Grey FPS MS-DOS/Win

Help locating old / Pre year 2000 games you used to play.
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cristy_maxspeed
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Grey FPS MS-DOS/Win

Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Hello. I remember playing an old FPS game. I will try to give as much information as possible. If you have any idea what game it is, please share it with me! Unfortunately, my memory is hazy and some details might be incorrect, please don't trust every detail to be as I remember them to be, just use them as potential clues.

- it was released before 2004 (I believe I played it in ~2006, possibly along with Call of Duty); I remember that PC that I played on had Win95, Win98 and Win2000 before having XP, and it ran without DosBox or any kind of emulators. The person who installed the game for me also just installed XP too, so maybe XP was a new OS then and that's why he installed it in my computer, maybe the game was released before that, perhaps in 2001?

- its icon was the MS-DOS icon that ran the game if double-clicked while installed on WinXP (I think) PC -> I might be thinking of two different games

- if doubleclicked, the game showed an image on the middle of the screen (a splash screen) before actually starting the game. It showed the name of the game (something with Killer I think) and a picture with a pistol I believe (or a symbol?). That could've been the installer though. -> I might be thinking of two different games

- I remember a level (first one?) was kinda grey (kinda like Hercules Monochrome but not that bad, perhaps I played it in EGA mode) and I ran in first person with the pixelated (low-quality graphics) gun (pistol most likely) and from a building (pretty sure the first level features a castle or temple or huge building) out of a gate a LOT of soldiers/monsters (I am sure about this part, in the first level if you go inside in a room a lot of guards(?) (they might've been knights in gray armor) will follow you everywhere (even outside), or at least you can't pass because of them. I believe I had to shoot them, but they might've been harmless and my fear of them was due to the fact I was just a kid at the time and thought they were going to attack me. There was a gate so I were outside, the game was NOT only in a building or indoors-only (like Wolf3D) (even though Wolf3D engine is a possibility) , this may filter the search. I remember that somewhere a lot of monsters or soldiers(?) came to me and I ran away.
Similar to what I was trying to describe: Eternal Destiny https://youtu.be/h-fd83vovpw?t=1m35s
Also similar: https://youtu.be/bdrawAq_QtQ?t=1m16s RTCW Mission 6 part 4

- I think it may be Quake/Rise of the Triad/Delta Force, but they don't really match my description.

- I seem to recall a greenish pre-mission menu to choose the map (it could also be where you select weapons most likely or maybe missions or see objectives, I don't know for sure), similar to Hitman Codename 47's, I think it might be Delta Force 1 after all. I think you could see the map so you knew how big the area in that mission was going to be. I also recall a green nightvision mode, darkness and a sniper lookout tower, probably from Delta Force, but it might be a different game altogether and I'm mixing stuff. (Fear 1 could also be a possibility) (Also Soldier of Fortune)

Thank you in advance!
Last edited by cristy_maxspeed on Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:03 am, edited 28 times in total.
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MrFlibble
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Post by MrFlibble »

Hmm, the description is somewhat vague. For starters, you can check out the following titles:
Chasm: The Rift
Last Rites
Corridor 7: Alien Invasion
Angst: Rahz's Revenge
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Post by Quadko »

Offhand since I don't know, I'd suggest a list like MobyGames FPS. But it has 9000+ entries on it, so not sure how helpful that would be. :)

I would say sort it by date and start from 1990 since this is an old game, but you can't do that in the new MobyGames interface. Nutz.

There are only 45 games listed using the Duke Nukem 3D engine, so that might be worth a look since you mentioned it.

