DescentBB

In case you havenâ??t heard, Iâ??m doing a massive Descent promotion project.



Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. At the moment I need:

-Stories of the D1 Shareware days, Descent 2 and D3 Launch
-Descriptions of favorite LAN events
-Interviews with old time Descent players
-Screenshots of action packed D3 games with tons of ships on the screen
-Any expression of love or fanaticism for Descent

[quote]OMG.... you mthink some crappy disco game with 12 directions and shitty junk ships beats the tactical shooter named CS??? and How in hell is a party-themed, multicoloured wanker game better than the manipulatoir-icious HL2DM?â?

I can make up a fighting arena. In fact, one I'm working on right now would be perfect for displaying the capabilities of the Fusion engine with enough room for 5 ships to dogfight comfortably. With some direction, I'm sure you could fit 10 people in there. Add to that a bunch of weapon fire flying right and left, and you could get some awesome screens or even video in there. The level will be released this weekend, but I'm willing to pre-release it if you need anything sooner.

heh, Trackball, where did you get these quotes from? Somewhere recent? Would be nice to see that D3 is still talked about... (even bad press is good).

Pandora wrote:heh, Trackball, where did you get these quotes from? Somewhere recent? Would be nice to see that D3 is still talked about... (even bad press is good).

They are from HL2.net. Don't worry, I have already compiled dozens of idiotic insults to Descent.

Stryker wrote:I can make up a fighting arena. In fact, one I'm working on right now would be perfect for displaying the capabilities of the Fusion engine with enough room for 5 ships to dogfight comfortably. With some direction, I'm sure you could fit 10 people in there. Add to that a bunch of weapon fire flying right and left, and you could get some awesome screens or even video in there. The level will be released this weekend, but I'm willing to pre-release it if you need anything sooner.

Sounds great. When do you wanna do this?

You're right. This community needs to get off its collective butt and fight against the ravages of time. "Descenters of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your freedom!" Seriously, though, if I'm able to help in any way, just let me know. CS a "tactical masterpiece"...more like a hackneyed excuse for a trash heap. Oh, and if you've got any more gems like that, please post them. I need a few good laughs.

Tactical shooter huh... last I checked people that do that for a living don't run around like they're rambo and jump like rabbits.

Jon the great and I are currently working up a level that could look pretty cool and, if we did it right, would show off the fusion engine's capabilities.

It's still on the drawing board, though. We should be able to get started shortly, if all goes well.

Oh, and we need an update of that old descent ad. I'd link to it if I could, but I remember it being a comparison of doom to descent. "Descent: 360 degrees of freedom. Doom: 0. 360>0 DESCENT!"

That would be great, only compared to cs.

Trackball wrote:They are from HL2.net. Don't worry, I have already compiled dozens of idiotic insults to Descent.

Sounds good! Looking forward to reading them!

Wasn't there a 'descent dedication' section in an older version of Planet Descent? Don't know if this was the real name, but it showed photographs of weird stuff done by descent fanatics? (i.e. Lothars and Drakonas Descent cakes, DJ Fncks D3 4Ever car mat, etc.)

I don't think we have the means to make much noise until Core Decision is closer to coming out. It isn't easy trying to drown out the voices of todays gamers with just the echos of descenters from years past.

There isn't really very much left from the D1/D2 community besides half broken websites, aside from a few, and a lot of memories from a handful of us that are still around. Some have better stories to tell then others. Tough undertaking to be sure.

Top Gun wrote:Seriously, though, if I'm able to help in any way, just let me know.

Coverage on PlanetDescent would be excellent. Stories and interviews are also needed. If you're up to one of those, let me know.

Top Gun wrote:Oh, and if you've got any more gems like that, please post them. I need a few good laughs.

There's a whole page of them, but I dont want to spoil all the humor.

Tyranny wrote:It isn't easy trying to drown out the voices of todays gamers with just the echos of descenters from years past.

We can't let them win without a fight.

