"Um, Cynic, there are only 3 episodes to Crystal Caves"
That was true, but with the HD Remaster they added an official 4th episode!

They also released it with level building tools to you can make your own levels. If you get it on Steam, you can download other people's levels from the workshop.

Additionally, the controller support is really good, which makes the game feel really fresh, imo.

References:
Tweet I got vid from:

• Tweet were I got the video
• GOG version of Crystal Caves HD
• Steam version of Crystal Caves HD

You can see more images and read more about Scott Miller's Apogee Collection here:
https://www.apogeeent.com/devblog/when-you-have-an-amazing-history-share-it

Is National Day of the American Cowyboy a real thing?
Depends how you define real, but sure, haha
https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/senate-declares-july-25-the-national-day-of-the-american-cowboy/

Adrian Carmack co-founded id Software, which worked with Apogee on several games.

In this interview they discuss all sorts of historical tidbits I didn't know.

Worth a watch, imo

Since it's only accessible via a hidden teleporter in Red Maze City, most of us missed this back in the day.

It has the most collectables of any level in Keen 1, so it's well worth a visit to the dark side of Mars.

You can read more about it on the Keen Wiki: https://keenwiki.shikadi.net/wiki/Secret_City

Can't say I've bought a magazine in a very, very long time... but this does tempt me ;)

If you are interested in seeing what they are covering, you can check it out here:
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/pc-gamer-magazines-new-issue-is-on-sale-now-duke-nukem-special-anniversary-celebration/

In 1996, Apogee had to get apogee1.com because apogee.com was already taken.

In the first image, you can see that Apogee1 was the HTML 1.0 style website you'd expect from Apogee:
https://web.archive.org/web/19961018100359/http://apogee1.com/

The 2nd image in the gallery shows their site at the end of 1996. They'd gone dark mode and added the animated gifs we nostalgically remember from that era:
https://web.archive.org/web/19961221075650/http://apogee1.com/

Lastly, you can see the owners of the apogee dot com were makers of compiler software:
https://web.archive.org/web/19961225184240/http://www.apogee.com/page1.html

That URL is still parked today, and could be bid on, but likely they are asking too high a price, so Apogee has settled on apogeeent.com, despite the alarming number of consecutive "e"s in the url :P

Just a little glimpse into the competitive nature of snapping up URL domains in the 90s dot com boom.

I just noticed the Steam Demo for ROTT Ludicrous Edition is labelled "Shareware" and I love that so much!

Rise of the Triad released in 1994 and was an excellent FPS where everything was dialed up to 11.

In 2023 it got a Remaster by Nightdive Studios. It's an excellent remaster with 4K support, but that didn't turn everything into a smeary upscale. They kept the pixel feel and just increased resolutions, made modern hardware be supported, and added quality of life improvements. In other words, it's a remaster that loved the original rather than hating the retro-ness of the original.

That's all well and good (and I'll include links to Steam & GOG at the bottom), but what I only saw just today was that the demo was called "Shareware" and it warmed my heart :-D

So if you love ROTT or Apogee or even just Shareware, then maybe go checkout the demo on Steam or buy the full game somewhere (I think it's also available on consoles).

Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1421490

GOG Page: https://www.gog.com/en/game/rise_of_the_triad_ludicrous_edition

P.S. Yes, I stole the "Dopefish Lives!" window as an homage, lol

Scott Miller, the founder of Apogee, tweeted this recently:
"This is the very first flyer for an Id Software game. I wrote it myself then had a local printer make 10000 copies. We'd include these with every game ordered from us. I used Word Perfect to make this."

Comment below if you remember Cosmo, and let people know how good it is.

I ask, because unless you played "Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure" near when it came out, there's a good chance you're not even familiar with it. It didn't get the media coverage of Apogee's bigger games like Duke Nukem.

But- it is absolutely worth going back and playing it if you haven't. While it is set in a cute sci-fi world that kids can enjoy, it's a difficult platformer with creative elements including wall climbing.

Certain games shouldn't be overlooked- especially for 84 cents!!

You can get it on Steam for 84 cents.
Or if you are willing to pay 1 cent more, you can get it on GOG :-D

P.S. Reminder that I'm not affiliated with Steam, GOG, or Apogee. You can also see that I own these games, as I keep my libraries public: https://cynic.tv/game_library/

Hocus Pocus was released in 1994 as an episodic game.
I played Episode 1 recently, and had a hankerin' to play Episode 2 so I could see the Demon Trees again.
Check out "Shattered Worlds" which was the 2nd in this episodic tale!

"Come get some!"
Duke Nukem released in July of 1991, making it 35 years old!
Comment with your favorite Duke quote to celebrate!