The only one you didn't mention that sprung to my memory was Rise of the Triad
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Thank you all for your help, but it isn't:
- Chasm the Rift (because it's too dark and brown compared to my game, which was more grey)
- Last Rites (because my game didn't have that menu neither that green HUD)
- Corridor 7: Alien Invasion (graphics too bad, too much inside of the building gameplay, also the game I am looking for was playable in my old PC with Athlon CPU and 64MB GPU? and I also think that my game wasn't about aliens, I think it was about some soldiers, I remember seeing a gate and they came out of it outside. Maybe I should draw in Paint the image that I remember?) (I am pretty sure my game had a splash screen with its name before starting gameplay, and also it was pretty grey)
- Angst: Rahz's Revenge (too dark)
- Rise of the Triad (too dark and space themed)
From the site:
- Wanton (not that splashscreen, mine was different and again, everything too dark, but still more similar to my game than the previous games you recommended)
- redneck rampage (menu graphics too good, when I played my game I only had a pistol I think) (look at this video: https://youtu.be/wfwAeBW917w?t=24m32s , my game executable had that MSDOS logo)
...
Duke Nukem fits the most, but still I can't find that scene that I remember.
Last edited by cristy_maxspeed on Thu Jul 05, 2018 6:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by MrFlibble »

cristy_maxspeed wrote:Duke Nukem fits the most, but still I can't find that scene that I remember.
Hmm, maybe it was a mod or a total conversion of Duke3D? Check NAM and World War II G.I.

ModDB also has an extensive collection of add-ons and mods for Duke3D.

Also, just in case, check out HacX (a total conversion of Doom II).
cristy_maxspeed wrote:(look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzpGSiwdgQ4, my game executable had that MSDOS logo)
You shouldn't rely on that, none of DOS executables actually have any built-in icons (unlike Windows programmes), so the MS-DOS icon is just the generic way of representing a link to a DOS executable in Windows. Some DOS games have icons which are stored in a separate file, and they may get displayed on the shortcut in Windows.
cristy_maxspeed wrote:- Rise of the Triad (too dark and space themed)
Being a bit nit-picky here but ROTT isn't space-themed at all.
Quadko wrote:Offhand since I don't know, I'd suggest a list like MobyGames FPS. But it has 9000+ entries on it, so not sure how helpful that would be. :)

I would say sort it by date and start from 1990 since this is an old game, but you can't do that in the new MobyGames interface. Nutz.
You can apply multiple filters to narrow down the search criteria. The redesign might have screwed the Game Browser quite a bit but the archived pages still work. With some practice, you can just type the desired categories manually in the address bar.

Here's a list of DOS action 1st-person games:
http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/d ... ist-games/

You can even narrow it down further to just first-person shooters:
http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/d ... ist-games/
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Still no luck (but I didn't check the entire MobyGames fps list), It's not Duke3D however.
Last edited by cristy_maxspeed on Tue Apr 11, 2017 12:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by MrFlibble »

JIC, check the following titles:
Eradicator
In Pursuit of Greed
Strife
The Terminator: Rampage
The Terminator: Future Shock

It may also be a good idea to check reviews of FPS games in this blog.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

I'm back.
I remember that a level was outside (not in a building) and it was a CASTLE or at least a big building with a door. When I opened the door there was a lot of people chasing me and shooting.
I remember the game's loadscreen or splash-screen had a picture with a gun (Pistol I believe) and maybe a guy holding it (like CS 1.6).
The problem is that it doesn't seem to be any of the games that I tested (by watching youtube gameplays).
I just remember everything was more grey or lighter than all those games that look so dark in YouTube videos.
Last edited by cristy_maxspeed on Wed Dec 07, 2016 2:35 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

I am still looking for this, just in case anyone has more ideas? Updated the first post.
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Post by Rwolf »

Just looking at the possible name including 'killer', there is a sort of demo game called 'Industrial Killers' which is sort of wolfenstein-like, with bland colors, and has indoor/outdoor action. Mixed weapons shown in the screenshots.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/industrial-killers

