#spiderweb software

[thesylverlining]

Finally playing Geneforge 2, and. Ah yes. The three genders.

[softchassis]

Re-breaking the Tumblr Ice with a "25 Games To Know Me" post!

Reasons why each game is important to me are under the cut.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 -- I love Sonic in general. I think across the entire history of the franchise I can only really point to two games I dislike, or three if I'm feeling particularly uncharitable. But Sonic 2 was the first game I ever saw at a store and said "I want that one". As for how I feel about Sonic 2 itself, it's actually not my favorite Sonic game or even my favorite classic Sonic game--those distinctions go to Sonic Unleashed and Sonic CD--but without Sonic 2, I may never have given the blue hog a chance.

Spark The Electric Jester 3 -- The most recent game on this list certainly but it deserves to be there. It's so confident and unashamed of what it is. It *knows* it's a Sonic fan game underneath its yellow blorbo skin, but it never winks at the audience about it. You just get to do some really incredible, high speed 3D platforming and mix in some DMC-lite combos in there too. It's good, it's fun, it's sincere, it's beautiful. All the Spark games are.

Cave Story -- Before Cave Story I only had a vague idea of the concept of "single person makes game all by themself". I'd certainly played plenty before, from the Shareware era on DOS and Windows 95, but Cave Story made it feel approachable. Plus, on its own, it's just a great little game.

La Mulana -- Cave Story and La Mulana share the same space in my brain. It may be a little weird to say this, but I typically don't enjoy 2D Metroidvanias. The only ones I've beaten are Super Metroid and most recently Nine Sols. But something about La Mulana just tickles me. It feels like the entire map is one big Rubik's Cube I'm beating my head against, which is more satisfying to me than "I found the thing that lets me do the thing I couldn't do earlier."

DOOM (2016) -- I love the entire Doom franchise but DOOM 2016 is my favorite standalone experience. Otherwise I have played untold hours of classic Doom mods, my favorites being Reelism, Demonsteele, and Doom Infinite.

Sekiro -- A really great experience all around. I enjoy Dark Souls and appreciate its storytelling, but most everything in Dark Souls feels too distant for me to appreciate, whereas in Sekiro, the history both is recent and ongoing, and the Shinto and Buddhist mythology informs the story in real time. And It's just so fun to actually play. You never forget your first Lady Butterfly.

Dynamite Headdy -- Most everyone loves Treasure but to me no game is more Treasure than this one.

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure -- One of the earliest plays on the RPG genre. A typical RPG hero is going around slaying monsters to level up, but that person isn't you. Instead, you go around reuniting the souls of slain monsters to revive them, and learn a lot about the heartfelt and unique world they once inhabited. A really beautiful and important game.

Worms Armageddon -- Still the best 1999

Avernum: Escape From The Pit -- A remake of Spiderweb Software's first game in the "Exile" series. Avernum tells a great fantasy story about an underground cave society, where undesirables are exiled by the empire who scorns them. Instead of laying down and dying in the caves, its new residents name it Avernum and create their own society... and they don't intend to take their punishment laying down. A really fun and atmospheric CRPG with great, Vonnegut-esque writing and a lot of heart.

Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver -- I played this one pretty recently and was shocked at how forward thinking it was for 1999. I played the entire Legacy of Kain series back to back, but Soul Reaver stuck out to me as the best one. If you can't tell by some of the other games on this list, I adore games that feel lonely and isolating but still have a distinct goal and stakes. Soul Reaver is incredible and finally contextualized just why I saw Raziel all over Playstation magazines as a kid--it's because he's fucking cool!

Marathon Infinity -- play the entire marathon series right now stop reading this

Lemmings -- Huh. What's that doing here

Pikmin -- The first Pikmin is the best one in my opinion. I love the time limit, I love the simplicity of the scope compared to the rest of the series, it's a fun game to just pop in once in a while and just blitz through. I also just love microworld settings. And the creature design! And the puzzle design! Ohh Pikmin there's nothing like you.

Klonoa: The Door To Phantomile -- I have a lot of fond memories of this one, but specifically of playing the demo over and over on a Playstation Magazine demo disc with my sister. I wouldn't actually play the full game until much later, on an emulator. I did later rent Klonoa 2 and finish it before that though. Klonoa is good.

