BeardyHat's recent activity
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Comment on Kazeta: Retro 90s style gaming operating system in ~games
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
BeardyHat LinkSo far, so good, I guess? I seem to have made it to Salzburg, but I'm not entirely sure what's happening yet. I do understand a few things Spoilers I understand that I need to find the...Firebird?...So far, so good, I guess?
I seem to have made it to Salzburg, but I'm not entirely sure what's happening yet. I do understand a few things
Spoilers
I understand that I need to find the...Firebird? And that...lady with Wolf has it. I also understand that Kronos is attempting to distract her and just saw that he's invited her back to his car at 3pm, so I'm assuming he'll take care of her dog and I may be able to get in there.I was also trying to get the train whistle from the Francois, but I'm unsure what's happened to it. I managed to make it into his and his mothers room, but there didn't appear to be anything I could interact with, even going through the toilet into the other room. So, I dunno.
At this point, I kind of feel like I'm lacking in agency; things just seem to be happening and I have an idea of what I should be doing, but it seems like often I'm just sort of wandering around the train and waiting for the next cutscene to play. I haven't really done much, if that makes sense. I'm half tempted to check my guide just to see if I'm on the right track (hah!), but I really want to keep going and see what happens and maybe some greater truth will be revealed and I'll have a better understanding of the game and what's going on here.
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThis is a known issue, unfortunately. You're going through multiple layers of emulation, however, I have a solution that works pretty well. It takes some effort, but once you know the process, you...This is a known issue, unfortunately. You're going through multiple layers of emulation, however, I have a solution that works pretty well. It takes some effort, but once you know the process, you can get any DOS game working like this in about 10 minutes or less.
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI don't own a Mac, but you should be able to use similar instructions to get it running from my post with a native Mac version of DOSBOX. There's also a few mentions of ScummVM in this thread, so...I don't own a Mac, but you should be able to use similar instructions to get it running from my post with a native Mac version of DOSBOX.
There's also a few mentions of ScummVM in this thread, so that may also be worth investigating.
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Comment on CGA-2025-09 🕹️🚂 INSERT CARTRIDGE 🟢 The Last Express in ~games
BeardyHat LinkSo excited to play this!! Couldn't wait last night, so I started tinkering around with various versions to see what I preferred method was. Tried the Dotemu version on my Tablet, since I already...So excited to play this!! Couldn't wait last night, so I started tinkering around with various versions to see what I preferred method was. Tried the Dotemu version on my Tablet, since I already owned it via a Humble Sale many years ago (Note that this one is technically broken for a few reasons. Namely, it'll only work on older Android (my tablet is on 13) and the servers to download the core files no longer function even if you can get the .apk installed. I ended-up hitting the pirate sites and grabbing the obb folder files from there and then my game worked great.
That said, I also owned the original release via GoG and ultimately decided to play it on my Steam Deck. Mainly because I wanted to make sure I got the original, intended experience.
For those playing on Steam Deck (this would also work for any other Linux)
You can definitely get DOS games running through Heroic Games or whatever your third party launcher of choice is. However, I find this a little clumsy and often run into issues with DOS games, given you're running it through several layers of emulation with Proton. A couple of months ago, I worked on my own methodology for getting DOS games to run via the Steam Launcher via the native Linux DOSBOX-Staging, which runs everything great, plus throws a nice little subtle CRT shader on there for you. It's a little complicated to get setup, but once you've got it figured, it only takes about 15-20 minutes to get something setup properly. It's a little work aroundy and has quite a few steps, but I found this worked best for me out of all the other methods I was able to find by Googling.