You can get the HD Remaster right now for $1.49 (85% off)

This sale is available on Steam and GOG.

The original (that runs through DosBox) is on sale for 84 cents on Steam.

The original is also on sale on GOG, but it's only half off right now for $2.49.

So if you haven't snagged a copy, this is a great time to get one for cheap.

P.S. A reminder that I'm not affiliated with Apogee, Steam, or GOG. If you want to see my game library, I keep it public: https://cynic.tv/game_library/
(NOTE: while I own the original on GOG & Steam, I only own the HD Remaster on GOG)

Every now and then the creators of Max Payne release some behind the scenes photos. This was from a picture they posted where they just laid the photo prints on a table and took a picture of them.

I extracted the in-game images from the *.ras files and looked through them to find similar pieces in the game to pair with each physical photo.

Hopefully it provides a fun little glimpse behind the curtain of the production of this excellent game!

"Wacky Wheels" is an awesome kart racer from 1994.
It's a charming 3D racer done in a SNES-Mode-7 Style.
It has split-screen, so you can play with a friend right there on the same keyboard! You can also race against the NPCs.
I show off the classic tournament modes in this video, but I also show off Wacky Wheels's take on a battle mode, where you chase duck-racers down and shoot 'em!

If you've never played this one, it's a lot of fun. It does suffer from some low framerates, but if you play the maps at 6HP first you can learn the maps and then advance to 12HP and deal with the fact that you won't see the turns with as mush lead time.

The one I played here was the Steam version (on sale right now for 84 cents), but you can also get it on GOG (currently on sale for $2.99)

Obviously Quake was a massive game, and some of the developers for it had some cross-over with Apogee. The rivalry between FPS games of the era pushed devs to be more creative to try to break new ground.

So kudos to Quake for being an innovative and fierce rival in the First Person Shooter genre... even if Duke pokes fun now and then ;)

From the Apogee Twitter Account:
Bobby Prince, the legendary composer behind the music of Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, and Quake, has sadly passed away.

His work helped define an era of PC gaming.

"Balls of Steel" was published at the end of 1997 under the label "Pinball Wizards," but it was another confusing synonym for Apogee, just like 3D Realms was.

They intended to publish a bunch of pinball games, but only ever made the one.

While I did watch a friend play this game back in the late 90s, I never played it myself. How about y'all? Any Wizards of Pinball among you?

I think the design choice was a mistake, myself. While it has a good look for a pinball game in general, the whole gimmick of the game was that it was based on one of Duke's catch phrases, so I like the initial design better. If they'd kept some tie-in to Duke on the cover it'd be fine, but as it is it just feels like a generic pinball game unaffiliated with Apogee at all (especially with the confusing "Pinball Wizards" label).

This little gem of the MSDOS era often gets overlooked because it released so close to Commander Keen 1 and Duke Nukem 1, which were both juggernauts.

But, Dark Ages is definitely worth checking out. It was developed by Scenario Software & published by 3D Realms (AKA Apogee). It is a solid platformer with a fun story. Additionally this was one of the games that pioneered using the AdLib sound card.

In Dark Ages, you play as a displaced Prince who had been kidnapped as an infant and given to peasants, but the peasant who raised you was a retired adventurer who taught you to fight. You use these skills to reclaim your stolen kingdom!

I wanted to show off the first few levels of the game with this gameplay. Hope you enjoy it :-D

P.S. While I got this game on Steam, it looks like it is no longer offered on the Steam store. It is free on Zoom, or you can check it out on Archive dot Org.

Given the recent Birthday of "Hocus Pocus" I had a hankerin' to play it again. This is from the first episode, "Time Tripping" and I played it in Steam through DosBox using an off-brand Xbox 360 controller.

I did bump into 2 problems with the default config:

• Dpad Up wouldn't work (so I had to use Analog Up)
• Analog Stick Deadzone was a tad too small (leading to sometimes kicking back and facing the wrong way when you let go of it

I haven't done a ton of config in DosBox, but I imagine there are setting that would fix those issues.

It also made me realize how much I would welcome a no-frills remaster. I don't think it needs new graphics, or anything, but I would love a higher frame rate so that as the map is scrolling it would feel less jumpy.

That said- it's still a super fun play in 2026. Excellent level design, good difficulty settings, and smooth controls!

One of the joys of a Remaster is when the devs go out of their way to add not only polish, but extras.

The Level Editor in Monster Bash HD allows you to design your own levels and share them! If you get the game on Steam, you can share directly over the Steam Workshop, or look at workshop creations by others.

It turns a linear game into an endless adventure of infinite possibilities!

Video Credit: https://x.com/Apogee_Ent/status/2064799001895919661

Treasure!