I want to nuke some Mefites.

November 16, 2006 8:50 AM

Now that Defcon has been out for a while, do any of you play? I want to nuke some Mefites.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 8:50 AM (29 comments total)

I play as KIM JONG WILDE and my server name is SAO PAULO. It's usually online for a bit in the late evening CET. I was wondering if any other Mefites got hooked on the good old global thermonuclear war, and if so we should arrange a game of Mefcon.

If you're new to it, here's a direct link [exe] to the demo, which is fully playable with few limitations.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:50 AM on November 16, 2006

That games looks cool, but still no Mac port. I guess I can boot into XP and check it out.
posted by chunking express at 9:17 AM on November 16, 2006

I have the demo and love it dearly. Stupid steam just doesn't like to accept my credit card and getting them to approve a purchase is a pain.

One day, perhaps.

*megadeath*
posted by slimepuppy at 9:30 AM on November 16, 2006

Any reason not to buy the non-Steam version, slimepuppy? I just used PayPal.

Oh, and this invitation definitely goes out to demo players as well. Only one demo player at once can play in a larger game though. (Unlimited can spectate.)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:43 AM on November 16, 2006

Unfortunately, I have a bootleg copy, so I won't be joining you anytime soon.
posted by matkline at 9:53 AM on November 16, 2006

Why - $17.50 too much for you? :)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:11 AM on November 16, 2006

I do play, but I'm too cheap to buy it, so I just play the demo. Generally, against the AI, I save 100% of my population and kill 97%+ of his. The AI isn't very I.
posted by orthogonality at 10:18 AM on November 16, 2006

Every time you pirate an Introversion game an angel loses its wings.
posted by prostyle at 10:19 AM on November 16, 2006

Eagerly awaiting the Mac port. Right now I have the demo on my work PC so I don't have time to play enough to get good at all.
posted by mkb at 10:33 AM on November 16, 2006

say no to jaurez

Defcon is the sort of game that I love in the abstract. Execution is wonderful, tutorials were solid—but I don't get any pleasure from actually playing it. I wasn't built for the RTS sensibility, I guess.
posted by cortex at 10:34 AM on November 16, 2006

cortex writes "but I don't get any pleasure from actually playing it. "

You get to nuke whole continents. (And the soundtrack is awesome: "military" noises (Klaxons, and hanger doors opening, and sonar pinging), eerie music, and best of all, people coughing from radiation sickness!)
posted by orthogonality at 10:39 AM on November 16, 2006

Oh, don't misunderstand. I want to enjoy it. By contrast, I love X-Com with every fiber of my being. It's the RTS vs. TB thing that I don't cope well with—no fault of the game, just a hard preference thing.
posted by cortex at 10:41 AM on November 16, 2006

orthogonality writes "Generally, against the AI, I save 100% of my population and kill 97%+ of his. The AI isn't very I."

Indeed. Once I started playing other humans (especially when five of them at once) the strategy side of things got much, much more interesting.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 10:42 AM on November 16, 2006

If I may derail, does anyone play "Scorched Earth 3D"? It's free, works on older computers, and involves lobbing nukes at one another. I love the Apocalypse mod, of course.
posted by loquacious at 11:33 AM on November 16, 2006

Yeet another cheapskate...I play the demo

But yes, I do play Scorched Earth / Apocalypse....haven't played online (can you?) for the longest time, if ever. Mostly LAN games.
posted by niles at 11:43 AM on November 16, 2006

Yay DefCon - I play as "freebird" I think. Might be "scotfree". I'm also not a huge RTS fan, but the unfolding Chessgame feel, and the game mechanic of the Defcon stages makes it totally work for me. It feels less like an RTS than trying to give a tiny bit of direction to an unstoppable avalanche of Tragedy and Destruction- which I enjoy as it reminds me of my life I suppose.
posted by freebird at 3:08 PM on November 16, 2006

I'm starting up my server now. I'll tag "Metafilter" onto the name and see if anyone happens to show up. :)
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:19 PM on November 16, 2006

Just missed it and now I'm off to bed - maybe see you on there another time...
posted by jontyjago at 3:37 PM on November 16, 2006

Dang it, that Mac port needs to come out. Sounds like fun.
posted by brundlefly at 4:56 PM on November 16, 2006

i just downloaded scorched 3d. Looks pretty cool. I'll check out defcon later.
posted by bob sarabia at 6:21 PM on November 16, 2006

goodnewsfortheinsane: I watched you play once. I play as lysol.
posted by cellphone at 6:46 PM on November 16, 2006

Yeah, I'm waiting on the mac port too. I bought it when it came out and played it on my roommate's computer, but he's using his computer most of the time I'm home, so I don't really get to play much. But when I do, I go by the same name as here.
posted by heresiarch at 7:01 PM on November 16, 2006

I have been too busy lately, but I was playing a lot for a while. Weird game. Bleak but addictive.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 7:50 PM on November 16, 2006

I can't seem to connect to any servers; are there firewall/router issues? do I need to open any ports?
posted by orthogonality at 9:42 PM on November 16, 2006

I can't download it either and usually I'm OK as long as it's being served on port 80.
posted by Mitheral at 6:48 AM on November 17, 2006

ortho, Defcon uses UDP 5008 thru 5011 - however, if these are unavailable, the game is supposed to select other available ports automatically. You could also try to enable (or disable) port forwarding in the game's network panel, see if that makes a difference. More here.

Mitheral, I think you are referring to the demo download, not ingame connections, right? I would just go to the official site and try a different mirror on the demo page.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:25 AM on November 17, 2006

Gripes: I'd really like a record of each enemy unit I kill. Especially subs.

Questions: how do I keep my fighters from running off and running out of fuel? How is it that bombers are so effective against destroyers, but seemingly not so much against aircraft carriers?
posted by orthogonality at 11:00 AM on November 17, 2006

Downloading now from FileFront. Yes I was just hitting the company mirrors because I dislike Rapidshare/Fileplanet et. al. and I can't run bit torrent over my fast connection. But on second view I noticed FileFront which I hadn't seen before. I gave them a try and their downloads are pain free.
posted by Mitheral at 12:04 PM on November 17, 2006

ortho: instead of launching fighters directly at an enemy unit, it's often better to launch them in their general direction, just off the base or carrier, and let them find the target on their own. This should prevent them (sometimes) from wandering off and crashing in the middle of nowhere. Also, in case of carriers it prevents the carrier itself from (stupidly) moving itself into the fray as well, often sinking the carrier in the process.

Fighters do have a very limited fuel range, though, and there's not much you can do about it. It's probably best to view them as expendible, and remember that they regenerate (slowly) on airbases.

Bombers should be effective against carriers as well as battleships - I would wager the odds are about the same. Not sure though. Fighters are very effective against bombers and less so against ships or other fighters.

Did this make any sense?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 11:47 AM on November 18, 2006