Anyway, the steps (All in Desktop):
Presteps:
- In your Home directory, create a folder called something like DOS Games
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Grab DOSBOX-Staging from the Discover Store
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Download the Offline Installer (Important, this won't work with your Heroic Games version) from gog.com
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Add the Offline Installer to Steam, Install the game (Be sure to select a Proton version and not to remove the entry immediately afterwards)
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Find the compatdata folder at "/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/" sort by last modified and that'll be your folder. Dig into the folder and find the games folder itself. Copy/Cut it and put it in your newly created DOS Games folder. At this point, you can now remove the installer that we added to Steam in step 3. I recommend changing your games folder name to something easier to manage in DOS; given DOS can only manage 8 characters or so. You'll see this reflected later in my .conf file with my folder "DOS Games" becoming "DOSGAM~1" For instance, I changed my "The Last Express" folder name to just "tle".
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Open a new Dolphin window, or split your current window as we'll be working in two directories for a minute. Navigate to "/home/deck/.var/app/io.github.dosbox-staging/config/dosbox/" this is our DOSBOX Staging folder. Go back to your DOS Games folder you copied the game to earlier and find the config file. In this case it will be called "dosboxTLE.conf" we can ignore the other .conf file. Copy the .conf file over to your Dosbox Staging folder.
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Open up the .conf file that you just copied over (make sure you're opening the new one in the DOSBOX Staging folder and NOT the one in the Game folder). Keep in mind, what I'm about to copy is directly from my .conf file so your folder structure may differ if you've changed the names of folders and you will need to compensate for that. Add the following to the top of your .conf file, under the "#" commented out notes:
[autoexec]
mount c "/home/deck"
C:
cd DOSGAM~1\tle
mount d "/home/deck/DOS Games/tle/data" -t cdrom
EXPRESS.exeJust a quick note, that you can also do this with other games, changing the appropriate directories and file names. In the case of The Last Express, I'm copying what GoG does and just mounting the entire /data/ folder as a CD-ROM, which should allow me to switch when time comes-up. However, I've done other games where I mounted the ISO's seperately, in which case the syntax is
imgmount d "/folder/folder/folder/folder/game.GOG" -t -iso
Note that GoG often renames .iso files to .GOG files, but they work the same either way. You can even rename the extension if you like and it'll work the same
After adding the above to your .conf file, make sure you save the file and now you're done here.
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Almost there. Now, go back to Steam itself and add a Non-Steam game to your library from the drop down. It is irrelevant what you pick, because we just need the entry itself, we'll be changing everything it points to. So pick anything and add it.
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Find the newly added entry, right click it and open up your properties, then change the following:
Name the shortcut: The Last Express
Target: "/usr/bin/flatpak"
Start In: "/usr/bin"
Launch Options: run io.github.dosbox-staging -conf dosboxTLE.confClose out of there and you're done! The game should now start when you launch it from within Steam.
Don't forget you can also add custom art to the banner and the icon itself, so it looks like a normal Steam game. I'll leave this for you to figure out, as it's a fairly straightforward process.I want to note that I also made the changes listed in the post by @Kawa, as I had noticed some stuttering with my audio here and there, so hopefully that'll resolve the problem for me. It wasn't too bothersome, as I stopped noticing it almost immediately, but I figure it can't hurt to throw in some more tweaks here and there.
At any rate, I'm excited to get to playing some more here as time allows. I did download the Prima guide on my tablet (as well as actually bought a used copy on Amazon for $21. Ebay also has some sellers with reasonable prices, if you're a pervert like me), though I'm avoiding reading too far ahead. That said, the guide itself is interesting as it gives a lot of historical context to to the time period and I found it very interesting given I'm also currently reading The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman about the lead-up and first month of WW1; the guide isn't necessarily providing anymore insight, but it's interesting in that it corroborates a lot of the information and lays it out fairly quickly. Highly recommend checking at least that part out.
As for my little guide above, hopefully it works for you (if you want to tackle it!) and I didn't leave anything out. I did get distracted a couple of times by my kids, so may have forgotten or missed a thing here or there. It all looks correct to me at first glance, so let me know if it doesn't work if you attempt it.
