Trade Wars 2019, or, WHat do old BBS Gamers Play?
December 8, 2019 4:58 PM Subscribe
This afternoon, I was reminded of a years-long fascination with the old BBS game Trade Wars 2002. I played it mostly via Telnet, but imagine the community is largely dead by now. Does anyone still play this, and if not, is there anything available which might scratch a similar itch? Holiday snowflakes inside :)
I used to really enjoy TW2002, though never really found a server to stick with long term. I had a few helper programs to do things like keep track of ports I visited, automate exploration, and such. I was not necessarily a fan of the multiplayer aspect of the game per se, though would have enjoyed more single-player AI to compete with.
I'd vastly prefer a game which was text-based, or at least could be played so, if only because I'm totally blind and thus my options for enjoying graphical games are somewhat limited. I have a copy of X3, which while it's graphical has sufficient audio to let me sort of putter along, though I don't know if I'll ever become efficient. I'd love to try, say, EVE online but don't know how I can easily do so with my limitations.
I used to really enjoy TW2002, though never really found a server to stick with long term. I had a few helper programs to do things like keep track of ports I visited, automate exploration, and such. I was not necessarily a fan of the multiplayer aspect of the game per se, though would have enjoyed more single-player AI to compete with.
I'd vastly prefer a game which was text-based, or at least could be played so, if only because I'm totally blind and thus my options for enjoying graphical games are somewhat limited. I have a copy of X3, which while it's graphical has sufficient audio to let me sort of putter along, though I don't know if I'll ever become efficient. I'd love to try, say, EVE online but don't know how I can easily do so with my limitations.
This recent article about BBS Doors may have something to scratch your itch.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:49 PM on December 8, 2019
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:49 PM on December 8, 2019
Not quite what you’re asking but wanted to check if you are aware of MUD games which are like World of Warcraft but text based. We’ve had a number of high level players using screen readers through the years.
posted by J.R. Hartley at 11:47 PM on December 8, 2019
posted by J.R. Hartley at 11:47 PM on December 8, 2019
Huh, I just a few days ago created an account over on Battlestar BBS to play the Door Games of my youth. A lot of them seem to be more-or-less ghost towns --- daily report logs on Tradewars 2002 and Operation Overkill 2 only report my activities and those of the computer-controlled entities. There are significant numbers of players listed on both games, but, well, in one day of not-particularly-talented play on TW2002 I had conquered 8 planets and moved to #5 in the rankings. And then blundered into a sector guarded by a (probably long-derelict) quasar cannon and got blown up.
posted by jackbishop at 6:11 AM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by jackbishop at 6:11 AM on December 9, 2019 [1 favorite]
They are not the same thing, but the accumulation of resources and abstraction of effort that idle games (eg universal paperclips) feature satisfies a few pieces of the trade game gestalt, but the lack of multiplayer or any kind of depth does leave a pair of significant holes.
posted by cCranium at 10:28 AM on December 9, 2019
posted by cCranium at 10:28 AM on December 9, 2019
« Older Mail order baked goods for the holidays? | Where can I find more synchronous (live) online... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lhauser at 5:18 PM on December 8, 2019