Netrek
08-28-03, 02:16 AM
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Netrek
I used to play Netrek... a lot. A friend from a CIS class sent me a Netrek client over the Unix lab network, and I ended up wrecking my grades for the quarter because I was always playing that damn game. It was incredible network action gaming, a full year before we first got Doom running over a network, and it was awesome.
As time went by, I got over my addiction and let my Lieutenant Commander account expire. But every couple of years, I'd download a recent Netrek client, fire it up, and go on a planet-taking spree for about two weeks. My last bout of this was 2000-ish, and I was pleased to see that even in the era of Unreal Tournament graphics, Netrek still rocked, even with its plonky little graphics.
Well, it looks like the good days may have come to an end.
Tonight, I discovered that netrek.org is virtually dead; that the old metaserver (csuchico) is actually dead; and that it's almost impossible to find a Windows Netrek client. I spent some time overcoming all three obstacles, only to find one populated server with a whopping two people on it.
That is a terrible shame. Computer gaming history drying up before our very eyes.
Y'know, the gameplay and excitement of Netrek are still - still - not remotely captured by any other network game. It seems that network games today are mostly about fast-action shooters, MMORPGs, or tank-rush strategy games. Don't get me wrong - all have their places in network gaming. But Netrek was something different, and I'm not sure we'll ever see that niche filled again.
- David Stein
As time went by, I got over my addiction and let my Lieutenant Commander account expire. But every couple of years, I'd download a recent Netrek client, fire it up, and go on a planet-taking spree for about two weeks. My last bout of this was 2000-ish, and I was pleased to see that even in the era of Unreal Tournament graphics, Netrek still rocked, even with its plonky little graphics.
Well, it looks like the good days may have come to an end.
Tonight, I discovered that netrek.org is virtually dead; that the old metaserver (csuchico) is actually dead; and that it's almost impossible to find a Windows Netrek client. I spent some time overcoming all three obstacles, only to find one populated server with a whopping two people on it.
That is a terrible shame. Computer gaming history drying up before our very eyes.
Y'know, the gameplay and excitement of Netrek are still - still - not remotely captured by any other network game. It seems that network games today are mostly about fast-action shooters, MMORPGs, or tank-rush strategy games. Don't get me wrong - all have their places in network gaming. But Netrek was something different, and I'm not sure we'll ever see that niche filled again.
- David Stein
