More shareware/demo stuff

[Antmeister]

Since I have started the freeware thread, I began to realize that there are some shareware products that I like and use, but it wasn't appropriate for that thread. So here are a number of shareware programs that I have either used or heard good things about. The nice thing about the shareware is that you can use it before you buy. In some cases, you can infinitely use them because they have limited the features. Away we go!



I am a huge fan of indie game developers and this game has had me hooked for a while. This is a space trading simulation game but has some interesting features that keep me playing. For one is the fact that the character you create ages. You also have the ability to receive medals and have the ability to be promoted in rank, which open up the ability to purchase more things and get even more difficult better paying missions. The game ends when you die or retire and then a score is generated based on what you accomplished during the lifetime. Try the demo to see if this is something you like:

Smugglers 3
Free to try(turn limit)/$19.99 for full version/$32.66 for full version and add-on.

This next piece of software is one of my favorites since it helps out on a lot of projects. For those of you that have designed web pages or application interfaces, this little program can help you come up with a color scheme and also gives you the ability to preview the results in sample web page templates. I highly recommend this for designers:
ColorImpact 2
Free to try(time limit)/$40.00 for single user/look on website for more than one license.

There are times when I just want a time wasting game that is not so mind numbing. Well this game has a combination of Scrabble, dungeons, enemies, magic and the high score for bragging rights. Try out this little gem of the game. It is great to compete against your signficant other for top bragging rights:
Dungeon Scroll
Free to try(level limit)/$14.95 to purchase

This is yet another time waster that is good for anyone ages 4 and up. It is one of those marble matching games. This one is hard to explain how to play, but my daughter loves to tell me, "I own you in this game Daddy. I own you.":
Luxor
Free to try(level limit)/$19.99 to purchase

This is a game I play time to time because it is so different. While writing this I just discovered they released a free expansion to this game. This game combines bowling and golf in a unique experience. You compete on different courses against computer opponents and have to earn your right to play on the more challenging courses. What's nice about buying this is that you are allowed to install it to 5 different computers. The only thing that is missing is a multiplayer aspect. Hopefully in the future:
RocketBowl
Free to try(I can't remember if it is a level or time limit. It has been a long time since purchase)/$19.99 to purchase

The ones below are what I demo'd and plan to buy in the future.

Do you guys still remember side scrolling games? Well imagine one of your side scrolling games pumped up with tons of testorone and you have this game. This is a violent, fast paced flight/space combat game that may get you addicted. I must admit that I only have the demo on my PC, because I am waiting to get my fill of the above games before I make another purchase. However the two levels the demo allows is still fun to play:
Jets N' Guns
Free to try(level limit)/$19.95 for download/$24.95 for download and CD

This is probably the most unique space combat game I have tried. It contains a storyline, building and research, mining, bird's eye view real time space combat and a chance to get your high score posted on the site. Pretty neat. This is one I know I will purchase in the near future. Try out the demo, pretty cool:
Starscape
Free to try(level limit)/$24.95 for download/34.95 for download and CD

Roleplaying games are probably my most favorite genre to play. There are not many true indie roleplaying developers out there due to the complexity, time and money it takes to create one. Not too long ago, I just stumbled across this developer through another website. Although the graphics are still old school, a number of people who have purchased this have told me that the storyline and gameplay and character creation are great. See for yourself. The latest game is Geneforge 3 but they have a lot of other games on there as well.
Geneforge 3
Free to try/$25 for download/$32 for download and hintbook/$36 for download, hintbook and CD

And that's it for now. I will include more in the future and please add more to this list. I know many of you have played/seen/used applications that I haven't ever heard of.

[Klinglerware]

I thought this was going to be a parody thread...

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

I thought this was going to be a parody thread...

lol....funny, but even I wouldn't parody myself considering I started the other
thread. This was a wickedly clever smartass reply.

[Yellow5]

Starscape is great. Some nice mods for it also.