Stories of the D1 Shareware days

Editing your autoexec.bat and config.sys files in order to get enough memory to load DOS network drivers.

Trackball wrote:We can't let them win without a fight.

what are you fighting about? i like checkers you like chess?

TheCops wrote:what are you fighting about? i like checkers you like chess?

It is not arguing that one game is better than another. It is simply questioning why people play the games they do, and what they consider to be innovative.

The only reason that there aren't more Descent-like games is because they require intellect to play. Good luck finding that in the HL community.

Trackball wrote:

TheCops wrote:what are you fighting about? i like checkers you like chess?

It is not arguing that one game is better than another. It is simply questioning why people play the games they do, and what they consider to be innovative.

People Play half life becuase it is Easy and you can hack like a MoFo in them and Get away with it. People int here don't host servers that Track out and find hacks then Automatically ban them for it.. to really enjoy a game you must be True to it and Be Fair. this is what makes Descent live on and on. And I wonder if that guy above realizes that the Descent Fans that are out their and were apart of the Descent Team well, they Still Design missions and I wouldn't be suprised if they get together again to develope and get funding to sport another round.... isn't D4 about 1/3 completed. last I heard that was the hardest part. and also D4 would have been completed if the Violition and PXO buy out didn't Start. Truth is Descent lives on with out Corprate Assistance and there are about 140 Pilots World wide that will Push just as hard to keep it alive.....

you know... i just don't understand. why are you looking at this as a fight? if you want to explain to them why you like descent that's fine... but why come at them fighting?

just seems ridiculous... descent is a cult game at this point. i like it myself but wouldn't expect anyone else to. and i certainly wouldn't be personally insulted if some potatochip-stained-t-shirt-wearing-computer-geek typed something bad about the series on the internet.

find a real cause... like the prevention of pediatric AIDS.

Somehow, I missed this thread. That's ok though cuz this thread needs to be revived anyway.

Great Idea Trackball! Doesn't have to be a fight, The Cops makes some good points. However, it doesn't have to be. It's all in the wording. If it's phrased more like 'Go Find This Game Now You're Missing Out' rather than 'If you dissed Descent you're a total moron' it would be better that way anyhow. You can still use the quotes if you want but don't attack back with the responses. Just calmly explain why their wrong.

Again, Trackball, great idea. Lemme know if you need help organizing this thing. I'd offer my services in graphic design but your logo is badass! I don't think you need my help in that area.

I can do an interview (though I guess I'm not an "old" pilot. I only came on the scene after d3 was released), I can get you some cool screenshots (though I reformatted my hd and lost all my old ones, so I'll have to take new ones), and I can express fanaticism with the best of 'em

And by the way, that level I mentioned earlier has entered production. That's to prove that level building in descent still occurs!

Jon the Great wrote:Lemme know if you need help organizing this thing. I'd offer my services in graphic design but your logo is badass! I don't think you need my help in that area.

Actually, I could use some ideas for a poster or premotional image. My editing skills are quite limited.

Liquid Fire wrote:I can do an interview (though I guess I'm not an "old" pilot.

Any interviews at all would be appreciated. In fact, how about we get started now. The more responses, the better.

When did you first play Descent?

How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

Please try to add lots of detail. I look forward to reading your answers.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

A couple months after the original shareware version of Descent came out.

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

It's difficult to say. In terms of pure visuals, I don't think Descent 3 has aged very well. The texturing is very flat and the lighting lacks detail. It doesn't have the subtleties of Unreal Tournament, which came out around the same time. On the other hand, the old Descents (1 and 2) I think aged better than Doom. The lighting effects are still great, the robots still frightening in a low-poly esoteric way, and the water levels are still rather enchanting to look at.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

Nope. Most people I know are hooked on Battlefield: Vietnam. Many have heard of Descent and treat it as a curiosity or recognize it as "that game that made me motion sick." Very few knew there was a trilogy.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

Nope.

