot, you can just fire up "Freespace Open" and play through those original campaigns. X-Wing/TIE Fighter can be played in the X-Wing Alliance engine (although it took me an incredibly long time to get it set up), so that doesn't really need a reboot either. But I'd love to get a space combat game in the Freespace/X-Wing/TIE Fighter vein. Star Wars Squadrons was ok, but had lots of gimmicks, not enough dogfighting and too much multiplayer/microtransactions/EA.

NickAragua wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 12:42 am

Zenn7 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2024 6:15 pm Never played Terra Nova Strike force Centauri.

Oh, you're missing out. Surprisingly fast powered armor with customizable loadouts (to an extent, it's no Mechwarrior), pretty good story, extremely cheesy cutscenes that surpass Wing Commander III and the original Command & Conquer, huge variety and quantity of missions. Ordering your squadmates around while getting shot at. So much fun.

I played it quite a bit. I recall the powered armor, jumpjets, and different vision modes made me think of what the Starship Troopers (book) powered armor would be like. I think I stopped playing when the bad controls + gameplay difficulty became too frustrating for me.

raydude wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 11:12 am

NickAragua wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 12:42 am

Zenn7 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2024 6:15 pm Never played Terra Nova Strike force Centauri.

Oh, you're missing out. Surprisingly fast powered armor with customizable loadouts (to an extent, it's no Mechwarrior), pretty good story, extremely cheesy cutscenes that surpass Wing Commander III and the original Command & Conquer, huge variety and quantity of missions. Ordering your squadmates around while getting shot at. So much fun.

I played it quite a bit. I recall the powered armor, jumpjets, and different vision modes made me think of what the Starship Troopers (book) powered armor would be like. I think I stopped playing when the bad controls + gameplay difficulty became too frustrating for me.

Exactly! I loved it because it made me think this is what Starship Troopers was describing
I wouldn't mind a Strike Commander remake either

OK, I'll throw in my opinion on this thread... Sid Meier's SimGolf



I really enjoyed designing golf courses and then being able to play them.

It's never going to happen, but my pick would be Marvel Heroes. It's still my most-played game on Steam at 2422 hours, although ESO has crept up to within a couple hundred hours of the title.

Rumpy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 3:03 pm
[snip] I definitely would be curious at what they could do with newer technology. I think the 2004 version feels rather clunky right now. And I agree, definitely drop the dancing minigame.

Man, what I would give to see an update to Pirates! I still do a play through of the 2004 version every couple of years via Steam, in fact I just finished one last week. It is easily my all time favorite comfort game, and I even like the dancing!

There was another version I don't think anybody mentioned - it was a variant of the 2004 version but for iOS on the iPad. I didn't play it too much at the time, but it replaced the raids with naval bombardment and a few other tweaks: https://sidmeierspirates.fandom.com/wik ... d_Version)

I don’t know if it was mentioned yet but I’d like to play an updated version of Silent Storm

infinitelurker wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 8:53 pm

Rumpy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 28, 2024 3:03 pm
[snip] I definitely would be curious at what they could do with newer technology. I think the 2004 version feels rather clunky right now. And I agree, definitely drop the dancing minigame.

Man, what I would give to see an update to Pirates! I still do a play through of the 2004 version every couple of years via Steam, in fact I just finished one last week. It is easily my all time favorite comfort game, and I even like the dancing!

There was another version I don't think anybody mentioned - it was a variant of the 2004 version but for iOS on the iPad. I didn't play it too much at the time, but it replaced the raids with naval bombardment and a few other tweaks: https://sidmeierspirates.fandom.com/wik ... d_Version)

Yeah, interestingly, while I did look it up (Mobygames is a cool resource!), the two versions seem to be lumped together under one entry since they're so closely related.

https://www.mobygames.com/group/43/sid- ... es-series/

$iljanus wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 9:29 pm I don’t know if it was mentioned yet but I’d like to play an updated version of Silent Storm

Oooh, yes, please!

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 12:40 am OK, I'll throw in my opinion on this thread... Sid Meier's SimGolf


I really enjoyed designing golf courses and then being able to play them.

Yeah, I really enjoyed this one.
I wonder if it's on GOG or similar service...

...nope. it is on a few abandonware sites tho.

I have the sudden itch to play Conquest of the New World, so that is my choice for now.