# It's not a computer game, it's crack disguised as a computer game. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407 "2003-01-23T08:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kiteboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9c0ed/32.png) [@kiteboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiteboy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/41 "2003-01-23T22:17:38Z")
When **Civilization** first came out, it ran 24 hours a day on my roomate’s computer, rotated between 3 addicts: I worked during the day, and upon coming home would play all evening. When my roomate got home from his 2nd shift job, I’d go to bed and he would play all night. Then in the morning, as I was leaving for work again, my roomate would go to sleep and a friend of ours showed up to take over during the day. My other roomate at the time, seeing the awesome grip this game had on us, refused to play at all for fear of becoming another addict in the chain. (He’s currently hooked on **Evercrack** …) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/42 "2003-01-23T22:30:17Z")
Ohhh… I was thinking _Caesar III_ too, and I don’t even like strategy games much. Carrier Command on my old Amiga 500 was a ton of fun that constantly had me coming back for more and more. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/43 "2003-01-23T22:35:10Z")
Huh. Am I the only one with a fascination for **Lemmings**? Right now, though, it’s Civ III. My wife and I had a minor argument the day before yesterday because I’m frequently not coming to bed before 1am. “No, hon, I just have to finish this section. Half an hour.” Then, an hour later, I’m hurrying production on a cathedral to expand my cultural border and pin those goddamn Aztecs up on the peninsula, while simultaneously gnawing my lip as a settler crawls across the desert toward a prime bit of real estate the Romans have also been exploring. I just gotta complete this road and colonize the saltpeter, and _then_ I’ll go to bed, I tell myself. Oh, shit, barbarians _again?_ Okay, set these three cities building cavalry, and aren’t those dumb-bastard workers done clearing that freakin’ jungle yet? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/44 "2003-01-23T23:46:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin \* > \*\*Gotta be **The Sims**. One of the few games where expansion packs actually \*improve[/] on the original. \*\* I’m not really a computer game sort of person. I think I could be, I’ve just never really been hooked… but the Sims, I (like many other players) had that moment where I realized that I hadn’t bathed myself, eaten, or changed clothes (I live alone, I can get away with that) because I was too involved in trying to make little animated people do exactly those things. (OTOH, they have maids. I don’t. And much cooler furniture.) I am looking for a new obsession (Roller Coaster Tycoon was ok, but… and I can’t get the expansion packs to install on XP.) so I’m looking here for suggestions…especially ones that don’t really involve eye-hand coordination. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/45 "2003-01-23T23:54:52Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned **Hack** / **Nethack**. Just cause it’s been around so long, I’ve easily spent more time on that than anything else. Another old game that hooked me was the original **Descent**. And some of the other standards - **Heroes III, Civ 2, Diablo II, Starcraft**. I wonder if I’m getting picky in my old age - I’ve been greatly disappointed by my last three purchases - **Heroes IV, Civ 3 and Warcraft III**. I just don’t see what makes them better than earlier versions (admittedly comparing Warcraft III to Starcraft, not the earlier Warcrafts). ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/46 "2003-01-24T00:46:08Z")
It’s gotta be **Everquest**. I got it for my birthday in 99, I haven’t played another computer game for any length of time since. \<-- Erollisi Marr server!! ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/47 "2003-01-24T01:10:56Z")
- Wing Commander 2 - Civ - X-Com - Civ 2 - Alpha Centauri ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/48 "2003-01-24T16:43:57Z")
Showing my age, but **Dungeon Master** on ye olde Atari ST still owes me about 4 months of my life. Also, a couple of platform games I played to death back then, **Rick Dangerous** and the brilliant **Nebulus** on the C64. And I still love **Galaga** and **Mr.Do** , courtesy of MAME these days. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/49 "2003-01-24T17:07:51Z")
“I had to make up a special boot disc (I have it still, for old times’ sake)…” Ah yes, the charming days of DOS. I used to have over 50 different autoexec.bat and config.sys configurations on my C:\ drive, each one painstakingly prepared so that the particular game game that I wanted to play would be able to play with all the bells and whistles. I also had a little batch program written so that I could type in 1 command line to copy two files. Each one of these files had extensions that corresponded to the game, ala Autoexec.civ, config.civ Autoexec.moo, config.moo Autoexec.xen, config.xen Autoexec.xcm, config.xcm [Autoexec.org](http://Autoexec.org), [config.org](http://config.org) (ORG meant “original”) etc, etc. To get the proper files to load, I would type in Autocopy \*.moo which would run the following .bat command: “Copy %1 \*.sys Copy %1 \*.bat” Yeah, I’d end up with a config.sys and a config.bat files (same thing with autoexec), but screw it. It worked and it was easy.\* Those were the days… NOT! \*If I messed up the batch program, it has been quite a while since I’ve had to do this so the memory is a bit hazy. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/50 "2003-01-24T17:10:41Z")
Should be “would run the autocopy.bat command:” ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/51 "2003-01-24T17:23:25Z")
So, I picked up Black & White. I’ve brought every single stone on the damn island to the stupid sculptor, his house looks like a rock garden, but despite having been squished by several of them (I got frustrated after a while) he hasn’t actually taken notice of any of them. That’s a very good way to have someone lose interest in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Sejal\_Traurig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Sejal\_Traurig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sejal_Traurig)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/52 "2003-01-24T18:17:19Z")