Trackball wrote:What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

For all of the effort Outrage put into Descent 3, it was still quite a departure from the first two games. The originals had a rough, gritty edge to them. These were dirty mining colonies and the industrial soundtrack only heightened that atmosphere. I'm not sure what Descent 3 was trying to be. It's almost never creepy due to the washed out lighting. The music, while unique, is too skewed to be taken that seriously. And the cinematics were full of plastic-looking cartoon people. It lost that edge and consequently lost some of its fanbase support. The unfortunate part is that "gritty" was in when Descent 3 released. Quake, Half-Life, System Shock, and Unreal all shared a dark and often sinister mood. Descent 3, on the other hand, looked like a cartoon. Compare the cinematics in Descent 1 (Playstation) to those in Descent 3. Same computer-animated people, but look how much darker Descent 1 is.

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

If we aren't including expansions, then I'd have to say Descent 3 was the weakest. For all of the reasons explained above.

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

I don't know why you bother evangelizing an old game. Enjoy the game for what it is and have fun playing it.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Nope.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

Very flashy, but not altogether interesting. Although it had better special effects, some of the level art in Forsaken was hideously bad. The gameplay itself was most suspect. Enemies would flit around faster than you could keep up with them. Battles also felt too chaotic.

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

Ultimately, there's nothing else out there quite like Descent. While some of the FPS titles to feature vehicles have watered down implementations (the Raptor or Skarrj ships in UT2004, the various planes in Battlefield), not one has been a complete realization of Descent. For that matter, none were designed from the beginning with the basis of full 360º action.

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

The controls were too daunting. The game of Doom can essentially be played with Up, Down, Left, Right, and Ctrl. As FPS titles evolved, the WASD configuration became prevalent. Even real-time strategy games are driven by very basic mouse actions any Windows user would understand. Games like Descent and FreeSpace didn't conform so easily to this format and, as such were railed into "games that needed joysticks." Both genres, 360º action and space sim, died.

Of course, there's also the minor fact that I'm sure Descent sickened a lot of people with its bobbing motions. Other things, like strobe lighting, were aspects the designers got too giddy with.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

I played an OEM release called "Descent: Destination Saturn" that came with my dad's screaming-fast pentium-100. It was late 1995 or early 1996.

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

Graphically, D1 and D2 look like they're from another era of gaming. D3's graphics are modern, but still pretty weak. The single-player campaigns are pretty long, but can be enjoyable. Multiplayer action is as intense as anything in any other game, and some of the D3 team modes are as strategically interesting as anything on the market. I still haven't found a game where 1-on-1 fights are as interesting as in Descent.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

My wife and I both play.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

I got my best friend playing D1 and D2 multiplayer with me quite a bit. We used to play modem games every day, and eventually I started taking my computer over to his basement and playing over a null modem cable. Eventually, we had a small LAN group that played Descent, DOOM, C&C, Quake, etc. about once every 2 months.

Most of the people I got to play really enjoyed it.

Trackball wrote:What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

The best gameplay is in D1, which doesn't run right on most modern systems without extensive patching and luck. D2 wasn't balanced well for multiplayer, and runs even worse than D1 on modern systems. D3 runs well and looks nice, but it's just not as intense.

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

D2. D1 had perfect weapons balance, but D2 nerfed some of the weapons and added others that were very overpowered. It was a spiffy graphics upgrade, but at the cost of gameplay.

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

I'd love for more people to play Descent. I don't know if this will help, but why not try?

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Over the past 8 years, I've attended LAN parties of various sizes in the following locations:
Denver, CO (several times)
Kansas City, MO
Chicago, IL (twice)
Portland, OR
Victoria, BC, Canada
Seattle, WA
Provo, UT
Durango, CO
Colorado Springs, CO
some little podunk town in southern OR

It's hard to say anything that applied to every LAN -- they've been anywhere from 4 to 60 people, in environments such as hotel ballrooms, people's basements, a monestary, an electric company corporate office, and a hog farm. They've lasted anywhere from an afternoon to 4 days. One thing they all had in common was good competition, especially as they get larger. In smaller LANs, I might be one of the best players there, but others can still usually compete, and at larger LANs there are always top-level players. Another thing they all had in common was the friendship and camaraderie. Most of the people at any given LAN know at least a few others fairly well, and I've only met a handful of people at LANs I wouldn't want to meet again.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

I played it on an N-64 once at a friend's house. The graphics were overdone, and it was extremely hard to control.