Rayman -- I love this game. I love how fucking mean it is while looking so bright and poppy and silly. I first played it when I was like 8 years old and it was a really humbling, eye-opening experience. But jokes aside it's just a really good game. But yeah, it's hard. If you've never played it before and don't want to tear your hair out, you should play Rayman Redemption, a fan remake of it that makes it a bit more approachable. If you ask me though, you should try the original first.

Ecco: The Tides of Time -- I also played this one when I was really young and it was also a humbling, eye-opening experience. I just liked dolphins, I wasn't expecting to have rented the hardest game in the entire fucking store. Having revisited the Ecco series many times since then, though, I think Tides of Time is the best one. It's just gorgeous and both versions of the soundtrack are amazing. I prefer the CD one though, except for Moray Abyss and Tubes of Medusa.

Splatterhouse -- Kids love horror and kids love forbidden things, so when I saw a Splatterhouse ROM on a romsite as a kid and was immediately told I wasn't allowed to download it, of course I fucking did when no one was looking. And my brain was altered forever

Earthbound -- I very briefly had a stepbrother who had a SNES and Earthbound and I wasn't able to play it myself (no open save slots) so I just watched, but I was fascinated by it. I would eventually play it myself later on good ol ZSNES. I have nice warm memories of watching the snow on the ZSNES menu while it snowed gently outside, in between bouts of playing Earthbound and Yoshi's Island.

Yakuza -- Okay the PS2 boxart is here as a stand in, I love the entire Yakuza series dearly. I did own Yakuza and Yakuza 2 when they were new, but lost them when our PS2 and all of its games got stolen.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 -- Another Sonic game? But this one's special. I've been playing SRB2 for over half of my life at this point. I've played countless mods for it and have watched it grow from a basic little Doom platformer into a great platform for expression. It's also just fun.

Bomberman 64 -- The 3D bomb-stacking and bouncing stuff in this game is so cool and is the exact kind of finicky, almost-accidental-seeming mechanical depth I love in video games. I can't believe they only made one of these.

Psychonauts -- Kind of a stand-in for Double Fine and LucasArts in general, but definitely the best game still out of both companies. I love 3D platformers and I love what this game does. There's still not much out there like it.

Rayman 2 -- Another Rayman game? Well yeah, I can't say I love 3D platformers and just not put the best 3D platformer ever made on this list. Not an exaggeration!

Final Fantasy XIV -- I get to play as a hot lion woman now. Have you seen her? Well, now you have

[verecunda]

Turns out when the Sibyl of Cumae warned Aeneas that descending into Avernum was easy, but that it would be toil and travail to come back again, she was actually foretelling the insane addictiveness of old Spiderweb Software RPGs. :P

(This unconscionable piece of nerdery brought to you by the fact that I should be getting back to reading Virgil - specifically, the Georgics - but my most recent game of Avernum 2 is calling to me. Yes, I absolutely do deserve a slap for this. XD)

[sexypornmeister]

"Suddenly, the Shareware Demon appears!"

[ofsilentthings]

My kid: Mom, I want Baldur's Gate 3!

Me: We have Baldur's Gate 3 at home.

Baldur's Gate 3 at home:

[linuxgamenews]

Get Geneforge 2 - Infestation: The Enhanced RPG Experience

Geneforge 2 - Infestation open-ended adventure game is playable on Linux via Proton with Windows PC and Mac. Thanks to the skilled team at Spiderweb Software for making this happen. Available on both Steam and GOG. If you're into RPGs and looking for something new to dive into, check this out: Geneforge 2 - Infestation has just landed on PC and Mac, and it's playable on Linux. This isn't just any release; it's a complete overhaul of the cult favorite "Geneforge 2" from 2003.

All of our games run well under WINE emulation. We’ve done it in the past, and I’m afraid they don’t sell.

Although Spiderweb Software doesn't offer native ports, their games are compatible with WINE, which extends to Proton too. It's a bit of a letdown not to have a native build, but at least there's a workaround for Linux players. The team at Spiderweb Software has gone all out here, expanding on the original into Geneforge 2 - Infestation. Along with added storylines, quests, and adventures, not to mention a slick, updated UI. But don't worry, they've kept all the elements that made fans like the original. It's all about striking that balance between the new and the nostalgic, and it looks like they've nailed it.