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Comment on Blizzard Entertainment files lawsuit against World of Warcraft private server Turtle WoW in ~games
BeardyHat LinkBeen waiting for this day. I've been playing on TWoW since it was about a hundred total people (hence the cross faction grouping), which I'd say was something like 5 or 6 years ago. I wouldn't say...Been waiting for this day.
I've been playing on TWoW since it was about a hundred total people (hence the cross faction grouping), which I'd say was something like 5 or 6 years ago. I wouldn't say I've been a constant presence, but I dip in and out for a couple of weeks a couple of times per year.
It's really a fantastic server, but the way they've been going hard advertising and pushing for their UE5, there days were numbered. Had gotten my friends hooked on it and even mentioned as much to them, but they didn't really believe me, given this is their first Private Server experience.
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Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI've heard good things about the entire series which is a big reason I picked-up The Colonel's Bequest earlier this year. Never did get around to properly playing it, but I absolutely want to give...I've heard good things about the entire series which is a big reason I picked-up The Colonel's Bequest earlier this year. Never did get around to properly playing it, but I absolutely want to give it a go sometime in the near future and might not be able to wait until it comes around on the CGA here.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: September 2025 - March 2026 in ~games
BeardyHat LinkSweet!! I'm excited to finally take an earnest crack at The Last Express tomorrow. I own the Dotemu version on Android, so I could happily play it on my tablet, but I also own the GoG version and...Sweet!! I'm excited to finally take an earnest crack at The Last Express tomorrow. I own the Dotemu version on Android, so I could happily play it on my tablet, but I also own the GoG version and could play it on my Steam Deck. So I'm not sure, go with the "Pure" experience of the original DOS game or try out the updated one, which I've heard can kind of ruin the experience with hints and whatnot.
Also excited to play Chrono Trigger, though I have no real interest in it as a game unto itself, but because everyone says it's a must play. I think it'll give me a good excuse to crack out my DSi XL or my N3DS to give it a go, as I do recall the DS version oft being called the definitive one.
All the other picks look great too and I'm excited to play those too, but they're too far out for me to think about yet!
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHey, that was me who likes the old guides off Archive! Prima Guides are definitely known for their wrong information and accuracy, but honestly, I think that's kind of the charm. It's like playing...Hey, that was me who likes the old guides off Archive!
Prima Guides are definitely known for their wrong information and accuracy, but honestly, I think that's kind of the charm. It's like playing the game with the best resources we actually had then, rather than the datamined, hyper meta, spreadsheet efficiency of guides and information today.
I just like the guides, even if some of the information might be wrong, because I feel like I'm actually playing the game and exploring for myself, rather than being told to do things X, Y, Z. I know that sounds weird, but I feel like the old guides were less definitive in that way and much more general.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentThe Last Express has been on my "To Play" list since like 1996 or whenever I first saw the demo on the PC Gamer disk, so it's coming in top for me right now. I feel a little funny voting for my...The Last Express has been on my "To Play" list since like 1996 or whenever I first saw the demo on the PC Gamer disk, so it's coming in top for me right now.
I feel a little funny voting for my own nomination with The Colonel's Bequest, but it's definitely a game I've been made aware of only recently and it just sounds damn interesting. The rest of the games, I'm largely unfamiliar with, but looked and sounded interesting enough to throw down.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
BeardyHat LinkThe Last Express (5) The Colonel’s Bequest (5) Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (3) Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) (2) Metroid Prime (2) Lord Monarch (2)...The Last Express (5)
The Colonel’s Bequest (5)
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (3)
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) (2)
Metroid Prime (2)
Lord Monarch (2)
Populous (1) -
Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentHaven't had a chance to vote just yet (been busy, gonna get that done today), but maybe I should be ashamed to admit I still absolutely love Carmageddon. Used to remain installed on my phone when...Haven't had a chance to vote just yet (been busy, gonna get that done today), but maybe I should be ashamed to admit I still absolutely love Carmageddon.
