Wish I could play my childhood PC games

[Eternitydreamer]

Anyone else annoyed by this? I can’t play them as they are from late 90’s to mid 00’s and computer doesn’t support them. I tried downloads on archive.org but can’t figure out the programs to get them to work and 99.9% don’t work. I did have success with one or two though. Just gives computer virus type stuff that made my laptop go nuts. I thought about buying games and risking hoping they might work, but not worth the risk for $$ and then I’m stuck with the game. I did try Zoombinis on Steam as they remade it, but it wasn’t the same as they altered it. I also tried Carmen Santiago on there But I didn’t like it ( I didn’t grow up with it but wanted it as a kid). I do plan on roller coaster tycoon soon downloading as I loved it as a kid. would like the Reader Rabbit games
And some Barbie ones.
I tried emulators for GBA and Nintendo DS on my phone but just wasn’t feeling it.. felt awkward.

 

[NoxApex(N/A)]

Sometimes running them in compatibility mode works.
However, that entirely depends on if you can even get them to install. Some older games might not even install on a newer operating system as even though the computer is more than capable of playing the old game, the old game doesn't recognize the newer versions of Windows as an option.

Most stuff available on Steam has been made to where it will work.
The tradeoff however, is like you said, sometimes the games are altered or updated in some way or another different from their original experience.

 

[user 115627]

Oddly enough it's never the really old games I struggled to get to work, but some from the 2000s or very niche titles. Steam and related sites like GOG especially do a good job releasing older games that work on modern systems. I bought the first Rollercoaster Tycoon on GOG and though I have not tested it, it should work just fine. SimCity 3000 certainly did. What other titles were you looking for?

I also had success with tools like DOSBox for all those early 90s games, it took a bit of messing around to figure out the commands but once you set it up it works just fine. I played the old Prince of Persia 2 from 1992 and the original Duke Nukem games with the help of it. Most important is the folder structure so you have an easier time launching those applications.

 

[Abstamyous]

I can confirm that rollercoaster tycoon works really well from steam.

 

[TropicalStarfish]

dosbox is your friend. All of the old games are playable, you just have to learn how to use an emulator, usually. there is probably mountains of old dos games on archive.org; it just takes a bit of figuring out how to get them to work.

Sometimes you need a program to extract files from an iso.
Other times you may need to run an installer file from dosbox, etc. etc..

it's doable.

 

[Eternitydreamer]

dosbox is your friend. All of the old games are playable, you just have to learn how to use an emulator, usually. there is probably mountains of old dos games on archive.org; it just takes a bit of figuring out how to get them to work.

Sometimes you need a program to extract files from an iso.
Other times you may need to run an installer file from dosbox, etc. etc..

it's doable.

Yes that’s what I have tried but I just can’t figure it out. I get so frustrated

 

[Eternitydreamer]

Ok I’m so frustrated right now

 

[TropicalStarfish]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+play+old+dos+games+on+dosbox

 

[user 130057]

There are very few games that you won't get running with either compatibility mode, Dos Box or various emulators designed for a singular purpose, but even those few can usually be got working by just using something like Virtual Box or VMWare and installing the original operating systems the games were run on.

 

[Nicolelt]

Anyone else annoyed by this? I can’t play them as they are from late 90’s to mid 00’s and computer doesn’t support them. I tried downloads on archive.org but can’t figure out the programs to get them to work and 99.9% don’t work. I did have success with one or two though. Just gives computer virus type stuff that made my laptop go nuts. I thought about buying games and risking hoping they might work, but not worth the risk for $$ and then I’m stuck with the game. I did try Zoombinis on Steam as they remade it, but it wasn’t the same as they altered it. I also tried Carmen Santiago on there But I didn’t like it ( I didn’t grow up with it but wanted it as a kid). I do plan on roller coaster tycoon soon downloading as I loved it as a kid. would like the Reader Rabbit games
And some Barbie ones.
I tried emulators for GBA and Nintendo DS on my phone but just wasn’t feeling it.. felt awkward.

So bad. You have no idea. I used to play games on DOS, and I want to play them now.

 

[Mr Doubtfire]

Yup can still play games from the late 70s early 80s and also on my Nintendo DS as well as PC.
I've got an old laptop that plays my favourite football management game Championship Manager 97/98 on Windows XP.
Don't like DosBox very much, but it does run an updated game of Championship Manager 97/98 although I don't use it

Never really use Steam.

 

[Finished]

Galaxian all the way!

 

[Azariah]

i dont get games these days. why would anyone play DoTa over Warcraft Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne? or why arent people playing classics like C&C Tiberian Sun? theyd rather play Clash of Clans??? c'mon

 

[Autophagy]

Yeah, I have been trying to run Manhunt on my windows 10 with no success, that's the downside of liking old games i guess

 

[Trevor]

Like these?

https://classicreload.com/

 

[lotsarocks]

Aw, I agree, some of those early computer games were so memorable! I think Putt-Putt and Freddy Fish are on Steam now, maybe I'm wrong but I thought I saw them recently somewhere. As for the Barbie games, I remember those too, the detective one and the horse riding game. There was also this game called Mixed up Mother Goose, that one is an old one, I wonder if anyone here remembers it! It would be nice to have a way to see them again. I am no good at getting emulators to work, myself.

 

[Trevor]

Aw, I agree, some of those early computer games were so memorable! I think Putt-Putt and Freddy Fish are on Steam now, maybe I'm wrong but I thought I saw them recently somewhere. As for the Barbie games, I remember those too, the detective one and the horse riding game. There was also this game called Mixed up Mother Goose, that one is an old one, I wonder if anyone here remembers it! It would be nice to have a way to see them again. I am no good at getting emulators to work, myself.

For educational purposes only, I suggest that you read this info:

https://www.google.com/search?q=how...30j0i390l3.11365j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Azariah]

i was playing mount and blade: warband but i think i mastered the game when i named my character Genghis Khan lol jk

 

[9006]

I suppose it completely depends on what games they are and what they were on (Console or PC).

Personally I have a bunch of older consoles for games I used to play, but if you want to do it without spending money then using your PC is the best way for that. I mean you can download emulators for pretty much any console on your PC. If it's games that runs on an older computer you can use some kind of virtualization software like Virtual PC or VitualBox to run an earlier version of Windows and run the game on that.

It's best to join a forum based on retro games or something similar like that to get the best resources, but as you've discovered you shouldn't just download games from any website; it could be anything really. So I'd advise on getting software and games from credible places.

 

[howdidifindmyselfhere?]

Can I ask what games you are looking to play?

Have you looked into possibly running a VM? (Virtual Machine) and running the old games that way?

If you want some details on VMs, I found this chap great at explaining things and was easy to follow in setting mine up.