The Forgotten Mods of Midtown Madness

Channel:

Timberwolf

Subscribers:

4,160

Published on April 13, 2022 1:00:08 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsiyIU7oSrQ

Game:

Midtown Madness (1999)

Duration: 20:28

3,283 views

180

Remember when adding things to your game was "modding" and not "paid DLC"? Apparently Timberwolf does, but the Internet doesn't. In this video I reinstall Midtown Madness, review it, then go searching for the mods I thought were lost to disc rot and the council waste collection service many years ago. Can I still find them 20 years later?

(No cheating inferring the answer to this from video existence and/or length)

Yep, it's a weird nostalgia trip through a very blocky version of Chicago. Will I be able to do it from the wheel of a car that was never on the game disc, or will I forever be confined to a choice of Beetle, Mustang or Eldorado?

Oh. And there are some challenges.

Chapter Madness:

0:00 I fail at digital preservation. And going to the pub.
1:53 Let's play some Midtown Madness
2:47 Flight Simulator for cars?
3:51 Does it hold up today?
5:34 Modern expectations, vintage Internet
6:35 The days of SDKs
7:24 Ignore the flag, this was the past
8:37 I try to access Internet sites from 20 years ago
11:31 The precarious state of Midtown Madness in 2022
12:23 Did I succeed?
13:32 Timberwolf's Federally-Mandated Speedometer Challenge
14:50 My favourite mods and why
15:45 Timberwolf's Airborne Volvo River Crossing Challenge
16:50 Later mods and bigger ambitions
17:57 We go to Arch County
18:53 The less precarious state of Midtown Madness in 2022
20:02 Bonus Volvo


Music by Mini Vandals / TrackTribe / Dan Lebowitz / Jingle Punks / Endless Love / Corbyn Kites (YouTube Audio Library)

1. Tacklebox Blues (Mini Vandals)
2. Delta (TrackTribe)
3. Finding Light (Dan Lebowitz)
4. Anomalous Hedges (Mini Vandals)
5. Greaser (TrackTribe)
6. Duck In The Alley (TrackTribe)
7. Ditch Diggin' (Jingle Punks)
8. Duck In The Alley (TrackTribe)
9. Staycation (Corbyn Kites)

Games Featured (briefly, in most cases):

Microsoft Midtown Madness
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Forza Horizon 4
BeamNG.drive
Grand Theft Auto III

Thanks to the Open1560 project, Midtown Madness Archive and Midtown Madness 2 eXtreme, without whom this video would have been a lot shorter, sadder, and riddled with glitchy menu graphics. Also to Graeme Cole for the incredibly useful Octagon Simulator, ideal for all your fake game show needs: https://greem.co.uk/octagonsimulator/

There are also Midtown Madness communities still keeping the game going on Discord!

Madness Crew: https://discord.gg/xjWe8uurE9
Midtown Club: https://discord.gg/jQDPV667xe

Comments are pre-reviewed to avoid spam. I aim to publish all comments, including dissent, but overly pedantic or negative ones may be moderated. Hearing about different experiences and what things were like in other countries adds a lot to the video! Please try to do so in a positive way while remembering that if I had to explain every minor international difference the video would be 2 hours long and boring, rather than 20 minutes long and boring. Failing that, at least make me laugh.

Bonus fact: the "Chicago Edition" on the game box hinted at multiple city-based editions similar to Flight Simulator's scenery packs, however this was dropped for Midtown Madness 2 which features both London and San Francisco.

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