Geneforge 2 - Infestation Trailer

You get to play as Shapers, incredibly powerful wizards with the ability to create life. The twist? Your creations, once loyal, are now rebelling. Caught in the middle, you're faced with a huge decision: support the Shapers or join forces with the rebels. It's a complex setup that offers a ton of freedom in how you approach the situation. The enthusiasm for the Geneforge 2 - Infestation release is a given. A hugely successful Kickstarter campaign raised over $76,500, thanks to more than 1,500 backers. This support has allowed the developers to pack in even more content. We're talking about over 50 hours of playtime, multiple endings, and loads of replay potential. Whether you're into direct combat or prefer a more strategic, diplomatic approach, there's a playstyle for everyone. And choices matter here; they shape the world and your experience. Geneforge 2 - Infestation isn't just a simple touch-up; it's a full revamp with new areas, quests, characters, and dialogue. The team has reworked everything to bring it up to modern standards without losing the charm of the original. Jeff Vogel, the founder of Spiderweb Software, sums it up well. He's a veteran in the industry, and "Geneforge 2" is one of their biggest successes. According to him, the depth and variety in player choices. Such as being able to go through the entire thing without fighting. While making it stand out even two decades later. So, if you're on the hunt for a solid, old-school open-ended adventure game with a fantastic story and lots of freedom, Geneforge 2 - Infestation is definitely worth checking out. It's available right now Windows PC and Mac, but playable on Linux via Proton on Steam and GOG. Priced at $16.99 USD / £14.23 / 16,57€ with the 15% discount.

[yubsie]

I enjoy that Jeff Vogel made a typo in a reward description 5+ years ago and he's still singing certificates multiple kickstarters later.

[astridhobbit]

The game series Avernum by Spiderweb Software includes the Happy Friendly Spiders. They are described as coming up to about your adventurer's knee in height, and they all have a very high-pitched voice, and they say things like "Hi! I'm Spider!" and "You're cute!" and sometimes one of them will kiss your knee with their pedipalps.

There is a quest in one of the games to steal back a Happy Friendly Spider egg sac from the mean giant spiders, and they are very excited and happy when you do so.

I think there should be more chill giant spiders in fantasy. They don’t even need to be able to talk or anything, but they should come and untangle our protagonists from their webs because they have very strict rules about what they eat and why and when and sentient creatures are not on there and the babies should be cute and spiders think humans are cute and help them out like if we find a hedgehog in a beer can or something.

[amethystsadachbia]

Nausikaa, the mage of the party

[mr-nutt]

In this video, I play an old shareware demo about a wizard and a magic stone or something.

[knightoflodis]

Spiderweb Software’s Nethergate won’t play on steam deck apparently :(

Was kind of thinking of trying it out for once. Have more played their Avernum and Geneforge games (and not enough of those honestly)

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Have you ever played Universal Paperclips? Seems like a game you'd like. not sure why, other than the obvious (spoiler) stuff, just vibes

I am familiar with the game and I have played it, but I didn't get to its poetic conclusion because I got really obsessed with nickel-and-diming trades early on and refused to automate the process like you're supposed to and move on because what if the automated system is slightly worse per trade than me. I also never got very far into Fallout 3 because I insisted on collecting and selling every book or tin can I could find, rapidly draining all the money out of the economy of the first town. I was forced to start hoarding all my tin cans and books in specific chests until I could find somebody with money to buy them, a situation that quickly got out of control as I started to lose track of my many many stashes and got frustrated and quit the game forever because I couldn't find some of my huge piles of unsellable books.

I don't think I play computer games right.

[antihumanism]

wow, introversion software reference, at least like five real people have at least partially played this game by now

[mariacallous]

During the night of June 1, Ukraine launched an audacious, long-planned drone operation deep in Russian territory, targeting Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet at multiple bases. Ukraine said the mission—codenamed “Spiderweb”—hit 41 bombers, with at least 13 fully destroyed. Reports suggest that Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers were hit.

