Several years ago I fell down the rabbit hole nostalgic about that exact game, and either the TVTropes or Wikipedia article mentioned that event, and linked to the bizarrely long Wikipedia article about the Donner Party.
If I recall correctly, they were late to the pass because they took a “shortcut” that promised to take hundreds of miles off a 900 mile journey, which not even a perfectly straight tunnel from Independence to Sacramento that ignores the Earth’s curvature could do that. Also, it took them across a mud flat that bogged them down more than the official trail would have, so the guide that sold them on the route is guilty of some crimes against humanity. But who in the 1800s wasn’t?
You can take the shortcut in game, even! It’s an option if you are playing at difficulties that put you in charge of which path you take.
You can also be late and get caught in the storm if you’re like me, fucking around in the desert, doing really bad at river crossings, and not realizing for literal decades you have skill points to buy skills.
wait. “points to buy skills?” This I do not remember from this game. I remember you picked your stats at the beginning, spent your money in Independence, and then off you went. I don’t remember RPG elements.
In the Oregon Trail 2, yes. You could do skills. I don’t have the windows 95 vm setup on the new machine, so I can’t get my cd up and check. But yes, it’s why I always was a doctor, because some people came with skills already, and medical skills helped people die like. A smudge less.
Also disclaimer I have memory issues so maybe I’m using the wrong words for what things are? But I do remember one thing was Spanish and the official guide said if you know Spanish you didn’t have to buy the skill lmfao.
Several years ago I fell down the rabbit hole nostalgic about that exact game, and either the TVTropes or Wikipedia article mentioned that event, and linked to the bizarrely long Wikipedia article about the Donner Party.
If I recall correctly, they were late to the pass because they took a “shortcut” that promised to take hundreds of miles off a 900 mile journey, which not even a perfectly straight tunnel from Independence to Sacramento that ignores the Earth’s curvature could do that. Also, it took them across a mud flat that bogged them down more than the official trail would have, so the guide that sold them on the route is guilty of some crimes against humanity. But who in the 1800s wasn’t?
You can take the shortcut in game, even! It’s an option if you are playing at difficulties that put you in charge of which path you take.
You can also be late and get caught in the storm if you’re like me, fucking around in the desert, doing really bad at river crossings, and not realizing for literal decades you have skill points to buy skills.
wait. “points to buy skills?” This I do not remember from this game. I remember you picked your stats at the beginning, spent your money in Independence, and then off you went. I don’t remember RPG elements.
In the Oregon Trail 2, yes. You could do skills. I don’t have the windows 95 vm setup on the new machine, so I can’t get my cd up and check. But yes, it’s why I always was a doctor, because some people came with skills already, and medical skills helped people die like. A smudge less.
At some point I’m going to have to spin up DOSBOX and see if I can get my old copy running.
Good luck!
It’s been about 2 years since I played
Also disclaimer I have memory issues so maybe I’m using the wrong words for what things are? But I do remember one thing was Spanish and the official guide said if you know Spanish you didn’t have to buy the skill lmfao.