Used to remain installed on my phone when the Android version worked. Honestly, it'll likely be in my top votes...
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Comment on My ordinary life: Improvements since the 1990s in ~tech
BeardyHat LinkThis is apropos. On our morning walk this morning my wife, feeling disheartened by the state of the world, asked if anything had really improved in the last 20 years. I mentioned cars and...This is apropos. On our morning walk this morning my wife, feeling disheartened by the state of the world, asked if anything had really improved in the last 20 years. I mentioned cars and computers (though they both come with caveats these days and there's a reason I drive and work on old cars) as a couple examples.
Her cynicism was high this morning, so she wasn't exactly feeling what I was putting out, but hopefully this will help.
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Comment on Letting younger children access Fortnite - Looking for opinions in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentYeah, I'm kind of worried they'll give up the other games they love, that I think are good for their brains, because they're addicted to the dopamine of a live service game.Yeah, I'm kind of worried they'll give up the other games they love, that I think are good for their brains, because they're addicted to the dopamine of a live service game.
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Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI have a cabinet in my living room and my youngest kid loves Mr. Do. One of the primary games they play on it regularly.I have a cabinet in my living room and my youngest kid loves Mr. Do. One of the primary games they play on it regularly.
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Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games
BeardyHat LinkSince of a DOS obsessive, that'll probably be most of my nominations. That said, I know it can be a bit fiddly, so I'll do my best to nominate stuff that either has more modern editions or stuff...Since of a DOS obsessive, that'll probably be most of my nominations. That said, I know it can be a bit fiddly, so I'll do my best to nominate stuff that either has more modern editions or stuff available on GoG and will install and play easily.
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Descent on DOS
There is also a source port. Descent is a classic FPS that was pretty ground breaking at the time with six degress of freedom. There were two more games in the series directly, but as a genre it kind of died out and aside from an Indie game here and there, there's not much else like it. I figure it would be a good choice because it's not too long and again, widely considered a DOS classic. -
The Colonel's Bequest on DOS
Available on GoG, installs and plays fine. I haven't played this, but this is considered a classic amongst Adventure Game fans. I don't recall exactly why I want to play it, but as I recall, there are multiple endings and there is a time limit on things; everything you do takes a certain amount of time in game, so you may miss entire storylines on your first run through the game. For the group, I think it would be good because again, I believe it's relatively short, though it helps to have multiple playthroughs, I suppose.
Hard to choose just two nominations!! Don't have any arcade games to add, as I'm not well versed in them, so there we are.
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Comment on Letting younger children access Fortnite - Looking for opinions in ~games
BeardyHat Link ParentI should have clarified for the rest of the responses in the thread, it's definitely the FOMO stuff and general exposure to the rest of the internet that I'm concerned about. Violence bothers me...I should have clarified for the rest of the responses in the thread, it's definitely the FOMO stuff and general exposure to the rest of the internet that I'm concerned about. Violence bothers me little to not at all and much of the fear surrounding it and video games is overblown; my oldest has played and loves Quake for example. And both understand the difference between violence in games and violence in real life.
But yeah, it's probably not an issue I suppose as long as I shut all the social aspects down and they play in a common area at home anyway, so it's easy to monitor what's happening. I'm guessing they wouldn't be able to play online with family in this case though, since everyone is on different systems, between Switch and Playstation with us on PC.
But yeah, the FOMO is my real concern, I suppose. My oldest has been talking non-stop about the skins in Fortnite and how he wants them if he ever plays.
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Letting younger children access Fortnite - Looking for opinions
Not quite sure how to start this post, but I guess maybe a little bit of my own background could be useful? I'm 41, Father of two young kids (almost 8 and 5), been gaming my entire life. I have a...
Not quite sure how to start this post, but I guess maybe a little bit of my own background could be useful?