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

1) Good gameplay
2) solid friendships

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

In the case of Descent 1 and 2, time. The game is about 10 years old, and there aren't many video games that old that still get played much. In the case of Descent 3, it wasn't marketed very well, and it had high system requirements when it was released, so it wasn't very popular to begin with. It's also been poorly supported in some ways, which has led a lot of people to move to other games.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

June of 1995, I think. Didn't get on Kali until January of 1996 (... I think... was it 1997? Hard to remember). That makes me a n00b still, in some circles.

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

It's a classic game, so the gameplay--especially multiplayer--is solid. It's well built around genuine variations on an interesting theme, not gimmics or toys. It's unusual to find games like that today. Most are too big and complicated to be fun for me, and none of them have Descent's sheer geometry. That was what made me fall in love with the game in the first place: full 3d dogfights. Woot.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

I used to know lots of people! We had a block full! Not too many anymore... just my husband, I think.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

Oh yes, several friends. In one particularly memorable episode, I tried to get my roommate into the game. In addition to the fact that Descent is usually disorienting, we chose to play in an orientationless level. She, um... she didn't take too well to it. Even if they find the game too difficult, though, I find that many people still love to watch me play--that is, if they can handle the vertigo.

Trackball wrote:What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

Hmm... I'd probably say D3's departure from the classic feel of D1. They tried, really they did, and it's a polished game, just... I think it went too far afield. They tried too hard to attract mainstream gamers, and Descent isn't really a mainstream game--and at the same time, they alienated the Descenty audience a little.

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

Oh, that's easy. D2. All but two or three of the weapons unique to D2 are overpowering or cheese. In my mind, D1 is slightly better than D3 (though "different" would be a better description), and both are an order of magnitude better than D2. Though... I miss D2. It was fun.

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

It's cool. I doubt you'll make many converts, but I'll have a fun time reminiscing when I read over the stuff.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Uh, I've been to a couple. It really depends on the event--whether it's 60 people in a hotel, or a couple of friends spending the night. I've had some great games lanning with my husband, though. I sometimes wonder if the people upstairs in the apartment building hear the *SCREAM* *NOOOOOO!* and wonder about us...

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

Nope.

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

We're all old friends. The Descent community never really got very big, and even at its peak, you sorta-knew everyone in it. It's kind of funny, I look around the DBB sometimes, and I don't see too many people that I don't have significant history with. That's just the way it is in the Descent world. As the years have gone by, that's led to a really tight community. I think it's hard for people to walk away from that. Oh, and the game's still cool... though I don't really stick around for the game anymore.

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

Difficulty. Nobody gets good at the game in under a year--*nobody*. You've got to stick it out for a long time to be any good. If you're just looking for some quick fun and kills, you go somewhere else--you have to be fascinated with the mechanics of 3d combat to stick around here. I've known other games that deep and difficult, but they're rare, and they lead to small, devoted communities. I don't know if a Descentlike game could be very popular or not. D1 kind of was in its day... I don't know if that's the sort of thing that could happen again. That would be cool...


Here's another question I'd like to answer:

Drakona wrote:What are the three best things that ever happened to Descent?

Spaz, IDL, and D1x. Er... I forgot Kali. I think I stand by that, though.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

Started playing Descent in February of 1997.

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

Both D1 and D2 stand up substantially to modern games in the replay department. Some of us have gone through a lot to finally kick the addiction. To me it is still hands down one of the best multiplayer games to have ever been made. Not even some of todays games can claim they have good replay value.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

Sadly no. One of my best friends was playing it in the very beginning but I was the last out of our group of friends to continue playing it.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

I tried to get a college friend to play it. She was really into console games a bit more and kind of found our community here quite comical. So I didn't press the issue beyond that initial introduction to Descent. I doubt she played it once after I installed it.

