I think the Oregon Trail gets the reputation of being difficult because almost everyone played it as a child, and might not have picked up on the subtle mechanics for survival. Also many played it every now and then (like the occasional computer room/library visit) which also meant they weren't able to really spend the time to learn the way the game is played. So essentially kids just picked up and played without fully knowing how the game worked, which would then lead to death, and they chalked it up to the game just being hard. I say this because I also remember the game being hard in school (Apple II version), and when my friends and I played it again as adults on an emulator (Apple II as well), we were able to also get to Oregon with no trouble.
Yes, that's part of it. For example, I didn't have any concept of what Resting was for when I played the Apple II version in elementary school computer lab. However, there were some changes that made the game easier in the later version, most notably that hunting is extremely awkward and hard to control in the original version.
I love this series. I remember playing the original version in the PC lab at school for a week for Social studies. I was the first person to complete a run, and the only one to beat it twice (Out of four runs and a partial with half my party dead before the week ran out) My parents got me some of the sequels and many of the other Trails games when I was home schooled for two years, then home schooled again for a year and a half a couple of years later
I always took the Barlow Toll Road - in fact, I made sure to keep money all the way from Independence just to do so. Sets of clothing are valuable for trading with native guides; but hunting really was the center of my strategy - right down to trading food for money at the end if I got into trouble. And I did that while playing as a Teacher. That rafting minigame was the worst - I had a low-res mouse at the time and bad hand/eye coordination.
Yes, the original version is brutal, but there are three reasons why this later version (and the Windows version) is quite a bit easier: 1) The new doctor profession, easily the best choice to simply beat the game. 2) As you mentioned, the hunting limit was doubled most of the time. 3) Hunting plays completely differently and is *MUCH* easier.
I've always been confused by the wagon count in the scoring section. Can you pick up more wagons along the trail somehow? Can it drop to a percentage of a wagon? Does it only exist to give an additional 50 points just because?
+Christopher Noel Umm... my actual, physical CD that this came off of says "Classic Edition" right on it. Double-checked right now to be sure (though it took half an hour to find it because it was in the LAST place I looked!) This led down a rabbit hole of research, especially considering that the jewel case for my copy (which I don't own) shows the older version, and... yeah, it seems like there's TWO "Classic Editions" out there! Gonna go add that to the video description! :o
@@Pixelmusement: Thanks. :) I ran into the same issue when trying to decide which version I wanted to look for. I was expecting a later release of the DOS version to be labeled as _Classic Edition,_ but all I found was either Deluxe (Windows), or _Xth Edition._ The Windows editions just don't have the same appeal to me, though that could be just my own nostalgia.
I think the Oregon Trail gets the reputation of being difficult because almost everyone played it as a child, and might not have picked up on the subtle mechanics for survival. Also many played it every now and then (like the occasional computer room/library visit) which also meant they weren't able to really spend the time to learn the way the game is played.
So essentially kids just picked up and played without fully knowing how the game worked, which would then lead to death, and they chalked it up to the game just being hard.
I say this because I also remember the game being hard in school (Apple II version), and when my friends and I played it again as adults on an emulator (Apple II as well), we were able to also get to Oregon with no trouble.
Yes, that's part of it. For example, I didn't have any concept of what Resting was for when I played the Apple II version in elementary school computer lab.
However, there were some changes that made the game easier in the later version, most notably that hunting is extremely awkward and hard to control in the original version.
I love this series. I remember playing the original version in the PC lab at school for a week for Social studies. I was the first person to complete a run, and the only one to beat it twice (Out of four runs and a partial with half my party dead before the week ran out) My parents got me some of the sequels and many of the other Trails games when I was home schooled for two years, then home schooled again for a year and a half a couple of years later
I always took the Barlow Toll Road - in fact, I made sure to keep money all the way from Independence just to do so. Sets of clothing are valuable for trading with native guides; but hunting really was the center of my strategy - right down to trading food for money at the end if I got into trouble. And I did that while playing as a Teacher. That rafting minigame was the worst - I had a low-res mouse at the time and bad hand/eye coordination.
Heh, being killed in Oregon Trail has been a treasured experience any school kid had to go through!
Ah good old Oregon Trail.....how I died so many times. Dunno how you pulled off winning four times in a row.
Timothy Wetzel I'm convinced the classic version is more forgiving, especially given that I was even able to survive as the Farmer. :B
***** heh, yeah, that definitely makes me think its easier.
Timothy Wetzel Dysentery apparently took a break!
Clint - Snake Bite?? I hope LGR is alright
Yes, the original version is brutal, but there are three reasons why this later version (and the Windows version) is quite a bit easier:
1) The new doctor profession, easily the best choice to simply beat the game.
2) As you mentioned, the hunting limit was doubled most of the time.
3) Hunting plays completely differently and is *MUCH* easier.
I've always been confused by the wagon count in the scoring section. Can you pick up more wagons along the trail somehow? Can it drop to a percentage of a wagon? Does it only exist to give an additional 50 points just because?
Sarioya Not sure... It might be possible to beat the game but lose the wagon in the process... I dunno. :P
I think what happened here is that when most of us played it, we were dumbass kids who just wanted to shoot buffalo with the rifle.
Perhaps, but I've seen grown adults fail at this too so... maybe it's more a matter of just not RTFM. :P
You're showing the _Deluxe Edition._ This isn't the _Classic Edition,_ which is a 1990 release for MS-DOS, closely resembling the Apple II version.
+Christopher Noel Umm... my actual, physical CD that this came off of says "Classic Edition" right on it. Double-checked right now to be sure (though it took half an hour to find it because it was in the LAST place I looked!) This led down a rabbit hole of research, especially considering that the jewel case for my copy (which I don't own) shows the older version, and... yeah, it seems like there's TWO "Classic Editions" out there! Gonna go add that to the video description! :o
@@Pixelmusement: Thanks. :) I ran into the same issue when trying to decide which version I wanted to look for. I was expecting a later release of the DOS version to be labeled as _Classic Edition,_ but all I found was either Deluxe (Windows), or _Xth Edition._ The Windows editions just don't have the same appeal to me, though that could be just my own nostalgia.
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