Notably, Ukraine apparently chose not to target Russia’s most modern, nuclear-capable Tu-160 bombers, focusing instead on the Tu-95 and Tu-22M, which have been used extensively in conventional cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine reportedly deployed 117 kamikaze-style, first-person-view drones to strike multiple Russian air bases scattered across several time zones, from Murmansk near the Arctic Circle to the Amur region almost 5,000 miles from the Ukrainian border. The drones were covertly transported into Russia over many months, hidden inside wooden cabins mounted on the backs of trucks with remotely operated detachable roofs. Ukrainian intelligence operatives managed to smuggle the drones close to the air bases, and, in some cases, used unwitting Russian truck drivers to do so. Then, at the precise moment, the cabin roofs were opened remotely, allowing the drones to launch toward their objectives using commercial and open-source technology, including 4G LTE networks and ArduPilot software. Each drone had its own dedicated operator, reportedly based at a covert command center near a Federal Security Service (FSB) office inside Russia. According to Politico, Ukrainian intelligence said that some drones relied on artificial intelligence to complete their missions along preset routes when they lost signal, automatically activating their explosives as they reached and identified their assigned targets.

For all its complexity, creativity, and audaciousness, the raid’s immediate impact on Russian operations in Ukraine is likely to be limited. Russia typically employs between seven and 11 bombers per cruise missile salvo, and the loss of a dozen or more aircraft out of a total operable fleet of around 100 long-range bombers will not immediately halt cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. The impact would have been greater in 2024, when Russia relied more heavily on bomber formations to strike Ukraine than it does now. With increased production of drones and ballistic missiles, air-launched cruise missiles have become less critical and are now mainly used for select high-value, stationary targets. Additionally, Ukraine might have hesitated to launch such a raid in 2024, when it was more dependent on U.S. aid and following U.S. concerns over previous attacks on elements of Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

Russia will now have to spend precious resources to harden air bases and other critical facilities by establishing robust, layered counter-drone defenses—combining electronic warfare, anti-air weapons systems, and physical barriers such as concrete hangars. This redeployment is unlikely to substantially impact air cover on the front line, however, given Russia’s relative abundance of air defense systems.

However, the long-term implications of the Ukrainian raid should not be underestimated. The Tu-95 and Tu-22M bombers are no longer in serial production, and their loss reduces Russia’s capacity for long-range force projection. The reported but still unconfirmed damage to A-50 aircraft would further degrade Russian air surveillance and command-and-control capabilities, complicating Moscow’s ability to coordinate complex air operations in a future war against NATO.

Psychologically, the raid is a major blow to Russian prestige and credibility. It undermines the narrative of Russian military prowess and demonstrates Ukraine’s ability to strike at the heart of Russian military power. The operation also illustrates once again that Ukraine does not need to have an equivalent arsenal to Russia’s: Small, low-cost platforms can inflict serious damage on high-value targets.

Yet raids alone do not win wars. Ultimately, the trajectory of the war in Ukraine will be determined by how well Ukraine can continue to attrit Russian forces along the front line in the coming months, thereby changing the Kremlin leadership’s mind about whether it is worthwhile to pursue the war given the high costs and limited gains. That said, last weekend’s significant loss of hard-to-replace strategic assets far from the front may, in the best outcome, nudge the Kremlin a bit closer to seeing that the costs of the conflict are becoming too much for Russia and the regime.

While some observers have heralded this operation as the advent of a new type of warfare, its true significance lies elsewhere. What the Ukrainians have done is adapt a classic tactic of European warfare—the military raid—to the 21st century.

Once the principal form of military engagement across Europe, raiding warfare typically unfolds in several phases: covert infiltration, a surprise assault, and a swift withdrawal. Underdogs have often employed the tactic to maintain pressure on a stronger enemy. The dawn of the modern raid can be traced back to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s order to his minister of economic warfare, Hugh Dalton, to “set Europe ablaze” following the devastating defeat of British forces in France in 1940; to that end, Dalton established the Special Operations Executive for sabotage and resistance in German-occupied Europe. But history abounds with other examples of such audacious operations. In October 1757, during the Seven Years’ War, Austrian forces under Andras Hadik executed a daring raid on Berlin using a small, fast-moving contingent of mostly Hungarian hussars. Despite being outnumbered by the city’s garrison, Hadik’s troops surprised the defenders, briefly occupied Berlin, and extracted a substantial ransom before withdrawing.

Modern raids involving air power were regularly employed for the first time in World War II. In November 1940, the British Royal Navy launched a surprise attack on the Italian fleet in the harbor of Taranto, Italy, using only 21 obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplanes from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. The raid disabled three Italian battleships and damaged several other vessels, demonstrating how a small force in the air could achieve outsized operational effects. Similarly, in March 1942, British commandos assaulted the heavily defended dry dock at Saint-Nazaire, France, using a destroyer packed with explosives to deny the Germans a crucial facility for their battleships. And then there was the German Luftwaffe’s Poltava raid on the U.S. Air Force in 1944, when German fighters targeted Allied bomber formations stationed in Ukraine and inflicted heavy casualties and aircraft losses.