Trackball wrote:What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

Probably the technical support. It has always been a huge letdown for the Descent community. Much like many other communities we've had to self perpetuate our existence here and the existence of the game itself. If they had done more to pull Descent away from being so dependent on DOS as Windows was growing we might not have had some of the technical issues developers ran into when editing the source code.

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

D3 hands down. D3 built on the small things that were wrong with D2 and made them even worse. Instead of improving on them and possibly reverting to something more traditional, more descent-like, they emboldened the problems. Very poor weapon variety. A focal point on secondary weaponry instead of primaries. Poor ship variety and balances, especially the phoenix (What the heck were they smoking?). Awkward level/object scaling and comparably bad netcode (Descent played on CS?!?) and poor patch implementation. Then the biggest mistake of all...PXO.

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

Role with it. It's always interesting reading the opinions of other people. To delve into why we feel the way we do about this game.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Several times, but only with my close group of friends at the time. The atmosphere was always great. Everyone was competitive and just having a good time as we were all in good company playing the game we loved.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

Yeah, played it on the playstation. Way too hard to control and I kept knocking it for being a Descent wannabe. Then D3 came out and I realized Forsaken was more like D1/D2 then D3 was

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

Stuff like this. Being able to interact with people you used to play with. Talking about general topics and/or to still play the game. Sometimes even to talk about Descent strategies and gameplay.

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

Nothing really. You forget that there was either DOOM or Descent. The fact that people even play D1 and D2 is a testament to the game's popularity and it's lasting appeal. D1 and D2 were some of the most popular games ever to be played on the internet. Sure, it has a high learning curve but there were tons of us that stuck it out and learned the ropes. D3 though, everyone says marketing. I still think they had a plenty big audience for D3 when it came out. There was a good portion of old schoolers who were anticipating D3's release. I think D3 wasn't popular because it wasn't what most of us were expecting. It really wasn't deserving of the title Descent IMO and it committed the cardinal sin. That sin being it fractured the community by creating PXO. The thing that should never have been. Descent belonged on Kali and it was meant to be played peer-to-peer.

Drakona wrote:What are the best things that ever happened to Descent?

I'll omit "three best things"

Kali, Descent Clans, Spaz & Nirvana, IDL & Cases Ladder, D1x. Also all of the dedicated people in the community who wasted hour after hour playing the game or developing for the community as a whole. Whether it was representing with your skills or building new levels for people to enjoy. All of it was greatly enjoyed.

[edit] Sorry, trying to learn this quote stuff.

Thank you for the responses. Your feedback is being put to good use.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

Got D3 bundled with a network kit I bought in November of 2000. Had never gamed before. Played a little SP then jumped into MP. Being an old man on a POS machine and knowing absolutely nothing about gaming, I was easy prey. I got so much "prison shower love" I almost uninstalled the game. Fortunately I ran into three pilots in chat that I distinctly remember. [VoN]Elvis, MeatPuppet and Whitewater kind of took me under wing, gave me some training, told me who to avoid and pointed me to places where I could learn. Without their help and the advice of others on the DBB Team [NuB] never would have happened. If you want more details, you can go to http://www.teamnub.com/history.asp

How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

Can't say. Don't play any other games.

Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

If, by that, you mean my gaming environment, then yes. Many of my team members and former members are still very active in the game.

Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

A few, but they didn't stick with it. In fact, some asked how I stayed in the game. "It's so damn hard".

What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

From what I know about the history of the game, it seems there were too many fingers in the pie. Four entities owning parts of the game and none of them wanting to share.

Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

Can't say. Have only flown D3.

What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

To repeat what a couple of others have said, I think it's a great idea as long as it doesn't result in a pissing contest. If the intent is to let others know how great this game is and why we still play it, then we may see some new pilots come around.

Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

I've been to CaliFest 2001, 2002 and 2003. 2001 was kind of a last minute thing because the DBB had been down for some time. Buck, Sickone, Hacksaw and some others put it together. I was still the "new kid on the block", but I wanted to meet some of the people. So, I grabbed the girlfriend, reserved a room, rented a car and drove to San Luis Obispo (I live in Northern California). First thing I noticed was how they helped the "resident dummy" get set up and how they all worked together. Everyone was cool. Even on Saturday night when the other half of the grange hall was being used by some square dancers and one of the blue hair ladies plugged in a big coffee pot in the kitchen which blew out our power. No panic, nobody got excited or angry. The guys just found some other power source and we were up and running in about 30 minutes. We played hard, some of us drank hard and we all had a blast. About 35 people there.

2002 was closer to home (about 15 miles). More people, about 65. Here's where I met Birdseye and Fatal who were legends in the community. I also met J_Oh, Vlider, Instig8, Stresstest and others. And I saw all the cooperation again. For some reason, the lan didn't like my Nic card. Out of nowhere another appeared, got installed and I was up and running. Again, great gaming, great fun and some heavy drinking. I still can see pictures of Alice passed out with his blow-up sheep.

2003 was kind of a repeat. Some of the same people, some new. Great fun, great gaming. Only saddened by J_Oh's passing from a heart attack in the parking lot Sunday afternoon. I think I was maybe the last person to say goodbye to him. I still miss that old fart. We had many a good game online beating up on people in Halcyon.

Finally, this past October, I flew to the Miami area for the first Team [NuB] lan at lilj221 and Silvergst's home. Only about 15 of us there, but we played hard, drank a bit, ate well and had a blast.

Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

No

What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

Addiction. There's something about this game that keeps you from leaving. I know of many who are still around. I also know of others who have left, only to return. Somehow or other, this game gets in your blood.

What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

I would have to say the difficulty of the game. The learning curve is so long. Unlike other games, there is no "instant gratification". If you come into this game fresh you're going to get beat up. And a lot of people can't handle that. Back when PXO was up I used to get 3 or 4 applications a week to join the team. Unfortunately, we couldn't always get to these prople soon enough and they dropped off the radar screen. I think it takes a certain type of individual to stick with it.

Please try to add lots of detail. I look forward to reading your answers.[/quote]

I just posted about this on PD, so hopefully you can get a larger response, including the perspective of some people who joined the community more recently. I'll try to write something myself in the next few days.

P.S. Do you have any sort of website set up for this, or any plans to make one?

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

I guess I'm one of the earliest players who's responded so far: I picked up the original D1 demo (it was in a logo'd giveaway package with two or three 1.44Mb floppies, if I remember right) at a local software store around May '95. I put it on my 486DX-40, and once I figured out the controls, I was completely hooked.

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

Graphically, even D3 doesn't compare well to the current games. But that being said, the Descent trilogy still has a unique style of gameplay that isn't matched by anything current, especially when you consider the freedom of movement.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

My wife doesn't play, because she has inner-ear dis-equilibrium problems, but often when my younger brother is in town, we'll get in a few games.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

When I was a college undergrad ('95-'99), I got probably 20-25 other students into the game at different points in time. I was the computer lab tech guy, and I spent a lot of time playing D1/D2 on Kali, so I occasionally had people come by and watch for a while and then ask, "Wow.. what game is that?"; some were interested enough to try it out, especially since the college LAN made multiplayer games easy to set up.
Since then, when I mention Descent most people react with the typical, "Oh, yeah.. I kinda remember that game.. the graphics were like Doom, right?", and I haven't had anyone more than mildly interested.

Trackball wrote:What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

I'm not sure.. probably the changing and dividing of ownership caused the most problems (the shift in gameplay emphasis in D3, the fall of PXO, the impossibility of another sequel, etc.)

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

D3 has its obvious weaknesses, but D2 was the release with the least advancements. It was basically D1 re-packaged, with a few more weapons (imbalanced ones at that), and a few more features (although the Redbook music tracks were a huge addition).