(I see MrFlibble documented the game at Mobygames quite recently, so you may not have seen it until now)
Last edited by Rwolf on Sun Apr 09, 2017 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Unfortunately I don't think that's the one I'm looking for; also my game (as far as I remember) had no HUD or it was minimal anyway. (something like Tekwar's most likely; that game even looks similar but even that one is too colorful) (for sure the HUD was not a big one like RPG-FPS hybrid games usually have). Also, I must stress that it was very grey-looking, bland (#bbbec9 or something). Perhaps ROTT or Quake engine or a mod for one of them? The huge grey castle is one of the most specific thing I remember. And you could enter that door and find like 20 guards or something.
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Post by MrFlibble »

After re-reading your description it reminded me of The Fortress of Dr. Radiaki somewhat. You might also want to check out Island Peril. Both sorta match at least some parts of your description.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Thank you for your reply, I appreciate your help :thumbsup: . I checked both of them but unfortunately it's none of those either :cry:
EDIT: Found out a game that looks very similar, Eternal Destiny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-fd83vovpw (it might even be the game I'm looking for but I really doubt it (it can't be, I used a normal PC with Windows XP?, not a RiscPC); I believe in "my" game the entrance was a bit lower, under ground, stairs or something) however at 1:35 you can see what I tried to describe before, a huge building and a grey background)
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Post by MrFlibble »

I just remembered a pretty obscure German 2.5D FPS called The Hidden Below. Here's a video of the first level:
https://youtu.be/r5jMoSDJvf0
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

That's not it either unfortunately :blah:
BTW, this grey castle level: it was most likely the first level of the game (E1M1) as I was young and wasn't very good at games back then. Also it should be a pretty common game, not obscure, I could be wrong though.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

JIC anyone has more ideas, I'm still looking for this
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Post by Wally »

I feel your pain :(

I'll throw a few suggestions at you:

Half Life 1
One of the Catacombs Games (Although you don't really go "outside"
Return to Castle Wolfenstein

It's possible you were using a lower pixelated graphic setting for a game to run on your computer too, set the graphics to as low as you can on all of them, this will help you in your search.
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Post by cristy_maxspeed »

Thank you for your suggestions :) So glad to see people trying to help me. Finding this game is important to me. I do remember playing RTCW a long time ago but I don't think that's the game I'm looking for. I actually played it recently. And I finished Half-Life 1, I am sure that isn't the game I'm looking for, it's definitely not HL. Catacomb 3-D is too old.

I am not even entirely sure I'm looking for an MS-DOS game, might've been a Windows game. Actually, I really do think it had a splash screen, which means it's a Windows game.

You might be right about the low graphic settings, found an old System Information file which says that I used to have a PC with AMD 1.3GHz CPU, Trident Video Accelerator Blade 3D/ProMedia 8MB, Resolution 1024 x 768 x 75 hertz, XP SP2, energystar BIOS. After that I had a PC with Athlon 3200+ 2GHz CPU, GeForce 6200 TurboCache GPU and 1GB DDR1 RAM, not sure which one I used to play this game on.

I don't remember any "magic" or "sci-fi" stuff going on, I only started with a pistol I believe. I don't have many memories of it except the door (might've been a basement?) leading to a room full of guards (I do believe there were 2-3 soldiers guarding the door) and the grey buildings. I think that's because I was most likely too afraid of the soldiers(?) hunting me.
Last edited by cristy_maxspeed on Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Rwolf »

The most grey looking FPS I can recall is the 'Dark Forces' of the star wars franchise but that is obviously space themed so it would probably not fit.
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Post by MrFlibble »

The late 90s/early 2000s was a period of "FPS boom", with the genre being generally very popular and new 3D technologies developing rapidly. There have been quite a few obscure titles released in this time frame, with some games having never gone past the playable demo stage. It might very well be that you're looking for one of those titles.

What complicates matters is that there were 3D FPS game makers like Pie in the Sky engine which allowed users to create their own FPS titles without much effort on the programming side. Once Pie in the Sky went true 3D (initially they marketed a 2.5D FPS engine/game maker), they created a demo game called Max Resistance. Check it out if it is anything similar to your game.

And you can also generally browse through the collection of obscure FPS titles showcased on this channel.
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