At its most basic level, therefore, Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb belongs to a long tradition of daring raids. It does not mark the dawn of a new age—it is simply the latest adaptation of an enduring tactical approach.

On the one hand, however, the raid illustrates that high-impact, long-distance raids are made easier by new technologies like drones. Any assumption that military assets and infrastructure deep in the rear are immune from attack was just shattered by Ukraine. Russia will now have to spend precious resources hardening air bases and other critical facilities, as well as disperse its assets to reduce their vulnerability. The need for robust, layered anti-drone defenses—combining electronic warfare, kinetic interceptors, and physical barriers—will also become an urgent priority. The distinction between the frontline and the rear has blurred.

The raid also illustrated that a non-nuclear power could raid the strategic assets of a nuclear power. The only feasible way for Kyiv to do so safely was to consciously avoid targeting certain assets. The raid’s limitations—both in terms of the targets chosen and the damage inflicted—highlight the constraints imposed by the risk of escalation. Ukraine’s restraint in targeting nuclear-capable bombers and other sensitive infrastructure serves as a reminder that, in an era of nuclear-armed adversaries, even the most successful raids must be carefully calibrated to avoid crossing invisible but potentially disastrous red lines.

Russia’s nuclear doctrine, updated in late 2024, explicitly reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to attacks on its territory by a non-nuclear state that is backed by a nuclear-armed one. Although Ukraine is not directly backed in any strict sense by a nuclear state, the presence of NATO support and the risk of Western intervention looms large in Russian strategic thinking. The Kremlin’s repeated nuclear threats—including tactical strikes, high-altitude detonations, and missiles fired on European capitals—have been a constant feature of the war, even as most of the Kremlin’s supposed red lines have been crossed without triggering nuclear use.

This dynamic creates a paradox: the more effective Ukraine’s raids, the greater the risk of a disproportionate escalation by Russia. For some observers in the West, the fear of a severe Russian reaction almost overshadows the operational success of the raid itself. This plays into a culture of Western self-deterrence in response to Russian threats, whereby Russia actively uses nuclear and conventional saber-rattling not merely in a neutral strategic context, but also as a deliberate tool to manage and constrain Western behavior.

Operation Spiderweb will enter military history as one of the more daring raids and one of the first conducted with remotely controlled strike drones. But it does not herald the dawn of a new age. Rather, it is the latest iteration of the classic raid, adapted to the realities of 21st century warfare under the nuclear threat.

[vgprintads]

'Bugdom'

[MAC] [USA] [MAGAZINE] [1999]

"Brian Greenstone and his pals at Pangea Software have a tradition of making attractive games-Weekend Warrior; Nanosaur; and one of the (Macworld Game Hall of Fame)'s all-time favorites, Power Pete. Pangea's latest effort is, quite literally, cute as a bug, and as such couldn't have a more appropriate name-Bugdom. Bugdom's goal is simple. In the guise of Rollie McFly, a colorful roly-poly bug, you must help free the ladybugs captured by ne'er-do-well fire ants under the control of King Thorax. To do so, you rush around the ten levels of Bugdom (these include The Lawn, The Pond, and The Forest) kicking down the spiderweb cages that contain the fair ladybugs, all the while avoiding or attacking your insectoid-and in The Pond, your piscine-opponents. No one does RAVE hardware acceleration better than Pangea, and it there-fore comes as no surprise that Bugdom is lovely to look at. But the game does require some variety of ATI 3-D-accel-eration hardware. If your Mac lacks such hardware, you can get it by adding ATT's Rage Orion video card to your PCI-based Power Mac. Bugdom's action is frantic enough for hard-core arcade gamers, yet nonviolent enough for children. Best of all, it's available only on the Macintosh." ~Christopher Breen, MacWorld (December 1999, "1999 MacWorld Game Hall of Fame")'

Well, it ain't a Mac exclusive anymore, but it is open source and on Itch.io now!

Source: MacWorld, August 1999 || Internet Archive; gui-dos

[feotakahari]

This is Gothic propaganda again, isn’t it?

I love open world RPGs, but not the generic AAA version with tons of empty space and repetitive map marker-based content...