Re: 2024 c.s.i.p.g.action Holiday Give-Away Day #25 : Unboxing XII

On 12/29/2024 10:26 AM, Ant wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Sat, 28 Dec 2024 20:49:15 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

 

I still need to try that remaster! I got The First Decade bundle set from Da
Lion (remember him from the old C&C days?).

 

I have 'em both! My most intense memory of the First Decade
compilation was how cheaply put together it was; the autorun installer
just launched the individual game installer programs, for instance.
There was no real integration or extras. The most exciting thing about
it was that all the games came on one single DVD, which was still a
fairly new format at the time.

 

The remaster didn't impress me. It's new graphics looked too... I
dunno, I guess soft? The gameplay was the same but I liked the
grittier feel to the visuals enabled by the low-res textures of the
original. The remaster felt cartoony in comparison.

 

(the video cinematics were also very obviously just upscaled by AI
rather than redone entirely from the masters.)

 

Considering I already owned the originals (and they run quite well in
DOSBox) the remasters didn't really feel worth what I paid for them.

 It sucks that EA couldn't find/get all the original video tapes that they
wanted to remaster for the game. :(
 Companies really need to archive and back up their originals better.

It is surprisingly expensive to properly archive pretty much of anything so it tends to get the short dollar to start with and is one of the first targets of budget cuts.
--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man.