# Wasteland **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 9, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765 "2011-02-09T15:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/1 "2011-02-09T15:38:30Z")
This was my favorite game back in the day. Played it over and over and over again and never got tired of it. I had played it through so many times that my characters’ attributes were all in triple digits. I started thinking about it yesterday for some reason and decided that I HAD to play it again, but alas, my old disks are long gone (or buried in my parents basement somewhere, which is as good as long gone), and even if I had them in my hands, #1) I have a Mac, and #2) even if I had a PC it would not have the appropriate disk drive. What to do?! Luckily we live in a day and age where such problems are trivial matters. A few minutes of Googling yielded a free copy of the game from an [abandonware site](http://www.abandonia.com/) and another few minutes of searching yielded a program ([Boxer](http://boxerapp.com/)) that runs what appears to be a perfect emulation of MS-DOS on my Mac! I was playing Wasteland until almost midnight and I can’t wait to get home and continue. Meanwhile I’m thinking about looking for some of my other old MS-DOS favorites, if only I could remember the names… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/2 "2011-02-09T16:42:38Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’m thinking about looking for some of my other old MS-DOS favorites, if only I could remember the names… [Home of the Underdogs](http://www.hotud.org/) should be able to help with that. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/3 "2011-02-09T16:52:04Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Home of the Underdogs](http://www.hotud.org/) should be able to help with that. Sweeet! Thanks! I’m already makin’ a list, starting with **Archon** … ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/4 "2011-02-09T17:15:10Z")
Wait, is abandonware legal? I know it is generally unenforced since they are abandoned, but aren’t a lot of abandonware games still under copyright? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/5 "2011-02-09T17:16:14Z")
By the way, Home of the Underdogs is straight-up legal. I am aware of that. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/6 "2011-02-09T18:03:40Z")
Abandonware is one of those cases where I really don’t CARE if it’s legal or not. If copyright rules made any darn sense, the stuff would all be public domain by now. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/7 "2011-02-09T19:00:43Z")
You ought to try Fallout… it’s pretty much “the game they wanted to make, but couldn’t” when they made Wasteland. It’s very similar to Wasteland, only better. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/8 "2011-02-09T19:05:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You ought to try Fallout… it’s pretty much “the game they wanted to make, but couldn’t” when they made Wasteland. It’s very similar to Wasteland, only better. I had Fallout 1 and 2 back in the day and very much enjoyed them. Think I might be on the lookout for a copy of those, too. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/9 "2011-02-09T19:13:05Z")
Wasteland is still one of my favorite games. I always felt bad about having to kill Rex. I also enjoyed getting the Red Ryder to show up in Highpool. Although, you have to make sure you don’t loot him after you kill him. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/10 "2011-02-09T20:07:42Z")
I absolutely loved Wasteland and played it to death. My greatest accomplishment was actually killing the “Nightmare”, I think it was called. Some crazy monster that you met in some weird vision level and was supposed to be effectively unkillable. I had a “Proton Axe” I think, some high-powered but not-ammo-limited weapon, and just whaled on it for what seemed like hours. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/11 "2011-02-09T20:21:36Z")
Recently, a company I’ve never heard of has released the first two Fallout games for digital download at $10: > **[Fallout on Impulse - Blue's News Story](https://www.bluesnews.com/s/118475/fallout-on-impulse)** > > Impulse announces the launch of some Interplay classics on their digital distribution service today. They now offer Fallout, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, as well as a Fallout Classic Collection bundle that offers all three... There used to be a list out there on the internet showing point-by-point that Fallout was practically a remake of Wasteland. I never did get far in Wasteland, since I wasn’t able to get my hand on it back in the days when it really counted. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/12 "2011-02-09T20:51:03Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > I absolutely loved Wasteland and played it to death. My greatest accomplishment was actually killing the “Nightmare”, I think it was called. Some crazy monster that you met in some weird vision level and was supposed to be effectively unkillable. I had a “Proton Axe” I think, some high-powered but not-ammo-limited weapon, and just whaled on it for what seemed like hours. I believe that was the “[Night Terror](http://wasteland.protozoic.com/wasteland/waste-pic/pc-pic/night-screamer.gif)” from when you went inside of Finster’s head. Not impossible to kill but almost; like getting killed by the Scorpitron like 100 times my first play through. After playing through a few times and coming back to Vegas with my beefed-up characters the Scorpitron was child’s play! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/13 "2011-02-09T21:02:21Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I had Fallout 1 and 2 back in the day and very much enjoyed them. Think I might be on the lookout for a copy of those, too. Steam sells them. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/14 "2011-02-09T21:27:14Z")
I recommend getting the Fallout games from _[Good old games](http://www.gog.com)_ as the games you buy from there are totally DRM free. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/15 "2011-02-09T21:29:17Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I believe that was the “[Night Terror](http://wasteland.protozoic.com/wasteland/waste-pic/pc-pic/night-screamer.gif)” from when you went inside of Finster’s head. Not impossible to kill but almost; like getting killed by the Scorpitron like 100 times my first play through. After playing through a few times and coming back to Vegas with my beefed-up characters the Scorpitron was child’s play! Yeah, it was Night Terror. It had a pretty good AC and a ludicrously high amount of hit points. Good thing is that it really didn’t do much damage to you and you never had to fight it. As far as the Scorpitron, first time I played the game (using the pre-gen characters even, ugh!) I just filled him full of Antitank Rockets. (LAW, RPG-7, Sabot, etc.) Later, playthroughs I realized that full auto Assault rifles with a decent enough skill could take him out as well. I still remember the time I saw a walkthrough that actually broke down all the math calculations for determining “to-hit” values, armor bypassing, and damage. Apparently, a high pugilism score when fighting only with your fists was the single best armor-penetrating weapon out there, with the exception of the Red Ryder gun (available only through the loot-bag cheat) which was an auto one-shot kill on anything. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/16 "2011-02-09T23:51:08Z")
I never did figure out how to get to Mars ☹ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/17 "2011-02-10T02:28:04Z")
I’ve got complete in the box copy for the Commodore 64. Unfortunately, all my C 64 disks stopped working a few years ago. Re Home Of The Underdogs If the copyright owner or a party legititmately representing the owner complains, HOTU takes the game down. They have taken down several hundred games for this reason. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/18 "2011-02-10T19:05:06Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I never did figure out how to get to Mars ☹ > > 😉 I gave up trying after the Wasteland Thought Police beat down my door. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/19 "2011-02-10T20:14:59Z")
When I first played Wasteland, way back on my Apple II+, I accidentally swapped out a disk at the wrong time, or saved wrong, or something similar. What it led to was me being completely unable to get the sonic key in Vegas. I played for weeks trying to get the thing, and finally had to restart the entire game. My characters ended up pretty xp-beefy, but ran out of ammo. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765/20 "2011-02-11T21:28:21Z")
> [@ArrMatey](#): > > When I first played Wasteland, way back on my Apple II+, I accidentally swapped out a disk at the wrong time, or saved wrong, or something similar. What it led to was me being completely unable to get the sonic key in Vegas. I played for weeks trying to get the thing, and finally had to restart the entire game. My characters ended up pretty xp-beefy, but ran out of ammo. The sonic key shows up in multiple places. One of the Newmen (i.e. the cyborgs that inhabit the sewers) has one. There is also one buried in the golf course. There is also one in the cyborg motorcycle gang that attacks you in the NE area of vegas. You only need one, and you can get into the sewers by giving the woman in the Temple of the Servants of the Mushroom Cloud the real Bloodstaff from the Servants of Blood in Needles (whether or not you gave it to the priest of the Needles Mushroom Cloud Church first). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wasteland/570765.md?page=2)