I'm 41, Father of two young kids (almost 8 and 5), been gaming my entire life. I have a PC games library that's well over 20+ years old and 1000 games deep (not to brag, just for context) that my kids mostly (curated for them) have access too. My first multiplayer game was at about 11-years old with the Quake demo in 1996, later got heavily in to MMO's (Everquest, DAOC, WoW, etc) and in the early 2010's, I was heavily in to World of Tanks/Warplanes.
My oldest really wants to play Fortnite (which means the youngest will also play) and I'm a little torn on if I should allow that or not. They've played it a decent amount at their Uncles house and I'm well familiar with the game, though I've never played it or a Battle Royale style game myself and I don't really find anything objectionable about the content of the game itself, but I'm pretty reticent to put it on my own computers and make accounts for them to be able to play at home.
I can't exactly put my finger on why that might be, but I'm currently attributing it to the FOMO mechanics with skins, as well as the generally addictive nature of online games themselves, given I've been addicted to them myself. My kids only have a limited amount of time to play games or watch TV on any given day anyway, so I'm not necessarily concerned that they'll play it all day, but I am worried about their mental health when it comes to it. They both already get frustrated with games (but in different ways) and I feel like that would be exacerbated when they have a bad match or when they're called away to do something (which is a primary reason I quit multiplayer games when I had children. It became too difficult to disengage from a "match" of something and I'd become very frustrated and angry.) Now, I'm not afraid to take away things if they become a problem (they have been banned from Youtube) and while there's some short term pain associated with that, they tend to get over it after awhile. Also, I do generally feel that it's more wholesome to engage with stuff like Subnautica, Minecraft and other games that they're currently playing.
Anyway, I'm curious what other people's thoughts are on this subject. My wife proposed letting the older one have an account when they turn 8 here very soon, but I've told her about my reticence about it all, which she is understanding of. But I wanted to see if I'm being too anxious or paranoid about it and if Fortnite is actually fine for an 8 and 5 year old. I'm not generally one to wholesale ban things in the house and I'm open to all types of games and experiences, just not sure if it's totally appropriate yet.
Side note: there is the side benefit that I might (probably not often) play with them, but that they also have the possibility of playing with their (much older) cousins and their Uncles. Though I'm not sure any of them are able to play during the times my kids have their screentime.
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Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
BeardyHat Link ParentThis is where I'm at too. When I was a kid, I was always changing it, but I can't remember the last time I deliberately changed the wallpaper outside of changing the theme to a dark theme. I never...This is where I'm at too. When I was a kid, I was always changing it, but I can't remember the last time I deliberately changed the wallpaper outside of changing the theme to a dark theme.
I never look at my desktop unless I'm working on a project and putting active folders and files on it. Even then, there's multiple windows up, so most of it is covered.
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Comment on Valve's secretive 'Fremont' gaming device surfaces in benchmarks in ~games
BeardyHat LinkDon't care much about a non-mobile platform for Steam for me, given I have plenty of desktops to do that job. But I would assume that this will be sold for a reasonable price and will only make PC...Don't care much about a non-mobile platform for Steam for me, given I have plenty of desktops to do that job. But I would assume that this will be sold for a reasonable price and will only make PC gaming even more accessable and mainstream, something I wouldn't have dreamed of back in the 90s. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing though, as it seems like a lot of the time once my favorite things have mainstream appeal, they tend to begin losing the things that made them special in the first place.
That said, I've loved my Steam Deck for over 3 years now, so it can't be all bad. And I also hope whatever this research is applies to a Deck 2; I don't need more power, as I'm happy playing older games and indies mostly, but it would be a nice boon.
A simple vote would suffice, but yeah, people are weird about physical media.
I mean, I get it, I absolutely do. But my large HDD with an intermittent backup meets my needs perfectly and I have nothing to lose track of or carry with me or insert to play a game, etc, etc. Hell, if I were so inclined, if my house was burning down, it would be way easier to grab my backup drive than my (small) collection of physical games I never actually use.