3 ms·

Crazy it's been 40 years. I bought this game when it came out and played it a ton with all my friends. Super fun multiplayer game. I broke out my Atari 800 la

by evo_9 3y ago

Crazy it's been 40 years. I bought this game when it came out and played it a ton with all my friends. Super fun multiplayer game. I broke out my Atari 800 last year for my birthday and played MULE and Star Raiders all weekend, both are still great.. I also play MULE on my SteamDeck (Emulator) regularly still. It's one of those games that has held up incredible well. I've not seen a good clone/knockoff/reboot of it (well any that I actually like enough to play), which is too bad, great game.

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago
Awesome! I still have my Atari 800 kit in mint condition, with two drives, original joysticks, and probably a bunch of stuff I've forgotten. Oh yeah, my Star Gemini 10X printer is in the attic. My Commodore 1702 monitor needs "re-capping" though. My first job (at 15) was working on a software store, which was when MULE came out. I disagree with this: "which sounds much better than the Atari original despite the lack of a fourth voice." We had the Atari and 64 next to each other and would load up MULE to argue about which platform was better. I thought the music on the Atari was better in some ways, although the Commodore's synthesizer chip was pretty cool. Side note: I own an Ensoniq keyboard, which was made by former Commodore peeps. And, of course, its disk storage is non-standard junk. Still not as bad as the 1541 though... One thing EA nailed was packaging. Simple but "high-end" cardboard folders (like gatefold album covers) with cool art on them. I still have my original ones of Archon (great game) and... Music Construction Set maybe?
- evo_9 3y ago
  That reminds me, I still have my original MULE disc and packaging, you're right they were really nice / very stylish for the time. Like mini-LP's, square and very distinctive. The original batch of games (I believe) included MULE, Larry Bird & Doctor Jay Go One-on-One, Hard Hat Mac and Pinball Construction Kit... I might be missing one or two.
  - Vvector 3y ago
    I remember Archon being in the same type box.
    - evo_9 3y ago
      Ah yes, definitely one of the original releases.
- pico303 3y ago
  I’ve still got my Seven Cities of Gold cardboard folder sitting on my shelf on display and Starflight in a box somewhere.
  - evo_9 3y ago
    Oh right, Starflight, PC only. I always forget about that one and it's the only original title by EA I never actually played. Seven Cities was another classic, they really had quite an impressive set of launch titles.
- mgkimsal 3y ago
  All their early stuff was uniform sizing, intended to be analogous to albums. Treating the programmers/designers like 'rock stars' was an intentional move.
ryandrake 3y ago
As for reboots, Offworld Trading Company is kind of in the spirit of original M.U.L.E. In fact, one of the things you can use in the game is called a MULE, very likely an homage to the OG. Sadly, Offworld Trading Company has a pretty badly flawed end-game: An opponent will suddenly buy your company out, a process that (as far as I can tell from multiple play-throughs) cannot be blocked once that opponent gains enough momentum. Meaning you can be playing along, your money going up rapidly, making no mistakes, and still suddenly lose. I think an Offworld Trading Company without the "buy shares of opponents" game mechanic would have been a really great successor to M.U.L.E.!

by evo_9 3y ago

ShadowBanThis01 3y ago

Awesome! I still have my Atari 800 kit in mint condition, with two drives, original joysticks, and probably a bunch of stuff I've forgotten. Oh yeah, my Star Gemini 10X printer is in the attic. My Commodore 1702 monitor needs "re-capping" though. My first job (at 15) was working on a software store, which was when MULE came out. I disagree with this: "which sounds much better than the Atari original despite the lack of a fourth voice." We had the Atari and 64 next to each other and would load up MULE to argue about which platform was better. I thought the music on the Atari was better in some ways, although the Commodore's synthesizer chip was pretty cool. Side note: I own an Ensoniq keyboard, which was made by former Commodore peeps. And, of course, its disk storage is non-standard junk. Still not as bad as the 1541 though... One thing EA nailed was packaging. Simple but "high-end" cardboard folders (like gatefold album covers) with cool art on them. I still have my original ones of Archon (great game) and... Music Construction Set maybe?

evo_9 3y ago
That reminds me, I still have my original MULE disc and packaging, you're right they were really nice / very stylish for the time. Like mini-LP's, square and very distinctive. The original batch of games (I believe) included MULE, Larry Bird & Doctor Jay Go One-on-One, Hard Hat Mac and Pinball Construction Kit... I might be missing one or two.
- Vvector 3y ago
  I remember Archon being in the same type box.
  - evo_9 3y ago
    Ah yes, definitely one of the original releases.
pico303 3y ago
I’ve still got my Seven Cities of Gold cardboard folder sitting on my shelf on display and Starflight in a box somewhere.
- evo_9 3y ago
  Oh right, Starflight, PC only. I always forget about that one and it's the only original title by EA I never actually played. Seven Cities was another classic, they really had quite an impressive set of launch titles.
mgkimsal 3y ago
All their early stuff was uniform sizing, intended to be analogous to albums. Treating the programmers/designers like 'rock stars' was an intentional move.

ryandrake 3y ago

As for reboots, Offworld Trading Company is kind of in the spirit of original M.U.L.E. In fact, one of the things you can use in the game is called a MULE, very likely an homage to the OG. Sadly, Offworld Trading Company has a pretty badly flawed end-game: An opponent will suddenly buy your company out, a process that (as far as I can tell from multiple play-throughs) cannot be blocked once that opponent gains enough momentum. Meaning you can be playing along, your money going up rapidly, making no mistakes, and still suddenly lose. I think an Offworld Trading Company without the "buy shares of opponents" game mechanic would have been a really great successor to M.U.L.E.!