Classic (really old) computer strategy games

[RobS]

I never liked Populous.

Me neither, probably because I never saw much strategy behind it. It was just a graphics show-off. In that sense, it was similar to Battle Chess, which didn't make Chess any more exciting, but just added some cute animations.

What I can't believe is that Empire/Empire Deluxe didn't get mentioned until page 3 in this thread. This was the go-to 4x game prior to the Civ games, and even after Civ I I still played Empire Deluxe for years. There's a new(er) version here: https://killerbeesoftware.com/kbsgames/

 

[Plotinus]

I loved Populous, but mostly maps where raising/lowering land wasn’t allowed. Because otherwise that’s pretty much all you did.

 

[Kyriakos]

I loved Populous, but mostly maps where raising/lowering land wasn’t allowed. Because otherwise that’s pretty much all you did.

I haven't played that much of it (and only Populous II).
Powermonger would be the closer to it I got to actually play for many hours.

 

[Plotinus]

I haven't played PowerMonger, though I think the gameplay was quite different from Populous. In Populous you controlled the landscape, not the people, except via very general commands.

Populous II was an amazingly good game. It was far more varied than the original. However, I always thought that the original had a sort of charm that the sequel lacked. The lack of any explicit context or story made it feel quite surreal.

Even the sequel still suffered from the "spend most of your time frantically flattening land" syndrome though. I wish they'd limited this aspect of the gameplay to create more variety. Alas, Molyneux has spent much of his time since reworking the original idea with more flaws, not fewer!

 

[Zardnaar]

These old things?

 

[Kyriakos]

Megalomania was a very cool game.

 

[Plotinus]

In some ways it was. But it differed from very little real interaction with what was going on on screen. You just raised and lowered numbers in the menus to the left. And the gameplay in almost level was pretty much the same too; the only variation came from the differing elements in each sector, which you had to learn by trial and error.

I mean, I did enjoy it. But it was one of those games that looked (and sounded) amazing while being utterly shallow.

 

[Kyriakos]

In some ways it was. But it differed from very little real interaction with what was going on on screen. You just raised and lowered numbers in the menus to the left. And the gameplay in almost level was pretty much the same too; the only variation came from the differing elements in each sector, which you had to learn by trial and error.

I mean, I did enjoy it. But it was one of those games that looked (and sounded) amazing while being utterly shallow.

But for me it had that "magic" (surreal) element, you linked to Populous. Although it wasn't as abstract, I suppose.
It also had a nicely absurd mythology, with the game being played each time a new world was created, to battle-test it.

Indeed the strategy was the same, and you had to learn which tiles held important resources later on (mostly after airplanes appeared), which could only be done by trial and error. It was a pretty easy to win game too - though some maps required special strategy because you could never land troops across the sea, only attack with flying machines or missiles/bombs.

 

[Plotinus]

Yes, true. The final showdown was always hopelessly easy. As long as you'd stored any people for it at all it was simple to win.

 

[Kyriakos]

Sure, I recall having hundreds (iirc, was there even a limit?) so the final map was won immediately, though being a sadist I just occupied all tiles apart from one and developed any tech

Around the same time I was also playing Utopia, which had its own issues. Primarily that you couldn't see the enemy world, only send expeditions (at least they could attack you on your map).
Excellent soundtrack and nice style of gfx, but not that many different buildings nor (I think) building upgrades (just different levels of the same building, all available from the start).

 

[Plotinus]

Ah, I don't know that one. I'm enjoying the music though!