Glory, I play on E Marr too… My name here is my character name there… Also, I would have to say that the reason you don’t see many people naming _ **EverQuest** _ is because they are too busy on the XP treadmill to spend any length of time here at the SDMB… Me? I’ve got three computers on my desk… heh… ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/53 "2003-01-24T19:29:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Malacandra \* > \*\*Civ and Civ2, the former slightly more than the latter as a big game in Civ2 does take bloody ages to finish, though the game’s a goodie for all that. > > Elite and Lords of Midnight, from the good old cassette days. Yes, I managed to crank out a win at LoM within a fortnight of opening the box, but it had amazing replay value just trying to do different things, such as weakening the Ice Fear enough that the craven Lord Trorn could be persuaded to attack Ushgarak. > > Might & Magic 6 and 7, both. Also Heroes III and Armageddon’s Blade. > > MoM a thousand times over. It’s amazing how many different killer stratagems you could come up with. I liked Runemaster/Artificer for the ridiculously cheap items you could make; White warlords with Crusade, Holy Arms and a few Altars of Battle to pump up the favourite units (Halfling Slingers were surprisingly good; that +1 To Hit and Lucky covered a multitude of sins; and I once enjoyed some success with Champion-level Rangers, which were normally quite dismal); and, of course, the heroes. Torin was extremely good (no duh) but I also liked Warrax for his armour-piercing zap - it could punch through Magic Immunity once he had some worthwhile items - Malleus for sheer firepower, and on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion Mortu the Black Knight acquired enough speed and punch that he could take out a stack of Sky Drakes single-handed. He was fast enough to run up to them, take a Drake out with First Strike and then flee out of range in his remaining half-move. What joy. > > And of course beginning with 11 black books and whistling up a single Wraiths unit that not only took out neutral and enemy cities alike at that early stage of the game, but left undead garrisons behind… > > Ah, happy days. But it was no treat to run. I had to make up a special boot disc (I have it still, for old times’ sake)… > > Stop! Stop! Shut up about MoM!!! \*\* I had this game and loved it. When I first had it, though, there was a problem with my install, I believe with the graphics for the wraiths, because every time I had a tactical battle with wraiths the game crashed - I would have to switch it into strategic battles before I attacked with them, and be on the constant lookout for enemy wraiths…very frustrating, but not enough to make me not like the game. I agree that halfling slingers are one of the most powerful units in the game. I would play red and white magic, give them chaos mutations and holy weapon + eldritch weapon, and have flying halfling slingers that could take out almost any unit with one or two attacks (the big advantage of halflings was that there were 8 per unit, instead of the 6 or 4 of other types). BTW, I got MoM to work on an NT system at work at my old job, with sound as well! I downloaded it from an abandonware site and that sure made working nights go faster. I don’t get addicted to games as much as I used to, but Europa Universalis II is damn addictive. I lent it to my friend because I had another new game that I wanted to play but never did, because every time I would sit down to play it I would fire up EUII instead. BF1942 also has a way of sucking away your hours, especially once you find a good server - you get to know the other players, develop grudges, and start working together, it makes you hate to log off because you might have to suffer through several servers of plane campers and TKing idiots before finding another sweet server. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/54 "2003-01-24T19:42:44Z")
So this is what a 12-step program is like. Hello. My name is Ol’Gaffer and I’m a **Civilization 2** addict. Additionally, I have, at various times, also been addicted to **Alpha Centauri** , **Fallout 2** , and **X-Wing**. I can also remember a 36-hour marathon of **Curse of the Azure Bonds** once we exchanged the 5.25" floppies for the new and improved 3.5" disks. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/55 "2003-01-24T19:48:45Z")
I believe games such as Diablo II have hidden graphics in them that stimulate the human brain to create a crack-like high as you play them. Otherwise, why would I abandon family, sleep, work & friends to pump up my Amazon Pinky to yet another level by doing yet another Bloody Run? ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/56 "2003-01-24T20:41:14Z")
When I first got **Doom** I use to play until I was dizzy, bug-eyed and babbling aloud. Them monsters scairt me! And of course I kept going back. \ ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/57 "2003-01-24T21:45:52Z")
Final Fantasy 1 Final Fantasy 7 (Really hurt ny college GPA. I never could get into 8) Diablo II - I’ve been playing it for over 2 years now, and still play several hours a week. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/58 "2003-01-24T22:02:46Z")
Star Control II - Double whammy, because the adventure game was great, huge and time-consuming, and the head-to-head game was also great (and I ruled at it, thank you very much.) Baldur’s Gate II - Biggest RPG I’ve ever played (and the best, probably, though Planescape: Torment was great). But the All-Time most destructively time-consuming game in my life award goes to: Ultima Online I spent hours MINING in this god-forsaken game. MINING!!! CLICKING ON ROCKS! SLOWLY! There had to be some kind of hidden signal coming out of my monitor and lobotomizing me or something. I played the damn thing for two years! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/59 "2003-01-24T22:09:31Z")
**Scupper** , sounds like you had it bad. At least things died when I played for hours on end. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407/60 "2003-01-24T22:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > **What computer games have you become obsessed with to the point of ignoring other trivial things in your life such as your job, wife, and eating at regular intervals?** One should never neglect eating ones wife at regular intervals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-not-a-computer-game-its-crack-disguised-as-a-computer-game/150407.md?page=4)