DescentBB

I'm not entirely sure where I'm supposed to ask this, so I decided to post it here since someone's bound to know here.

I'm going to get a new computer this month. Good power, most likely Windows 7. I plan on taking Descent online, something I've never done before due to a lack of a newer than decade old computer. I'm willing to bet there's a version of D2X-XL for Windows 7, so that's not what I'm here to ask.
I have an old joystick, the Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro. Will this work with Descent? I'm native to Playstation controls, since I've been playing it on Playstation for maybe a few years now, on and off. Would it be better to get an adapter for a Ppaystation controller so I can plug that into USB, or would it be better to use a joystick? Thanks for your help.

Go with the joystick. And, yes, it will work with all versions of Descent, including D2X-XL.

Yeah. And Descent Rebirth too.

Descent Rebirth? That I've never heard of. What's that?

Descent Rebirth supports classic Descent 1 and II work on a new and powerful computer. Unlike D2X-XL.

Descent Rebirth Official Site

Will it still connect to people playing online with D2X-XL? I may have to check that out.

ReBirth is the way to go - excellent program.

Cpt. Zaphod B. wrote:Will it still connect to people playing online with D2X-XL?

I'm not sure... Rebirth and D2X-XL aren't brothers, I mean they're different.

I'm not sure whether I just misunderstood the post, but D2X-XL does work on \"new and powerful\" computers - actually it works better since you can use features like high-resolution lightmaps / per-pixel lighting that I wouldn't recommend on lower-end machines. I'm not sure what the bottom-end requirements for D2X-XL are, since I haven't heard from anyone who has tried to hit them.

However, D2X-XL and D2X-Rebirth are not compatible in multiplayer, sorry. There was some kind of effort to fix this a while back, but it fell through, and chances are slim that that will change in the future. My advice would be to use what your friends are using.

Sirius wrote:My advice would be to use what your friends are using.

x2

Rebirth seems to be more popular for multiplayer, and for singleplayer I usually play XL.

Rebirth keeps Descent 1 and II look traditional.

D2X-XL kills Descent's classic and then modifies as adding sexy graphics, effects, and blah.

Sounds like I should download both lol.
It sounds like Rebirth would be better feeling-wise, since I like the classic feel to things better, but it also sounds like there are things in D2X-XL that are also worth checking out. That way, if someone simply specifies whether it's a Rebirth or XL game for multiplayer, I know which one to open for multiplayer.

Yep, a lot of us use both versions.
In case you didn't know there is some pretty heated debate on these forums (and practically any other Descent board) about which is better... I wouldn't get involved in that... but each to his own.

Just so the, um, misinformation doesn't get out of hand, it's quite possible to run D2X-XL with the \"classic\" look as well. It's probably not why you'd use it, but it wouldn't really be honest to say it throws old-school Descent out the door.

I'll probably end up setting it to the most classic look possible, but I'll mess around with graphics and see what I like best.
They both require a seperate copy of the game, correct?

I believe so... I think theoretically you could put the two in the same folder but you'd need two copies of most of the data files (because of D2X-XL's folder system) so you'd end up with 2 copies of the game anyway.

Yeah, I've done that. DOS D2 in main directory, D2X-XL in main directory with data copied to /data, D2X-Rebirth in another subdirectory and configured to look one level up for its data. Bit messy.

Sounds easier just to have two seperate copies of the game. Which in theory is easy enough.