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amok: Blizzard is starting giving away some classic games for free.

The first game is from 1994, with [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Vikings]Lost Vikings and Rock n'roll racing rumored to be following soon.

If you have a Battle.net account you can now download Blackthorne by going to the Download Game Clients section on your account page. On the bottom of the Download Page there is now a section called Classic Games, and Blackthorne is there.

If you are from other parts than US it may not be active yet, but this is resolved by logging into your account at us.battle.net instead.
I heard a lot of good things about Blackthorne.
Never heard of it, might give it a whirl though
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amok: Now this is how you port a classic to run on modern systems!

The game runs like a dream on my 64 bit W8, and it plays looks and sounds exactly like the original. As far as I can see, it is also completely DRM free.
It's running in a modified and stripped-down DOSBox build; you can tell by the dosbox.conf file in the installation directory (and the source code that is included).

If the rumors mentioned about Lost Vikings and Rock n' Roll Racing are true, Lost Vikings will likely also be the DOS version (but I don't know how they'd do Rock n' Roll Racing, since that was only on SNES and Genesis - I suppose either version is possible).
Post edited November 01, 2013 by Pidgeot
Kinda surprising they aren't trying to sell them at $14.99 each.
Nice!

Hm, here's hoping that they might consider giving the same treatment to Warcraft 1 or maybe the original Diablo.
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amok: Blizzard is starting giving away some classic games for free.

The first game is from 1994, with [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Vikings]Lost Vikings and Rock n'roll racing rumored to be following soon.

If you have a Battle.net account you can now download Blackthorne by going to the Download Game Clients section on your account page. On the bottom of the Download Page there is now a section called Classic Games, and Blackthorne is there.

If you are from other parts than US it may not be active yet, but this is resolved by logging into your account at us.battle.net instead.
This is a risky strategy, if people who started playing Blizzard games with WoW realize how good the games used to be, Blizzard is going to be in trouble.

I really hope they do the Lost Vikings.
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amok: Now this is how you port a classic to run on modern systems!

The game runs like a dream on my 64 bit W8, and it plays looks and sounds exactly like the original. As far as I can see, it is also completely DRM free.
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Pidgeot: It's running in a modified and stripped-down DOSBox build; you can tell by the dosbox.conf file in the installation directory (and the source code that is included).
Yeah, I noticed the conf file also. It is running very smoothly, though, and since the source code is there people can play around with 'proper' dosbox if there is any problems. It is a nice release.

Another though, since it is under the new heading "Blizzard Classics", and it does even create a new root directory (if you do not change it) called "Blizzard Classics", it is an intentation that more Blizzard classic games are coming. Whether those games are free or not, it does not matter. I would welcome them all and I would gladly pay for them also. Especially if the all get the same treatment Blackthorn seems to have got.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard_Entertainment#Games)
Awesome! Thanks for the information, amok.
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amok: Blizzard is starting giving away some classic games for free.

The first game is from 1994, with [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Vikings]Lost Vikings and Rock n'roll racing rumored to be following soon.

If you have a Battle.net account you can now download Blackthorne by going to the Download Game Clients section on your account page. On the bottom of the Download Page there is now a section called Classic Games, and Blackthorne is there.

If you are from other parts than US it may not be active yet, but this is resolved by logging into your account at us.battle.net instead.
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hedwards: This is a risky strategy, if people who started playing Blizzard games with WoW realize how good the games used to be, Blizzard is going to be in trouble.

I really hope they do the Lost Vikings.
Screw how good, if they realize they can play something without having to go online to buy decent equipment THEN Blizzard will be in trouble.
I used to have Blackthorne on disc in the mid to late 90's. Think I got it with the purchase of my first pc (or rather, the first pc my parents got me). Oh the days...at least here they used to hand out lots of games with a purchase of a pc. I remember having at least Warcraft and Descent too.
Post edited November 01, 2013 by DProject
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hedwards: This is a risky strategy, if people who started playing Blizzard games with WoW realize how good the games used to be, Blizzard is going to be in trouble.

I really hope they do the Lost Vikings.
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tinyE: Screw how good, if they realize they can play something without having to go online to buy decent equipment THEN Blizzard will be in trouble.
Isnt Blizzard already in trouble after Diablo 3?
Rock & Roll Racing would be amazing, but I'm skeptical since it was a console-only title.
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Nergal01: Nice!

Hm, here's hoping that they might consider giving the same treatment to Warcraft 1 or maybe the original Diablo.
I already have Diablo 1 on Disc :)

But I look forward to Warcraft 1 and 2 if they ever do it.
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tinyE: Screw how good, if they realize they can play something without having to go online to buy decent equipment THEN Blizzard will be in trouble.
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reaver894: Isnt Blizzard already in trouble after Diablo 3?
I don't know. I refuse to play anything newer than D2 which I still play constantly.
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amok: Now this is how you port a classic to run on modern systems!

The game runs like a dream on my 64 bit W8, and it plays looks and sounds exactly like the original. As far as I can see, it is also completely DRM free.
If they're giving it away for free, I can't imagine they'd waste any time implementing and maintaining DRM. Despite being very draconian with their newer titles, Blizzard has been very good about DRM with regards to their back-catalog.

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Elmofongo: But I look forward to Warcraft 1 and 2 if they ever do it.
Warcraft I was released freeware on the Blizzard website many years ago, but it was taken down shortly afterwards. I grabbed my stand-alone copy at the time, and don't know exactly what the window of availability was. I'd imagine if they're putting up the rest of their back-catalog that WC1 will return.