OpenTTD is open source, so not sure that fits.
Older? Check.
Free? Check.
Software/game? Check.Checks out in my book!
I had to google as I was wondering what was so fun about Touch Tone Dialing. I’m old.
I happened upon the original for $20 in Wal Mart in 1995 and I’ve been playing it on and off ever since!
One of the best games ever made.
I don’t know if it technically counts as freeware, but Space Cadet Pinball. Back on XP it was my go-to for something quick to play on the offline computer, and I just brought it with me to every new machine. Also it’s now been decompiled and will run on pretty much anything!
Dwarf Fortress, since 2008
ASCII no questions, I’ll tell you no lies
🪨⛏
Haven’t played recently, but this one came to mind’
I missed the original, but Scorched 3D was a big hit at my high school.
Tyrian is still fantastic 30 years later!
I’ve probably played this game for over a hundred hours. Great soundtrack too, by Alexander Brandon. I also loved the minigame hidden behind the DESTRUCT cheat code.
And it’s open source too!
The soundtrack really is fantastic…I spent many an hour as a kid listening to it in the jukebox mode with its super groovy visualizations!
Love this game!
Something about Castle of the Winds really seemed unique and even today it’s distinct from most roguelikes. I liked the fact that items could be enchanted or cursed. Simplistic graphics, but fun! I also liked the 3D pinball game (demo) that came with an old version of Windows…
I got it working on Mt last computer by running it through win 3.1, but I haven’t been able to make that work since I changed. How are you running it these days?
OpenTTD
Do flash games count? Motherload is great.
It’s been a few years, but Armagetron Advanced was the best. Felt like you were riding the lightbikes from Tron.
The powder toy. It’s a physics simulator. I fire it up during meetings
I always have to have Hover! on my PC. It’s hella dumb that it doesn’t just come with Windows as it did originally.
I can’t believe someone else just mentioned Hover! I haven’t played it in decades lol but I did spend a lot of time on it as a kid
Am I crazy or is there a browser based version now that had online multiplayer?
Was it not part of the entertainment pack? I do remember spending so long on it and just never getting past one of the levels, turns out there was a platform that required a spring to get to.
Beneath A Steel Sky (though I kinda prefer the grungier aesthetic of the Amiga floppy version)
Available free on ScummVM!
Has an excellent plot and wry sense of humour. Fun game.
I often revisit Soldat
Beyond All Reason!
If we’re sticking strictly to free, I’m not sure Doom mods work if you only have the free version installed. Either way, people basically never stopped making wads since the game came out, and I try various ones out from time to time.
There are tons of them, so if you’re interested you can see what won the annual Cacowards throughout the years and start there.
