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ive been gaming since 1980 just think of how many hours of my life ive wasted

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Being at work 8 hours a day is wasted time, but gaming definately is not. How could joy be wasted time? I know you probably think the same way, but i just wanted to make it clear to anyone who is in doubt about his/her favourite hobby.

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"Sorry for offending your delicate sensibilities. Perhaps my next film will be about a talking dog who braves the harsh realities of the world in a heart warming attempt to find his rightful owners, who mistakenly thought he was dead. That way you could watch it and get a fuzzy feeling inside and when it was over you could all go f*ck yourselves." - Troy Duffy, director of The Boondock Saints

You could'nt have put that better. WORK is without a doubt wasted time. Unless you are a very lucky person, and happen to have a job that is also your hobby! And love it.

We all have our hobbys! My wife and Kids is horses! And it cost me a bloody fortune!

But like they say whats good for the Goose is good for the Gander! And the Gander has a PC and Space Games!

Edited by - Gary Bolton on 27-03-2003 20:55:32

I'll try not to take offense at your comment about middle agers finally catching the game bug... I'm 32. I got my first PC in 1984 (an Atari 800XL) which I used for programming in BASIC and gaming. I got my first PC in 88. I had an ADLIB card before I even got the PC (if anyone even knows what an ADLIB card is). So, that means I've been gaming on a computer for almost 20 years. Many of my friends are the same way. So, I am guessing I have been gaming since before many of you were wearing big boy pants

I am drawn to FL basically because it was likened to Wing Commander. I loved Wing Commander. The first one, mind you, the rest went downhill (keep porn stars in porn, not games). The story was compelling, the gameplay fun. Since this is from the same creator and I read so many things about the "openess" of the game and many different things you could do, I gave it a shot. It's a lot of fun to run around shooting things in a space ship with a friend in MP. It's that open ended feel that really gives it a cool aspect. For example, while I enjoyed Freespace 2, it was rather linear and there weren't many things you could do besides blow stuff up. This is a totally different angle.

34 here. I never got to play any of the Wing Commander or X-Wing games. Never heard of Starlancer until after I played the FL demo (checked the webite and fan sites). I have Elite on a demo disc that Computer Gaming World gave out, but I never bothered to install it. Basically, the last space-combat game I played on a computer would've been...

Star Raiders on my Atari 800XL!

However, I did own a Playstation, and I played the hell out of Colony Wars (excellent game, lousy save feature). The FL demo reminded me of that... I suped-up version of CW. Since I didn't have 5 years (or whatever) of anticipation, I could enjoy Freelancer for what it is...

A real hoot of a arcade-style cinematic-logic space game.

If i'm middle aged now then I'll only live to be 70, yet, I will never regret the time period that I grew up in. From Pong when I was 8, to the Atari 2600 when I was 12, the Commodore 64 when I was 16, and to my first PC in 1988 when I was 20. That computer was the Commodore PC 10. A 4.77 MHZ system with CGA graphics, 5 1/4 floppy, 640 K RAM and a 20 MB hard drive. I added the very first sound card made (The ADLIB board by Sierra) for $300.00. Kings Quest IV was the first game made for a sound card that I can remember. Ever since that time I've been keeping up with the technology as best as I can. Today I am one happy gamer because I just added a 21" flat screen monitor and man does it look good with Freelancer!! What can I say, my eyesight is getting pretty crappy in old age, at least that's my excuse.

Gunnery Sergeant Mark "Thorndog" Thornton
USMC

If 42 is 'middle aged' then I resemble that remark!

I think the deal is (at least for me) that people my age played games like 'Sundog' and 'Elite(2)' way back in the mid to late 80's -- the graphics sucked compared to today, but the gameplay was just as enjoyable as Freelancer. So once I heard that there was going to be something similar to Elite 2 for the PC, I couldn't wait to get ahold of it! Three years of development later and I'm feeling nostalgic all over again about space trading/combat games thanks to Digital Anvil.

Now if only Sid Meyer would do an updated version of 'Pirates' (mmmmm Pirates)... then there'd never be a reason to get off the computer! < wink >

-NL

I will be 33 in april. A 16k spectrum was my first comp. in 1982. After that, a MSX , later a PC XT (4 colour cga!) without hard disc, of course...then 486 and so on.

I remember how someone could fit all the code of a flight simulator in the 16k spectrum, maybe that is less than some of the .ini files of FL.

I've played many games.... But i've been looking forward FL these years because of Privateer. i'm enjoying fl a lot, but agree in that they've made it more simple than it deserved.

Ithink games are like films, just entertainment, and they can be for kids or young or adult people. The only difference i see between them is that the first are interactive while the second are not. Well, i see another difference....the first are addictive and the second are not .

Im 36, I play sitting next to my 10 year old son....he escorts his dad in the old family humpback from system to system.

I too was weaned on the zx80...even rememeber the Elite/BBC micro win ?? $100,000 pounds for the first to Elite race that had me do my first 60+ sleep deprived gaming stint....

Ahhh the zx80...actually told the user in the manual to use a small carton of milk/cream and place it on the top left side of the machines body to prevent overheating.....

To be honest I dont think FL is much of an advance....it needs a better sale effected trade system and the ability to wretle control of a planet system to your alignments thus enabling discounts/weapon restocks etc...also it should cost to use Jump Gates 'specially inter system ones and there should be a fuel cost.....

Some mobile neutral vendors...patrolling battleships wouldnt spoil things....

ooo I just remembered seeing a generation ship for the first time......

Evil propers when the good do nothing......so keep the noise down or we'll wake 'em

Mine had tennis, handball, and a strange hockey. My parents still have the old Atari I had when I was a kid. My kids have a blast with it (that is the games that still play). Pitfall 2 reigns supreme.

I played pinball in the mid 70s, along with pong and breakout. Played my first computer game on a trash 80. It was some ghost game. Dialed up on the modem at a whopping 128 baud if i remember right or something like that. I called berkley on an Atari 400 and then on an apple 2. Those were the days. Hacking was a good time and not a felony, lol. It was amazing and it was fun. I cut classes to play all of those awesome games in the early 80s!

SO much fun

I am 34 and still mess with a BBC B and Elite - just keep going back to it...

Am I an early player of FL in the UK (not out yet for a couple of weeks) - got it in Singapore last week with a free microsoft joystick (which doesn't work with the game)...

Having fun and am on level 10...

Ben (T25) Ruz

"middle aged gamers flocking to FL?" Rofl that is one funny statement, ok only because you don't know any better, i am 29 this year and i have followed the chris robert games since Ultmia 5 on the C64, than the WC games and there offshoot the privateer games. Now FL is the lasest in the line of the privateer games so you understand any of the older folks who have been enchantered by chris roberts all these years will be playing this game. This game "was" also due for release 3 years ago, lol so take the age of any of the older gamers and minus 3 than plus the number of years they have been alive since 1989 and you will get an exact number of how many years they have had RSI.

Cripes, this is starting to look like a pissing contest for who is the oldest geezer at TLR. Im just waiting for someone to say they used to have an IBM UNIVAC.

iits good to see fellow uk gamers gettin their mits on the game early as well that way should any clans get started we wont be at a disadvantage