Is 1995's "buggiest game of all time" even playable? | Frontier: First Encounters v1.00
98Ah, life in the days before developers could ship a Day 0 patch on their digital distribution system of choice. Yes, it's the infamously broken Frontier: First Encounters. But I know from many happy hours of wasted youth that the final 1.06 patch is far from unplayable. Some of the scripted missions even work! Which begged the question: what would it have been like to get an original v1.00 copy home from the shops and attempt to play it in the days where patches arrived at the speed of the postal service?
Navigation Computer:
0:00 Bugs!
2:02 Regrettable sentences
3:53 David Braben Presents
6:20 Cheap shots and victories
8:10 The save scumming begins
10:20 I buy a new ship
12:16 I buy a ship again... and again
14:06 Making do without mending
17:51 New and weird
20:46 I finally lose it
23:40 Patches (the bit with the dog in it)
27:45 I buy a new ship yet again
30:35 Last Encounters
I didn't have time to mention them but there have been improved community versions of FFE released in the many years since - JJFFE with many more fixes and improvements, then GLFFE and FFED3D with improved graphics engines. A bundle featuring two of those things can be found on https://ffeartpage.com/ffed3d.htm although you may wish to seek out the further-improved FFED3DAJ by the (sadly late) AndyJ.
If this video does well and there's some indication of demand I might do a follow-up looking at the game's legacy and community. You know how to make that happen. Dislike, refuse to share, unsubscribe etc.
Bonus fact: as with the original Elite's "The Dark Wheel" novella, First Encounters comes with a book of fiction to read while waiting for your game to be rendered even somewhat playable.