In 2005 I started to dabble with reverse engineering, and the first target I ever attempted was 3D Pinball... and amazingly enough I found a never-before-found cheat code (and some other bits from Cinematronics).<p>I wrote up an article that went a bit viral at the time: <a href="http://www.mrspeaker.net/2006/01/07/hacking-pinball/" rel="nofollow">http://www.mrspeaker.net/2006/01/07/hacking-pinball/</a>. 3d-pinball-related keywords are still among the highest search terms in my logs ;)
Anyone know the story behind Hover!<p>Including something like that on the Windows 95 CD was an odd decision. Sure, on one hand it shows Windows 95 can do 3D graphics/games, but it was such a terrible game and the performance was so terrible, it just added fuel to 'Windows sucks for games' fire.
There was an updated version of Space Cadet on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Drop" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Drop</a> I got as a kid. (I somehow played that before I found the standard windows version, so I might be a bit biased. ;) ) The Marble Drop version is way more polished windows version, everything 'just works' a little better. Shots line up better, graphics are better... it feels like a really solid patch. Plus, two new tables, "pirates" and "dragons"!
Available at Majorgeeks: <a href="http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_pinball_space_cadet.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_windows_pi...</a><p>Anyone want to comment on how safe this download site is?
Does anyone remember Night Mission pinball for the C64 and early PC? Is Space Cadet related to Night Mission at all?<p><a href="http://thehouseofgames.org/index.php?t=10&id=358" rel="nofollow">http://thehouseofgames.org/index.php?t=10&id=358</a><p>And a video of game play: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttoAfg7Ehc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttoAfg7Ehc</a>
Ah pinball.<p>I got banned from all school computers for "hacking" after I started using the MS Word 97 pinball easter egg to play pinball in typing class when they removed the "official" pinball game:<p><a href="http://www.eeggs.com/items/763.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.eeggs.com/items/763.html</a>
Alongside Windows 95 Plus!, it was also in Windows NT 4, which incorporated most of the 95 Plus! stuff.<p>Which is kinda ironic given it's a business OS. Office workers get Pinball free, home users have to pay extra!
"[David Cole, head of the Windows 95 production team] grumbled… ‘Can’t we just get a game of pinball or something like that?’"<p>I can't decide whether to deride the lameness or celebrate the pragmatism of this statement. It does capture Mr. Cole perfectly, though -- and perhaps hints why everything he touched after Win95 turned sour.