The entire Geneforge series is well done. Graphics are the weakest thing about it but damn fun for those of you that like a good story based RPG.

My all time fave would have to be Escape Velocity Nova. $30 - available for Mac and Windows. Incredible community support with hundreds of mods. A top down space combat/trading game.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Yellow5

...My all time fave would have to be Escape Velocity Nova. $30 - available for Mac and Windows. Incredible community support with hundreds of mods. A top down space combat/trading game.

I will have to check this one out. The graphics look amazing and wow all those plugins. Thanks.

[Greyroofoo]

i'll definitely have to check some of those out

[Peregrine]

I can definitely recommend the Geneforge series and pretty much everything else Spiderweb Software puts out, their Avernum series is also great, in an old-school, Ultima with a better plot sort of way.

[Yellow5]

Another great RPG is Fate. You can try the demo located here. $20 for the full game.

From the Gamespot review:

"If you've been hankering for a good old-fashioned monster-and-treasure-filled dungeon crawl lately, you should check out Fate. It's a fully 3D action RPG that's like a combination of Diablo and its sequel, but with better graphics. It's got a storybook, family-friendly look and feel to it, and it's shamelessly derivative of Blizzard's definitive action RPG series. But these qualities--along with its budget price--turn out to be a big part of the draw."

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Antmeister71

lol....funny, but even I wouldn't parody myself considering I started the other
thread. This was a wickedly clever smartass reply.

Heh, heh. I actually really did think it was going to be a parody thread. But when I saw that it wasn't, I figured that I would mention it anyway for the smart-ass potential of the commentary.

PS - these threads are actually pretty useful, there's a lot of interesting stuff out there...

[Bee]

Smugglers 3 and EV Nova both look like interesting games. Thanks for the links guys.

[Antmeister]

Okay here are two more:

The first one is a MMO World War II Combat Simulaton. For those of you that are into these types of games, this one looks to be promising.
Aces High II
Free to try(2 week Free trial)/$14.95 a month

This next one looks to be a promising game that combines strategy with roleplaying elements that has actually been around for a while.
Discord Times
Free to try(time limit)/$19.99 to purchase

[Eaglesfan27]

The Geneforge series is a great RPG series. I've played the first two and will play the 3rd one sometime soon.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

The Geneforge series is a great RPG series. I've played the first two and will play the 3rd one sometime soon.

With all these great reviews on Geneforge, I may just fork over the money and get it now. I have tried the demo and found the story fascinating, but I didn't get the chance to see how the character develops and how allies work in the game. From the sounds of everyone's comments, it seems to be a good buy.

[Yellow5]

Lux is the best damn Risk clone available.

$24.95 for Mac/Windows/Linux. Lux comes with a free 20 game trial period.

Lux comes with support for a wide variety of plugins. Anybody can make a map and add it to the Plugin Manager. Programmers can create an AI or a random map generator using the SDKs provided by Sillysoft.

Network play included.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I can definitely recommend the Geneforge series and pretty much everything else Spiderweb Software puts out, their Avernum series is also great, in an old-school, Ultima with a better plot sort of way.

I remember playing one of the Exile games they did awhile back. It was a lot of fun. I'll check out some of the newer games.

[Eilim]

Some great games here (I'd hope so as I already own a good chunk of them. )

Anyways, ran across this demo for a racing game and thought I'd share as its gotten me motivated to go out and buy a quality racing wheel for my pc.

Live for Speed : They just released a new version. While still a work in progress, I'd have to say its the most fun I've had with a racing game in a long time.

Great graphics with easily skinnable cars. Very realistic physics from what I've seen so far. Nice damage modeling that is not just for looks, but actually affects the car's handling and performance. Throw in the interesting pit crew options/strategy and you have a pretty complete racing package for a product thats not even finished yet.

I'm even tempted to throw together some of my spare pc parts together to set up a dedicated server for the just demo version.