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

Good idea! I'm just wondering how you're gonna distribute it once you have everything compiled.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

I've never attended an advertised LAN event (I now wish I had), but during college I set up a number of small LAN parties for D1/D2 players, usually with around 4-10 people. I had after-hours access to the computer lab, so we'd order pizza and play for 2-3 hours, just us in the room, talking trash and laughing... mostly I remember the sense of comraderie. Even the new players had a great time!

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

I just got it for PlayStation about 3 months ago for about $3.00... and I'm not sure it was even worth it. It had the advantage over Descent and Descent:Maximum on the PS1 by using the thumbsticks for movement and having a better framerate, but the gameplay was really lacking.

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

I'm not sure. I was away from Descent for a few years (I didn't even have the hardware to run D3 until a couple of years ago), and I was fairly surprised to see the Descent community still thriving (or at least surviving) when I came back recently. Even more amazing is the fact that people are still creating levels and mods. I have to give credit to the those involved: people like Team NUB who still develop new players, the PlanetDescent community, the DBB community here, and others.

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

Based on my experience alone, I have to think it had to do with marketing. Only a couple of months after D3 was released, none of my Descent-playing friends had even heard about it, and I had to go to four different software stores to find a copy.

Not a question from the list above, but maybe it can be added:
What was your single favorite Descent-related memory?

Probably my first online multiplayer experience (D1 on Kali, probably sometime in '96): a pilot (I wish I could remember his alias) kind of "took me under his wing" and taught me all the basics. I specifically remember him racing me across a large room in order to point out the advantages of bi/tri-chording. I'm still not a great pilot, but I owe a lot of what I know to that guy.

Trackball wrote:When did you first play Descent?

i was eating out at dennys or some play like that, and there was a demo of d1 in that machine with the claw that picks up teddy bears, and i got it

Trackball wrote:How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

the grahpics arent as good as other games,doom3,ut4 etc, but giving it that 0 gravity thing makes it harder and i like a challenge,gameplay>grahpics for me.

Trackball wrote:Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

nope.

Trackball wrote:Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

i told my friend he should play it and he did for awhile. he said it was too hard.

Trackball wrote:[What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

dont know much bout the franchise.

Trackball wrote:Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

ive only played d3,and d1 and sry but i didnt like d1 that much.

Trackball wrote:What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

i thought it wouldn't hurt to answer some questions if its gona promote d3 better cuz come on guys theres like 20 ppl in chat thats sad ;p

Trackball wrote:Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

sadly no

Trackball wrote:Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

no

Trackball wrote:What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

well everyone mostly knows each other, and everyone is dedicated to help keeping the game alive.

Trackball wrote:What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

just bad promotion.

I am currently working on a text that recalls everything (the best that I can) that I remember in the past, from the time I started playing up to now. It's unfinished, but if anyone is interested, I can give it to them. So far it covers about two to three years of history. It is constantly updated, for two reasons:

1. I'm not done yet -- it only covers years 96-98 so far.

2. History is always being made.

---MD-1224

Trackball wrote: When did you first play Descent?

I think I first played Descent when I got my first ever PC. That was back in 1995, and it came bundled with the machine. To be honest, it scared me silly. I'd frantically race myself through corridors and cover my eyes

Trackball wrote: How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

I'd say it has the kind of atmosphere and playing style that no modern game can match. Especially the ground-pounders. It's inventive for play and for level design, and I still think its pretty for its age.

Trackball wrote: Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

Sadly not. They're all ground-pounder and Final Fantasy freaks

Trackball wrote: Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

Lots of friends. I got my sister interested, two of my best friends and a few people from work. They all found it difficult, but they all loved it! It must have been the intense action involved, because you wont get the same experience from something like Quake.

Trackball wrote: What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

Incorrectly marketed to the maximum extent. I don't think there is anything wrong with the way the game is made or portrayed, but I think that it could have definitely been advertised better. I only found Descent2 and Descent3 by accident

Trackball wrote: Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

In all, I would say Descent2 was the weakest of the 3. To me it just felt like D1 with some extra weapons and an afterburner. I wanted something new. Still a great game though.

