190 replies to this topic

[Stealthyy]

http://letmegoogleth...t is a BBS game

I'm not stupid. I did google it before I asked here but if you actually look at the results it gives you will find none of them explain what the hell a BBS game is.

[SPK]

I'm not stupid. I did google it before I asked here but if you actually look at the results it gives you will find none of them explain what the hell a BBS game is.

I'll bite:

BBS: Bulletin Board System (host)
The bedroom warrior would have the BBS software running on his/her PC (usually DOS based) that ran the whole show. Remember, this was a time when a 386 PC with 4MB ram was worth around $2000-$3000 so dedicating a PC and a fast modem to this task was quite the investment, not to mention the phone company rates were sky high due to no competition whatsoever, and if you were going to do it right you had a dedicated phone line attached to that PC.

User:
The user would use a connection program, I used to use "Commo" to control my modem and protocols like Zmodem . Essentially it was like a modern Telnet connection, but the initial contact was made modem to modem instead of using TCP/IP. Username/Password access would get you into the system. User permissions were used to keep people in line - many BBS's had 'adult' sections and other things that weren't for anyone. (waiting up to 1/2h for one 50kb .jpg to download was the norm - to give you an idea of how slow these connections were)

So BBS Games: often called 'door' games or 'doors' since the metaphor on many BBS's was that you were moving between rooms on the board, so you would open a new door to access Legend of the Red Dragon (LORD) or Tradewars 2002, or whatever game was available. Everything was text based or ASCII art. There wasn't anything else! I remember playing a hockey game via BBS - all text based - and awesome.

Multiplayer: Unless you were on one of the big, popular BBS's that had multiple phone lines, "Multiplayer" pre-Internet was mostly turn based. Once you log in, you usually had a limited amount of time per session that you could stay connected, or the BBS would kick you off so someone else could dial up.

For example take Tradewars 2002. I would log in to the BBS and open the TW2002 door. This put me into the game, where I would have (for eg) 200 turns for the day. I would take my turns, read up on what other players did, whether or not they found and attacked my planets or ships and then when my 200 daily turns were done, I would log out and wait until the next day to continue.

Once finished with TW2002, I had the option of using the rest of my time for that phone call sending messages - forum discussions were pretty much like they are now, only not nearly as well presented as this board, for eg. or sending Fido mail (many BBS's in the network would route mail through each other nightly. So BBS #1 in Toronto would make a local call to BBS #2 in Oakville. Oakville would make another local call to the next city down the line and so on. In this manner, we were able to exchange "email" over great distances while almost nobody incurred long distance charges to do it.) This was the reason for the long round-trip delay on sending messages but at the same time, the only other alternative was snail-mail or the telephone.

Or, you could take your daily turn(s) at any of the other games found on that particular board.

So BBS Games are mostly text based, turn based and sometimes they're also MMO - just not at the same time. A PP turn-based MMO in the style of the old BBS games sounds great. I can't wait to take a crack at it. This format ought to prove very interesting with the updated graphics available today. Definitely looking forward to seeing it in action.

hope that helps

SPK

[nerdlike]

Holy mother of god i cant wait till this shit comes out. Nice to finally get some news after the tragedy, so we know you guys are still hanging in there. Oh and where do i sign up?

[maxz]

Please name it The-Only-Game-On-The-Shelf-That-Doesn't-Lick-My-Balls

[Skrie]

This post made me read a whole wiki on Serendipity

[rugmonkey]

Sounds good can not wait for the game to come out. Thanks to SPK for the info on BBS games before my time I think.

[ChexGuy331]

Wow is all I have to say, this new MMOTBWG concept art looks nifty.

GL man.

[teh_dispwned]

really awsome to hear from you guys again, i say take the time you need, im not going to say thats the way troy would have wanted it, because i dodnt know him well enough, just take the time you need and im glad to see the show continued

i cant be dispwned with out the pwnerer ther to pwn it up

[rabbeseking]

Thanks Jarret. This was pretty much all I needed.

I have faith and hope in Pure Pwnage, and your new projects, which also seem really interesting.

I cant wait for the new episode, it'll be the first new one I see.

[PwnLord]

Take your time, keep it real, good luck.

~PwnLord

[bionictofu]

Thanks for this post, and best of luck on your game.

[Maphusio]

Thanks PP crew.

You have put smiles on millions of faces across the world... No small feet. Troy will be immortalized in PP and hopefully his energy will keep you moving toward your ultimate goals with PP as well as your other dreams. I'm sure I speak for most when I say I can't wait to see what you roll out with. A turn based game?! Awesome -although, don't tell Bethesda.

[Xiphiass]

Hey wait wat.



Awesome.




Wait wat.

[PhateGBR]

Is that a tree on your crotch or are you just happy to see me?

































I'll get my coat

[J4CK31]

Oh dear. I think my balls just exploded in happiness.

[spazure]

you young people


the big issue I had with bbs games was things like:
You are in a room there is a desk with a lamp on it
>look lamp
you see no lamp

Hahahahaha MajorMUD, the original WoW.

[backlash53]

This is awesome news when i saw the long wall of text the first thing i thought was oh shit they are stopping the show : / but then after reading on and seeing your plans for the future i got a great sigh of relief

[Master C]

ooooh shiney.

[PlasmaNuke]

Great update. I read the first few sentences, and I'm like "Oh God they're canceling the show, aren't they?" I think most of the members he just don't like suspense, they don't care how long the next episode takes, as long as they know the show will continue and they'll be able to remember the storyline when they see the next episode. I'm one of those members . The point I'm getting at is, well, take your time.

Also, could you release the already-taken footage of the episode and of Troy's acting as extras?

One more thing, does a person have to be a special member to sign up for this closed beta? If not, count me in.

[SorrowNight]

lol BBS