Questions you want answered.

fangblackbone wrote:

I would definitely regret drinking catchup for breakfast for years.

But how else will you keep from falling behind?

I know, right? Falling behind on drinking is dangerous, I hear.

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

hbi2k wrote:

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

Virtual machines are usually not the way to go. It depends on the game, and what kind of hardware you have.

If you can tell us what you're trying to run, your CPU and speed, and how much RAM you have, that might clue us in enough to get you going.

Anyone knowledgeable about Pokemon TCG?

I'd like to get my kid into it. Any pointers on a smooth on-ramp? Pick up a couple of constructed decks and start there? Is there a "starter kit" or something?

Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

Virtual machines are usually not the way to go. It depends on the game, and what kind of hardware you have.

If you can tell us what you're trying to run, your CPU and speed, and how much RAM you have, that might clue us in enough to get you going.

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I've gotten virtual machines for Windows 95, 98SE, and XP SP3 running in VMware, but the farthest I've gotten is to get the game installed and to the title screen. At this point either the game program crashes or plays audio but not video. I think the problem might be the old Video for Windows codec it wants to install.

hbi2k wrote:

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I think Veloxi played that one a few years ago -- maybe he remembers and can share how he got it to work?

Jonman wrote:

Anyone knowledgeable about Pokemon TCG?

I'd like to get my kid into it. Any pointers on a smooth on-ramp? Pick up a couple of constructed decks and start there? Is there a "starter kit" or something?

Ooh! Glad you asked this, so I'm going to pile on.

How old is old enough for this? What skills do they need (Reading level, arithmetic level, and so on) before starting?

Feegle wrote:
Jonman wrote:

Anyone knowledgeable about Pokemon TCG?

I'd like to get my kid into it. Any pointers on a smooth on-ramp? Pick up a couple of constructed decks and start there? Is there a "starter kit" or something?

Ooh! Glad you asked this, so I'm going to pile on.

How old is old enough for this? What skills do they need (Reading level, arithmetic level, and so on) before starting?

For the record, my daughter is about to turn 7, so reading is only just coming online. For her, her math is ahead of her reading, so I'm not too worried about basic arithmetic, which she has down.

I genuinely hope this'll be something that'll get her reading a bit more.

misplacedbravado wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I think Veloxi played that one a few years ago -- maybe he remembers and can share how he got it to work?

Thanks! I sent him a PM.

Jonman wrote:
Feegle wrote:
Jonman wrote:

Anyone knowledgeable about Pokemon TCG?

I'd like to get my kid into it. Any pointers on a smooth on-ramp? Pick up a couple of constructed decks and start there? Is there a "starter kit" or something?

Ooh! Glad you asked this, so I'm going to pile on.

How old is old enough for this? What skills do they need (Reading level, arithmetic level, and so on) before starting?

For the record, my daughter is about to turn 7, so reading is only just coming online. For her, her math is ahead of her reading, so I'm not too worried about basic arithmetic, which she has down.

I genuinely hope this'll be something that'll get her reading a bit more.

Oh man, I have SOOO much to say about Pokemon TCG! As a family, we've been into this for quite a while, and each of us have our own deck and collections. So, be warned, that if you guys like it, you may end up with a heck of a commitment! But, it's very easy to ignore the "meta"/expensive collection aspects and just buy cheap booster packs/specialty packs and have fun.

Firstly, to get started, you want to grab a trainer kit.(here's an Amazon example). Trainer kits contain 60 cards, the amount for a regulation deck. However, it's nicely split into 2 30 card piles so that you can practice and learn with a minimal investment. It also includes all the basics you need to learn to play, including a play mat that has all the instructions on the back. I actually recommend starting with 2 trainer packs, that way you can have one playmat out for layout of the cards, and one playmat turned over with all the instructions.