Anyways, a definite *must* to check out for any race fan.. and a good enough just "fun" game worth checking out even if your not normally a big racing fan.

oops, enough rambling from me.. off to flip my car over a few more times.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I remember playing one of the Exile games they did awhile back. It was a lot of fun. I'll check out some of the newer games.

Yeah the Avernum series is basically the Exile series reworked with a new graphics engine and improved UI. They even have replaced the old Blades of Exile (an adventure making mod and game where you can play lots of user created adventures) with Blades of Avernum.

The Geneforge series kicks ass, and some of their older games, despite a harder to use UI, are great, like Nethergate. One of the best themed games I've ever played, Roman Britain, and you can play as the Romans or the Celts, and it's basically a different game depending on who you play.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Antmeister71

With all these great reviews on Geneforge, I may just fork over the money and get it now. I have tried the demo and found the story fascinating, but I didn't get the chance to see how the character develops and how allies work in the game. From the sounds of everyone's comments, it seems to be a good buy.

The story IS the best feature of the game, however, that is the most important thing in an RPG in my opinion. However, there are some interesting character development choices as well.

[jbmagic]

whats better in your opinion geneforge or avernum?

is geneforge linear story line? or there different ways to make the game different each time?

[Easy Mac]

F.E.A.R. Demo
http://torrents.vugames.com/fear_spdemo_en.exe.torrent

F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon) is an intense combat experience with rich atmosphere and a deeply intense paranormal storyline presented entirely in first person. Be the hero in your own spine-tingling epic of action, tension, and terror... and discover the true meaning of fear.

Hyper-stylized combat for breathtaking cinematic quality action
Gripping supernatural storyline for spine-tingling intensity of play
Multi-player action with multiple gameplay modes and all single player capabilities

Advanced graphics and physics for visceral movie-like experience
Enemies with special abilities and A.I. so intuitive it's like battling living, breathing players

[Yellow5]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

whats better in your opinion geneforge or avernum?

I've always thought Geneforge was the better series.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Yellow5

I've always thought Geneforge was the better series.

Me too. It's not linear. There are different storylines that you can unlock depending upon which faction you join. However, I'd say it's usually only good for 3 playthroughs at most (I only did 2 with the first games in the series.) However, that is true of most RPG's.

[jbmagic]

you guys should try to get Arcanum. it was done by sierra in 2000.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/arcanum_pre/

if your a big fan of Fallout, you will love this game.

its a great rpg game. its not linear

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

you guys should try to get Arcanum. it was done by sierra in 2000.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/arcanum_pre/

if your a big fan of Fallout, you will love this game.

its a great rpg game. its not linear

Played that one. Good game. It has a good mix of technology and magic, a well written storyline and your actions (whether good or bad) will heavily influence the outcome of the game. Not quite shareware, but it is a good name nonetheless.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Yellow5

Another great RPG is Fate. You can try the demo located here. $20 for the full game.

From the Gamespot review:

"If you've been hankering for a good old-fashioned monster-and-treasure-filled dungeon crawl lately, you should check out Fate. It's a fully 3D action RPG that's like a combination of Diablo and its sequel, but with better graphics. It's got a storybook, family-friendly look and feel to it, and it's shamelessly derivative of Blizzard's definitive action RPG series. But these qualities--along with its budget price--turn out to be a big part of the draw."

Fate and Mount & Blade got a lot of love in the OO forum.

[Yellow5]

For $12 Mount & Blade is a steal!

If you enjoy roguelike games, check out IVAN (Iter Vehemens ad Necem) @ http://ivan.sourceforge.net/ and it's free.

Voyager from Stormcloud Creations was pretty fun and I still find myself playing it now and again. $14.95 and a $9.95 addon. I'm a sucker for card style battle games.

oh and Democracy from Positech is cool. Complex and involving political strategy game where you try your best to maintain control of an entire country. $19.95 and demo available.