Trackball wrote: What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

It's an excellent idea and it could actually work

Trackball wrote: Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

Sadly I've never played Descent at a proper LAN event, only on my 2 PC's here at home. Great experience though, in every way. And I won!

Trackball wrote: Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

Nope, sorry.

Trackball wrote: What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

There's too much history and good times to forget about in this community. We're close knit, and people have made great friends with each other. It's hard to walk away from memories and friends.

Trackball wrote: What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

The poor advertising that plauged it beginning. But I think it could have been made more popular if only it got placed in the spotlight a bit more..

Trackball wrote:
When did you first play Descent?

I first played D1 when my buddy Dave showed it to me. We played on a 486, had to configure the system to run it. We couldn't afford joysticks, so we played with the keyboard. Dave and I still play to this day, almost 10 years later.

How do you think Descent compares to the games today?

As far as graphics, it can't hang with the latest games, but I don't mind playing 2D if the game is fun. As far as gameplay, there's nothing else like it. Not necessarily better, but way ahead of its time.

Do you know anyone in your everyday environment that is still playing Descent?

See my first answer.

Have you ever tried to get a friend or colleague interested in the game? How did he/she react?

I recently watched my 7-year-old daughter finish D1, level 1 on her own. She thought she had won the lottery, beating a level on "Dad's game."

Nobody else I know will play it, especially after watching me fly upside-down.

What do you think the biggest flaw of the Descent franchise is?

Probably graphics, and lack of exposure.

Which installment do you think was the weakest? Why? (Not including Mercenary Expansion)

I personally think D1 was the weakest, though nobody agrees with me. Maybe if I could play it for a while in multiplayer, I'd change my mind. I currently have all three installed on my PC, and I play D1 the most. Once I've played it through a few times, I'll move on to D2.

What are your general thoughts concerning Fahrenheit 360?

It's about time.

Have you ever attended Descent LAN events? If so, describe the atmosphere and fun factor.

I've only played Descent at Dave's house, and more recently online. I remember one time we stayed up till 5:00 in the morning playing D2, and I had to go to work at 8:00.

Most LAN parties I attended were populated by Unreal Tournament or some similar military FPS game, which I detest. There's too many good games out there to only play wanna-be army boy sims.

I did get a few rounds of Mechwarrior going at one LAN, but that's about it.

Have you ever played Forsaken? What was your impression?

I still have it, and have played it, though not all the way through. For some reason, it gave me terrible eyestrain headaches, while Descent didn't. Probably related to the blurry effects and tons of strobe lights. The effects reminded me a lot of Wipeout for Playstation, one of my other favorite games.

The Forsaken audio taunts work great in D3

What do you think keeps the remaining community around?

There is no other game that has had the cult status that Descent has. Why else would there still be patch development, level development, renderer replacements, etc. for a video game franchise that is ten years old? There is nothing else like it, and probably never will be again. They even ported it to Mac and Linux, something that 99% of games will never see. When D1 came out, Linux wasn't even on the map yet, and Macs weren't far behind. Windows was still pre-95. It was so far ahead of its time, only a handful of people realized it.

What do you think kept Descent from remaining popular?

Sadly, as advanced as they were, D1/2 were behind the times as far as computer hardware was concerned. I played D2 for several years, and when D3 came out I didn't have a machine fast enough to play it... so I dropped Descent altogether, thinking I would never play again.

Fast forward about 5 years, and here I am, playing again. I hadn't seen my friend Dave in about that long, so once we hooked up, the next sentance out of our mouths was "When can we play Descent again?" So I bit the bullet, did a LOT of reading on what had happened to Descent while I was gone, and lo and behold, it's alive and kicking! He dusted off his trusty SpaceOrb, and I found a decent joystick, and off we go!

Man, it feels good to "get it" after all this time. I can't believe how much I'd missed it.