The Old PC Games/DOS Games Thread

[James]

I was thinking about older PC games. Long story short, are older games available for free, legally? For example, 7th Guest or 11th hour. Both are 11 and 9 years old, and not being produced anymore.

So yeah, where can I download older PC games legally? I know some games end up being abandonware after a while, but I've never been able to find any sites with an extensive list of games.

[adam]

The Underdogs (http://www.the-underdogs.org/) has a pretty extensive list of abandonwares and some of them that can even be downloaded.

[Mad Melvin]

www.freeoldies.com not a great site, but better than nothing.

[AChimp]

Who cares if it's legal, really? The companies don't exist anymore so who's gonna sue you? :(

[James]

Well, for discussion on these boards, you have to discuss things under a legal context. Also, sites that deal with licensed abandonware aren't as fucked up as warez sites.

Anyway, remember Gobliiins? I bet you don't. I downloaded it, and I can get it running fine, except I can't get sound. :(

[James]

More discussion, please.

[darkvare]

why in the underdogs page, you found beyond good and evil?

[Mad Melvin]

Oh my god! You can download flashback for free from www.bhlegend.com That game fucking rules!

edit: You can also get Jagged Alliance: Deadly games! Where has this site been all my life?

[Perndog]

As far as legality goes, old PC games are just like NES games. Very few of them are legal. But none of them will get you in trouble.

[executioneer]

But isn't abandonware illegal?

Unfortunately, yes. Despite the fact that publishers no longer derive revenues from these games since they have stopped selling them (and any revenues from retailers that still sell them were gained a long time ago, at the time of sales), it is illegal to distribute them so long as copyright holders have not released them into the public domain, and 95 years after the games' release have not elapsed.

[GADZOOKS]

DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY!

[James]

I thought Abandonware MEANT that the copyright holders released them into public domain.

Well fuck it. Give me games, faggot.

[executioneer]

no freeware means its been released into public domain

[executioneer]

you'll get in less trouble for abandonware than for illicit mp3s though so dont worry about it unless its like a game that's less than 5 years old :/

[GADZOOKS]

Didn't you get in trouble with the MPPA, willie?

[executioneer]

yea but that was fopr kazzaa not for download games :eek

and technically it was bgecause i was sharing them not because i downloaded them :eek

[eggyolk]

http://www.blarg.net/~mobbswm/madeek.gif

so its true then what they say, you get in trrouble for uploading, not downloading

[Drev]

I'm looking to the Mega Man PC games. I had one, but deleted it because my computer was too fast and it made the game run too fast to be playable.

I KNOW they games are pure shit, but I want to play them. >:

[executioneer]

did you try running a slowdown program like MoSlo or Turbo, or maybe DOSBox cause that shit usually works pretty good

edit: http://www.the-underdogs.org/guidedos.php

[adept_ninja]

The only problem with old games is you cant always play them without a emulator i got elder scrolls 2 and i had to go through all sorts of crap to get it to run

[executioneer]

stop you're making me cry

[Jim Duncan - Weather]

http://www.blarg.net/~mobbswm/madeek.gif

Bungie is letting people download Marathon for free!

[MikeSoAwesome]

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ has Star Control 2/The Ur-Quan Masters it's a port yet identical.

[executioneer]

i'm pretty sure sc2 is actually freeware

[Helm]

Yes it is.

And the latest version of dosbox has yet to fail to properly emulate any of my old games. And I have an extensive collection of both originals and illigaly downloaded copies. I've been playing the fuck out of the original wasteland again, trying to finally beat it. I remember you liked wasteland, didn't you willie? Have you finished it?

[MikeSoAwesome]

i'm pretty sure sc2 is actually freeware

Actually no, SC2 is Abandonware not exactly legal UQM is a port, freeware I believe ownership was kicked back to the original programers and not Accolade(or whatever they are known as now).

[executioneer]

listen douchecrap i know the fucking difference between abandonware and freeware >:

[Guitar Woman]

Give us games, not legal bullshit!

[executioneer]

Yes it is.

And the latest version of dosbox has yet to fail to properly emulate any of my old games. And I have an extensive collection of both originals and illigaly downloaded copies. I've been playing the fuck out of the original wasteland again, trying to finally beat it. I remember you liked wasteland, didn't you willie? Have you finished it?

oh shit this post was totally not there when i looked last >:

and yea i beat it :( i kind of cheated a little with some experience macros :x remember to bring along some radsuits when you go into base cochise, even if you've got better armor, or you'll be sorry :(

[Guitar Woman]

Goddamnit! I cant get shit to work after downloading it from underdogs! The damn zip file is always "corrupted!"

[the_dudefather]

i think thats something to do with the code you enter when downloading the game, or when you download more than one game at once