> Someone recently asked if the source code from Descent 3 will be released.
For reference: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40009248
Very cool — thank you!
Descent 3 Source Code
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Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are correct. It’s an awesome game though.
I tried it and literally couldn’t figure it out. I got like 15 minutes into and had no idea what to do. What makes it so good?
It’s all fits together in a very nice way. It’s very much a space archaeology game — if you like exploring the game universe and understanding how it works, you’ll like it, but that exploration is the bulk of what it has going on.
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#53What an amazing game, I absolutely loved Descent!
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#54I loved loved loved this game. Never understood why this concept didn’t become a whole genre. No actual up, 360 degree freedom, enemies that were smart and could snipe you. Wasted many hours back then and very eager to try this out.
There's a weird effect where sometimes one game in a genre will become so iconic that nobody wants to try and make another one, possibly out of fear of seeming like they're ripping it off? It happened to Descent, and I feel like it happened to e.g. Myst as well - everyone was expecting the huge success of Myst to launch a whole genre, and then it just... didn't.
Forsaken. Similar enough that I'd call it a ripoff. I got the boxed version with the girly calendar.
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#55I loved loved loved this game. Never understood why this concept didn’t become a whole genre. No actual up, 360 degree freedom, enemies that were smart and could snipe you. Wasted many hours back then and very eager to try this out.
Hellbender on PC was a good one too
Terminal Velocity and Fury3 before it...
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#56I could never get into Descent. I liked the flying around in 3D bit, but the fact that the levels were truly 3D (ie, didn't have a ground and up/down) meant I was always getting disoriented and lost. I just didn't enjoy that feeling.
Just remember, "The enemy is always down" ...
I know what you're referencing, but I always held the bottom of my screen as down and most enemies forwards.
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#57I loved loved loved this game. Never understood why this concept didn’t become a whole genre. No actual up, 360 degree freedom, enemies that were smart and could snipe you. Wasted many hours back then and very eager to try this out.
Not that you asked, but there's exactly one (popular) game that utilizes the same control scheme in modern times, Outer Wilds. Although it's not a shooter, it's quite a nice adventure game. https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/ There is, however, an outright continuation of the subgenre, in Overload. https://store.steampowered.com/app/448850/Overload/
Overload is awesome! However I wonder if some remnants of 90s game design like tight time limits and repeating enemy ambushes that make the game such a familiar and intense experience for the old school in reality disadvantage the game and the genre from reaching wider audiences.
There was also another classic Descent contender, Forsaken, that got remastared in 2018 to run on Linux and macOS in addition to modern Windows platforms. The original game was actually used as a graphics benchmark for early 3d accelerators due to its lighting effects.
That said, looking forward to playing Descent 3 on a modern platform!
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#58I loved loved loved this game. Never understood why this concept didn’t become a whole genre. No actual up, 360 degree freedom, enemies that were smart and could snipe you. Wasted many hours back then and very eager to try this out.
There was Shattered Horizon from 2009, a zero g multiplayer shooter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWsHxTFPxSE
One fun feature was you could shut off your suit power to go into a stealth mode. This turned off all the HUD elements, and, amusingly enough, turned off most gameplay noises (the explosions and bullets whizzing by) because, in-universe, all those noises are generated by the suit computer, because space is silent!
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#59Fond memories of Descent. I bought a flightstick to play it.
Also Descent was the first game in the 1990s I've played with a VR headset.
Re: Descent 3 Source Code
#60This is fantastic. I was obsessed with Descent and played with my friend over our... 14.4 Kbps modems (along with Warcraft II). When Descent II came out, I would go to Best Buy to play it on a demo machine. I remember how amazed I was at the missilecam. That absolutely blew my mind.
I don't think I ever really played 3, watching the trailer. But I _did_ make the jump to Volition's Descent: Freespace. THAT game was the first one where I made the concerted effort to save up, as a 9th grader, for an NVidia Riva TNT after seeing my friend's, and how awesome the particle rendering was in it. If only I just, you know, dumped a few hundred bucks into $NVDA at the time instead.
But man, these games were so great.