Play is very simple, and as long as your kid has good basic reading skills, they can absolutely play and have a blast. Card types are Pokemon, energy cards (used to power your Pokemon's skills), trainer cards (which contain boosts to help your Pokemon or draw more cards), and some stadium cards (which buff your whole team). You draw your cards to start, play out an active Pokemon, and then any Pokemon you can load onto your bench. Each turn you draw a card, can add one energy to one Pokemon, use any Pokemon skills available, evolve a Pokemon, play a trainer card, have your active Pokemon attack, and then your turn ends. If your Pokemon does enough damage to your opponent's Pokemon, they are discarded, and you get a prize card. You win when you have knocked out all your opponents active/benched Pokemon, or when all the prize cards have been won.

Complexity in this game comes from the complicated actions/skills of high level Pokemon. It's easy to leave these out of the game at first to keep a simple game and learn the basics. Once you've got a handle on that, then you can expand your deck/collection and use some more advanced Pokemon that have special skills.

For us, collecting has been a matter of favorites based on look, names, and appearances in the cartoons or movies rather than actual benefits to the game. The fact that Magikarp evolves to Gyrados in Detective Pikachu caused both my boys to include those cards in their deck. Luckily, the Pokemon company knows this, so they have lots of easy retail packs out there that clearly show what Pokemon is included. When I needed a Charizard because my oldest had to have one, I didn't have to go to a specialty game store or Ebay to buy that specialty card, I just went to Target and bought the Charizard pack.

As with all games, be patient at first, be prepared to lose to your child later. Enjoy and have fun, feel free to PM if you want more advanced pointers or discussion. Or start a new thread, because I'm sure there's more of us on these forums who have more to say than me on this!

Appreciate the guidance, ThatGuy! Thanks!

Starter kit ordered. My duaghter's watching the Sun & Moon series at the mo, and her favorite pokemon is Eevee, so I picked up the Ninetails starter pack. She'll be thrilled!

misplacedbravado wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I think Veloxi played that one a few years ago -- maybe he remembers and can share how he got it to work?

I sadly never got the game portion to work, IIRC, but I was able to view the game's videos, of which makes up pretty much the entirety of the thing.

Yeah, the videos appear to be just avis on the install disc, so that's easy enough. Thanks!

Yeah, the good news about Star Trek: Klingon, and its sibling, Star Trek: Borg, is that they are just essentially TV episodes with only one actual path through them. In the "game" it gives you moments to make decisions, and if you pick the wrong decision, you get a short "you picked wrong" video, and sent back to before the current decision point. Star Trek: Borg gets a little more complex, in that some of the wrong decisions lead into slightly lengthier failure scenarios, but they are, for the most part, still just dead ends that take longer to get to.

Incidentally, if you want to see what the game is, there are just full longplays up on YouTube, and you don't have to mess with anything on the CDs at all.

Do other countries use the phrase ‘a busman’s holiday?’ to describe a vacation or time off when you are doing the same as your work? (in the case of the aforementioned busman it would be driving the family or others around sightseeing.)

I have never heard that expression.

I (in the US) think I learned the phrase “busman’s holiday” via the Dorothy Sayers novel.

Higgledy wrote:

Do other countries use the phrase ‘a busman’s holiday?’ to describe a vacation or time off when you are doing the same as your work? (in the case of the aforementioned busman it would be driving the family or others around sightseeing.)

I think it's a uniquely British phrase because "busman" was a uniquely British term.

Never heard it in Western Canada.

hbi2k wrote:
Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

Virtual machines are usually not the way to go. It depends on the game, and what kind of hardware you have.

If you can tell us what you're trying to run, your CPU and speed, and how much RAM you have, that might clue us in enough to get you going.

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I've gotten virtual machines for Windows 95, 98SE, and XP SP3 running in VMware, but the farthest I've gotten is to get the game installed and to the title screen. At this point either the game program crashes or plays audio but not video. I think the problem might be the old Video for Windows codec it wants to install.

After digging around awhile, this link claims to have a version that works on Win10:

Star Trek Klingon

That's a pirate download, but since you presumably have the original CD(s), I see no moral quandary here. It's 25 years old and you own it, so go crazy.