[Peregrine]

That Voyager game looks interesting, I might check it out. Yellow5, I'm not sure if you saw it in the other thread, but Star Chamber looks like something you'd like:

www.starchamber.net

[Yellow5]

I downloaded Starchamber but have not installed it. I am going to wait until the weekend and get my youngest son to play a few rounds with me.

Soccer Cards is unique. A card-based soccer game. I know it sounds odd but you have to give it a try just to see what it's all about. Free! The author is working on Soccer Cards 2 which looks like it will be a huge improvement.

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space is awesome when you want to kill 10 or 15 minutes. $15 and demo available for PC and MAC

War! Age of Imperialism is based on the board game, is a blend of 4X gameplay (explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) and Risk. $24.99 Demo available. Here is the Wargamer Review.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Yellow5

I downloaded Starchamber but have not installed it. I am going to wait until the weekend and get my youngest son to play a few rounds with me.

Soccer Cards is unique. A card-based soccer game. I know it sounds odd but you have to give it a try just to see what it's all about. Free! The author is working on Soccer Cards 2 which looks like it will be a huge improvement.

Strange Adventures In Infinite Space is awesome when you want to kill 10 or 15 minutes. $15 and demo available for PC and MAC

War! Age of Imperialism is based on the board game, is a blend of 4X gameplay (explore, expand, exploit and exterminate) and Risk. $24.99 Demo available. Here is the Wargamer Review.

You may need to edit your second link. But otherwise thanks for the great links.

[FBPro]

Can someone post a link to that other thread which talked about freeware, etc? I tried to find it but couldn't.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by FBPro

Can someone post a link to that other thread which talked about freeware, etc? I tried to find it but couldn't.

Here is the other link you are looking for:
http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/foru...light=freeware

[FBPro]

Thanks

[Antmeister]

I must admit that Smugglers is a *itch to master. I have not cracked the top 3 in high scores yet.

[Peregrine]

I bought Voyager, it's a pretty fun little game, there's not much to it, but it's quick and good for at work.

[mhass]

Hey Antmeister, I'm looking for a program to take a well-known magazine title block and change a few letters around. Will any of the programs in this thread or the other do that?

Thanks in advance.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by mhass

Hey Antmeister, I'm looking for a program to take a well-known magazine title block and change a few letters around. Will any of the programs in this thread or the other do that?

Thanks in advance.

Well if I were going to accomplish your task, and I didn't have the software to do it, I would first download GIMP. This is a good image editor, and also works with text. If you are going to create a fake magazine cover or if you simply want to make a simple title, this is the way to go since it is free:
GIMP

Then I would search for fonts that are similar to the title block on the magazine you are looking for. You will be surprised to find that many already exist on your home computer, but just in case, here are some links to some free fonts:
Coffeecup Fonts
Essential Fonts for Designers
1001 Free Fonts

I hope this answered your question. If not shoot another reply.

[mhass]

Many thanks. I'm on the job.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Wow, I really like Soccer Cards so far. It's so simple, yet it's really addicting. My team has pulled off a couple of really lucky wins so far. I was playing a team that was inferior to me, and they were fortunate enough to hit the "half time" and "full time" cards very early in the match, so I didn't get any scoring chances against them. I was a little pissed. If a game that simple can get me pissed, it's a pretty decent game. I actually cared that I didn't get to score on those bums.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Wow, I really like Soccer Cards so far. It's so simple, yet it's really addicting. My team has pulled off a couple of really lucky wins so far. I was playing a team that was inferior to me, and they were fortunate enough to hit the "half time" and "full time" cards very early in the match, so I didn't get any scoring chances against them. I was a little pissed. If a game that simple can get me pissed, it's a pretty decent game. I actually cared that I didn't get to score on those bums.

Yeah, I have to admit that is one little addictive game. There is also a game within the game because formation, energy and strategies can also greatly affect the outcome of the game. And it is neat to see that it has a career mode and not simply a single match.

