Retro rig

[Lizzieborden]

Are retro rigs your thing, or are they over rated?
Does anyone here have a retro rig they either inherited or put together (and if so...how did you find parts??)
If so, waht are your specs?
Mine are:
(read from the 1997 receipt for a rig inhertied a few years back )
Pentium 200 mmx
3.2 quantum fireball (DEAD as of two weeks ago )
33.6 int. Jaton modem
soundblaster AWE 64
32 EDO (iassume this is Ram)
Win 95 OEM (uncle later upgraded to win 98)
586 512 tx qdi t1 (I assume this is the Mommaboard)
ATI pci 3d XPR 4 mb (Note: a voodoo 3dfx card was addded later on, i see the logo whenever played quake in "GL" mode
And a buncha other stuff
You know, mouse, keyboard, CRT (viewsonic 17 inch. Huge damn thing)

The HD is now dead. But even so, I really prefer modern ports and widescreen. I used to like playing on it for about 2 years ...but that was before I knew how to get many old games running on modern systems.
So...are retro rigs your thing?
Bloody curious minds wanna know

[Daedalus]

As I think I mentioned not too long ago, there was a time when I gave serious consideration to having a device specifically dedicated to Blood (in DOS). I reflected on how cool it would be to have an almost arcade-like setup with custom decals and all that sort of thing, but the simple reality is that it's going to get increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain such a thing as older hardware kicks the bucket. While I definitely have huge respect for any Bloodite who constructs or owns such a thing (and copious amounts of pictures should be provided to us of such things), I think it is just a little too impractical for me.

I think we have reached or are at least very close to the threshold now where Blood can be played "flawlessly" in ports, and I think we are seeing small innovations that simply cannot be discredited in favour of nostalgia. As an example, while NBlood is not 100% perfect, I get tremendously improved responsiveness and a framerate in the game which would be impossible in DOS. Not even I will argue that lag is a core part of the Blood experience.

That said, of course there are tiny pops and crackles tied to older tech that can definitely enhance Blood's charm - at the very least there is a strong argument for displays with "true blacks", which would certainly add depth and quality to one's adventures in Blood, and the little things, like the CD having to spin up to start a track when using CD music, and waiting just that extra second or two for the next map to start to build anticipation.

There are also some Mapedit quirks which I'm convinced weren't a feature when I used DOS for it, but I probably haven't used Mapedit on enough devices to make a solid claim to it.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about the hardware damage for sure. I think there are strengths in both the "ultimate purity" of a DOS setup and faithful enhancements and performance improvements in modern iterations. Based on what I've seen, I would not yet say that any modern release is sufficiently perfect to be "the" way to play Blood, but we have definitely reached the point where at the very least NBlood (as the variant I have more tested) seems "good enough".

[Umnir]

Man - I would just love to have DOS rig one day. I have been dreaming on one for years. Maybe one day I’ll snatch one when I got the funds for it.

I’m afraid no emulation or simulation can ever truly bring the feel that it was to use olde computers. I particularily miss the ”zonggg!” that came from starting the screen, the crickety crackety noises from the hard drive and the clanks and clonks of the old big keyboards.

[Daedalus]

Got to love all those little mechanical sounds from turning on old equipment.

[Dead Reckoner]

I hold on to my dead IBM Windows 98 PC for sentimental reasons, such as memories of playing Blood for the first time. It hasn't worked since about 2003.

Those hardware sounds, that blue installation screen when you put an exciting new disc into the drive...

[Daedalus]

Do you know which part is damaged?

[Dead Reckoner]

It's been too long to remember and I've considered looking into it, but figured it wasn't worth it unless I had a CRT monitor to pair it with, like the bulky Sony trinitron that was originally used with it. I believe the display is more important for capturing the retro feel than what goes on under the hood with original software vs emulation. It's about more than just nostalgia - Blood looks better with true blacks, maybe scanlines too.

At least I can try looking at its hard drive's contents if I get an IDE adapter.

[Lizzieborden]

Do you know which part is damaged?

I've heard that capacitors are the most common faulty component (aside from HDfailure). So it could likely be Mommaboard. But hey Im jsut a chick...

[Lizzieborden]

Umnir and Dreaming God, .is it really that expensive to get old PC Rigs and parts ?
I had no idea...

From my uncle's piles of PC stuff, I donated two non- windows IBM PCs (pre 1990 Ithink) a whole buncha spare parts , small 14 inch monitiors, floppy drives (big ones and smaller ones) chips (ram I guess), old Mommaboards, , cards of various types (I assume sound cards or older gpus.. I didn't check), clunky mice with gray rubber balls in em, etc etc

I just kept the win 98 machine cuz it had all these games on it.

Now I feel very, VERY stupid.

But .... at least I did keep all the game boxes (Cuz they looked cool) and their contents !! phew !!

[Daedalus]

It's complicated and it varies based on individual components. It also depends on where you look, of course. There can be warehouses filled with junk you can get for next to nothing, but certain components can start to appreciate in value. I'm not involved in that scene enough to really comment on each of your individual parts, though, but there will come a point where you'll be, say, hunting a specific soundcard because yours broke, and your only option will be some lunatic who held onto a sealed Creative soundcard from 1995 and is asking for hundreds of bucks for the thing.

[Lizzieborden]

hunting a specific soundcard because yours broke, and your only option will be some lunatic who held onto a sealed Creative soundcard from 1995 and is asking for hundreds of bucks for the thing.

Well I should have kept some of the spare parts instead of doing a Stalinistic purge.....

[Umnir]

It’s not necessarily the price itself but the fact that you got thousand other things going on and you need to priorize. Such is life.

[Lizzieborden]

OhI see. So it;s more the time needed to hunt down parts.
I already wasted alot of time trying to find an IDE HD replacement that can ship to Turkey. I've given up. Got tons of other stuff in my lap right now.
Life can at times be be sucky indeed

[Lizzieborden]

Here is a pic (a few a few minutes ago) of my 98 rig, sans viable HD, described earlier.
Oh, and that is Natalie next to it, off balance and a tad tipsy. She said its OK to post this pic, as the win 98 rig is an incorrigible exhibitionist anyway.
Wish I ahd black hair like hers....

win 98 and Nat.JPG (61.68 KiB) Viewed 4228 times

[Daedalus]

Pictures of women and antiquated computer equipment. It really does feel a little bit like 1997 in here.