In the US, you hear "working vacation", but as far as I can tell "busman's holiday" is a UK thing.

Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:
Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

Virtual machines are usually not the way to go. It depends on the game, and what kind of hardware you have.

If you can tell us what you're trying to run, your CPU and speed, and how much RAM you have, that might clue us in enough to get you going.

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I've gotten virtual machines for Windows 95, 98SE, and XP SP3 running in VMware, but the farthest I've gotten is to get the game installed and to the title screen. At this point either the game program crashes or plays audio but not video. I think the problem might be the old Video for Windows codec it wants to install.

After digging around awhile, this link claims to have a version that works on Win10:

Star Trek Klingon

That's a pirate download, but since you presumably have the original CD(s), I see no moral quandary here. It's 25 years old and you own it, so go crazy.

I did find that link in my research; they want eight bucks for the download. It's less a matter of moral quandary and more the fact that it smacks of a scam. I appreciate you looking into it though!

hbi2k wrote:
Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:
Malor wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

Anyone have any experience getting old-ass games to run on virtual machines? I've got a Win 3.1 / Win95 game that I'm trying to get running and I'm having the devil's own time of it.

Virtual machines are usually not the way to go. It depends on the game, and what kind of hardware you have.

If you can tell us what you're trying to run, your CPU and speed, and how much RAM you have, that might clue us in enough to get you going.

I'm trying to run a goofy old FMV game called Star Trek: Klingon. My PC has an Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz with 32 GB of RAM.

I've gotten virtual machines for Windows 95, 98SE, and XP SP3 running in VMware, but the farthest I've gotten is to get the game installed and to the title screen. At this point either the game program crashes or plays audio but not video. I think the problem might be the old Video for Windows codec it wants to install.

After digging around awhile, this link claims to have a version that works on Win10:

Star Trek Klingon

That's a pirate download, but since you presumably have the original CD(s), I see no moral quandary here. It's 25 years old and you own it, so go crazy.

I did find that link in my research; they want eight bucks for the download. It's less a matter of moral quandary and more the fact that it smacks of a scam. I appreciate you looking into it though!

I didn't realize. That's crazy high. Sorry for the bad link.

No worries! Appreciate the thought!

Jonman wrote:
Higgledy wrote:

Do other countries use the phrase ‘a busman’s holiday?’ to describe a vacation or time off when you are doing the same as your work? (in the case of the aforementioned busman it would be driving the family or others around sightseeing.)

I think it's a uniquely British phrase because "busman" was a uniquely British term.

And not many British people would call a driver a busman these days. It’s a job description that has been preserved within that expression long beyond it’s common usage.

Thanks all.

Higgledy wrote:
Jonman wrote:
Higgledy wrote:

Do other countries use the phrase ‘a busman’s holiday?’ to describe a vacation or time off when you are doing the same as your work? (in the case of the aforementioned busman it would be driving the family or others around sightseeing.)

I think it's a uniquely British phrase because "busman" was a uniquely British term.

And not many British people would call a driver a busman these days. It’s a job description that has been preserved within that expression long beyond it’s common usage.

Thanks all.

Even as a Brit I have never heard a bus driver referred to a busman outside of that phrase.

Not a Brit, but speaking as an expert on all things british I can confirm that the term passed out of fashion after the war. Nowadays it's only used in the Sussex region, to refer to the giant human-bus hybrid creatures that roam the downs, feeding on thistles and frightening passers-by who don't have a valid bus pass.

fenomas wrote:

Not a Brit, but speaking as an expert on all things british I can confirm that the term passed out of fashion after the war. Nowadays it's only used in the Sussex region, to refer to the giant human-bus hybrid creatures that roam the downs, feeding on thistles and frightening passers-by who don't have a valid bus pass.

Sure if you want to insult them. I believe they consider it a slur in Omnibus Gianticus community but that doesn’t stop the Tory press.

Which group has the worst aim:
GI Joe and Cobra (cartoon version)
The A-Team
Star Wars Stormtroopers
3rd grade boys peeing