[Antmeister]

I have come across another game that is action packed, well polished and looks very much like a commercial game. Luckily this is a unique top down space combat action game that involves some strategy since objects and weapons do different things that can be used at different stages of the game. The demo is well worth a look if you are into these type of games.
Astro Avenger
Free to try(level limit)/$19.99 for full version

From the same makers you may also consider this game. It is similar to above except it take place about ground.
Air Strike 3D
Free to try(level limit)/$18.75 for full version

[Antmeister]

Peregrine posted a darn interesting thread about a fantasy combat management game that I must consider trying out.
Battles of Norghan thread

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Yellow5

Another great RPG is Fate. You can try the demo located here. $20 for the full game.

Thanks a lot. I broke down and ended up purchasing the game after trying out the demo. Unbelievable game and the gameplay is pretty solid.

[Yellow5]

You are welcome! After you've gone through the game a bit you should check out the mods availabe in their forum.

I love the way they handle "retirement". You basically retire and then get the chance to play through the game again as your charaters descendent. Descendents immediatley gain a level at the start of the game along with extra fame. When you retire you also get to pass down one heirloom to your descendent! Any magical properties are improved by %25 and increase in Grade by one level when they are handed down. The dungeons are random each time you start a new character so replay value is great.

Glad you are enjoying it.

[Calis]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Fate and Mount & Blade got a lot of love in the OO forum.

Mount & Blade is pretty far and away my Game of the Year so far. I love it, highly recommended. Once they add in the story elements it'll be even better, but great game already. The mounted combat is far and away the best ever done in a game. Give it a shot, it can be pretty unforgiving at first, but once you get the hang of it it's a blast leading your own personal army, actually fighting with them, and upgrading the suckers.

I had posted a thread HERE
on it a while back, but it never got a reply. You can check it out there though if you want to hear a little more on my thoughts. Really though, just try the demo.

[Bee]

Mount and Blade is a great game, but I've been somewhat disappointed in the slow progress of the game development. While it's a great deal of fun, it still feels incomplete. Over the last 6 months or so, I was expecting much more development of the game but perhaps I was expecting too much for a two man team. In any case, it's a truly good game and even incomplete it's worth buying IMO.

[Antmeister]

Here are a few shareware sports games that I have tried out thus far. One of them was brought to my attention in another thread. It is a nice soccer game that lets you control a single player's career. The tennis one is one I came across from a game review site. It allows you to play one match in the demo, but it seems like a nice game.

New Star Soccer
Tennis Elbow 2005

[Antmeister]

Here are a few more games. The first one is an RTS multiplayer game similar to Warcraft in some ways and the other two are arcade style games with a touch more chaos.

RTS Game:
Trash

Arcade Games:
Hyperspace Invader
Heavy Weapon

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Antmeister71

Here are a few shareware sports games that I have tried out thus far. One of them was brought to my attention in another thread. It is a nice soccer game that lets you control a single player's career. The tennis one is one I came across from a game review site. It allows you to play one match in the demo, but it seems like a nice game.

New Star Soccer
Tennis Elbow 2005

Holy cow! I had the original Tennis Elbow way back when I was a senior in college. I didn't think it was around anymore. It was a pretty spiffy game because it had the career aspect, but playing with a dinky little Gravis gamepad was hard on the thumbs. Only drawback was I was getting good enough to win pretty much every match, though the higher seeds always gave strong efforts, so I eventually got bored with it.

[Icy]

Wow yeah i enjoyed Tennis Elbow a lot too because the career mode, you could even edit the tourneys and players, will take a look at it.

[Antmeister]

Originally Posted by Icy

Wow yeah i enjoyed Tennis Elbow a lot too because the career mode, you could even edit the tourneys and players, will take a look at it.

I must admit that I have only been playing the demo thus far and haven't plunked down the cash for the full version. I just purchased the soccer game and just want to give it a whirl before trying out the tennis. But I decided to post this because I thought there may be some tennis fans on this board.