today, some obscure sierra on-line & dynamix history that shouldn't be obscure yet is due to how gaming culture developed: Front Page Sports Baseball. this just came in the mail, and i'm so glad to finally have my own copy after playing a demo from a CD-ROM Today! magazine cover disc as a kid.
this dynamix-produced and sierra-published title is weird for a bunch of reasons.
first, it's one of the last few DOS-only games that came out in the mid-90s.
second, it runs in hi-res mode using what i suspect is a blend of software-rendered 3D and 2D sprites that were a holdover from dynamix's 3Space engine used in almost all of dynamix's titles. (pic 2) the animation is crisp, the sprites are beautifully rendered in a very compressed colour palette.
third, the Front Page Sports series were massive hits - outselling other sierra/dynamix titles of the time. but no one talks about it, because sports games often get irritated yawns from gamers.
fourth, this game is fun to play. it's not just an average EA sports-style title. the batting/pitching gameplay is addictive, and the simulation of the players and teams is deep.
and finally, there is - unbelievably - still an active FPS Baseball community still modding and developing rosters for the game. someone maintains a tool that generates websites that lets other people see the outcomes of your baseball games like a late-90s ESPN network site 🤣 https://www.silverbox.com/biorhythm/
Umm yeah I am glad to be done with Rise of the Dragon it would have been less annoying if I hadn't had to do it twice check out my #Twitch stream and please boost this post as I'm a #SmallStreamer
Will be going live on #Twitch at 12:30 AM CST will be checking out Rise of the Dragon by Dynamix I'm a #SmallStreamer so please boost this post and raids are greatly appreciated.
When #Sierra handed over the development of #SpaceQuestV to #Dynamix, they let appear their logo in more or less hidden places. On top of that, they integrated the logo of a real sponsor. You can read here whether the outsourcing has affected the usual quality in any other way.
Did #Dynamix ever make a bad game? My feeling is their track record is pretty much spotless. Not only that, a large number of their works was great in their day and even holds up well today. Case in point, #ProjectFirestart.