Amu
Petz Walker
Posts: 68
Petz Versions: 5, 4
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Post by Amu on Jul 29, 2015 0:56:03 GMT -5
(sweats) I hope this is an okay place to post this!
How long has it been since you got into Petz? And what caused you to get into Petz in the first place? Do you have a favorite version? A least favorite? What are your favorite aspects of the games?
I'm 20 years old and in college now, but I must have only been 6 when I first played Petz. My cousins had Catz II and would let me play with them when I went over to their house - which, I'm pretty sure, is the only reason I always wanted to hang out with them... they had the best games! I remember my older male cousin spraying one cat over and over with the spray bottle and my cousin and I crying because we were scared it would run away... Then I must have gotten my own copy. I loved that game!
Then I got Dogz 4... I was slightly disappointed because I'm more of a cat person, but I had these two crazy chihuahuas that had 402459258 babies and I loved it. I feel great nostalgia about this... downloading some hexed Dalmations with colorful spots while certain songs like "Heaven is a Place on Earth" played, which of course now trigger that nostalgia!
At some point later on, I got Catz 5, and I loved it so much. And now I continue to play on and off, even though the game is so old. It's just a simple kind of happiness for me, haha. I love P5 dearly and it's the one I play most, because I love the updated colors + litters, but I'll always have a fondness in my heart for Petz 4. I loved the TV Room and collecting treasure. I used to get so upset when my game would somehow reset, and all those dang jewels and coins I'd collected disappeared!
My excuse for this rambly board is that it's 2 AM and I am tired. So tell me about your experiences with these crazy old PC games!
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Post by CatCreature on Jul 29, 2015 2:38:37 GMT -5
Everybody posts little 'nostalgia' threads like these every once in a while...far as I know, it's fine to post here, and people love reliving these stories. xD And funnily enough, it's my bedtime now too!
I can't for the life of me remember how old I was when I started playing Petz...I'd guess roughly around the same age as you. I think that when I first got the game, P3 was newest. So maybe the year that came out was the same time as I started playing.
I actually think I first saw Petz 1 on a computer at a computer store. My parents were looking for what they needed, and I was horribly bored and wandering around. And, being the animal lover that I am, I was attracted to the computer with animals running around and playing on it. I took the mouse and started giving the game a try, and by the time my parents came to get me, I was SO enthralled with the game. I was grinning and showing them how I could pick up the pet, pet it, play with it...and this was something I'd always wanted. A game where I could just PLAY with cute virtual pets...no strings attached. (Such as earning money and playing mini-games xD) I wanted the one-on-one experience this game gave, and simple though it was, I adored it.
I guess my parents took note at how much I loved it, and how disappointed I was to leave it. Some time later, they gave me...hmm. I forget if they bought me both, or just Dogz 3 first...I want to say I got Dogz 3 first. Yeah, that sounds right. Because I remember being excited about all the breeds of catz, while waiting for it to install...and that came later. SO YEAH. My first game was Dogz 3, the 'newest' version of the one I'd seen on the computer, and I was so excited. Had it not been for the corruptions and computer move losses, I'd still have my first petz today. </3 I know I had a Chihuahua and a Dalmatian, both female, but I can't recall if they were my first petz. They were just the earliest ones I can remember.
But yeah, I was hooked as soon as I saw the game. xD The fact that petz bred...and accurately...was also a huge bonus! Because I'd always been curious about mixing things together to see what you would get as a kid, and I could actually DO that in Petz. It was too fun! I also had a lot of fun when I got Catz 3, because I was allergic to cats back then and I'd been dreaming of having a cat someday...(if only I could tell that past me, that someday she'd have three cats. xD) So finally having some to play with on that game was a big help.
My favorite version...I dunno, P3 or P4. It used to be P5. xD I use P4 mainly because that's the one everyone else uses, and the petz in that version aren't 'stuck' like they are once in P5. They can go into any version. The same for P3. P3 also holds serious nostalgia for me, being my first, so that may be my favorite. I guess P5 is now my least favorite, again because you can't move any petz from that game to past versions. They're stuck on that one game. I also found the mini-games horribly annoying (as I said before, I never wanted those xD) because in P3 and P4, you had all your toys in the closet. In P5...NOPE. You want to have fun with your petz, you have to WIN GAMES. And a lot of them were luck based. And worst of all, some toys NEVER seemed to be able to be won. (Oddly, if I uninstalled and reinstalled the game...different toys would become almost un-winnable, and I'd get a bunch of toys I couldn't BEFORE...so annoying.) And...MAYBE I'm imagining it, but it almost seems like my breeding got LESS variation in P5 than in the earlier ones. I struggled to breed anything amazing, but it seemed easier in P4...
I love them all, but I guess those are my reasons. I still wish (probably like most people) litterz were a thing in earlier versions. xD
Favorite aspects of the games? Can I just answer with...petz? xD Because they make the game. They ARE the game. Whenever I'm feeling down, or if I'm moving house and feeling out of place and anxious...I can open the game and I literally feel like all my stress is gone. It's almost like therapy...they just make me feel good. After all, who could resist a silly, happy doggie or kitty who just wants to be loved, and play?? It would cheer anybody up! <3
Okay, my midnight ramblings need to end here...I gotta go to sleep. xDD
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Post by Catbaloo on Jul 29, 2015 7:19:36 GMT -5
We like discussion, don't sweat it. I got into pets a bit later than some, as a teenager. My best friend at the time had a computer and we did not but I was kinda obsessed with them even so. Her dad was the one that brought home different games to try out and one of those was Petz 1. I loved the idea of a virtual pet but my friend would never sit still long enough for us to properly play with them. A few years down the road and I got into collecting Tamagotchis when they re-released them around 2005. This was when I decided to see if there was any sort of equivalent for the computer and that's when I came across Petz 5 and remembered them from before. I bought Catz 5 and adopted little cat equivalents of my real life catz. I bred them a couple of times but I didn't realise the extent of the breeding system at the time so it was just my little crew. A while later I tried out the Petz 4 demo to see what dogz was like. I'm a cat person so I wasn't drawn to it at first but their personalities really won me over so I bought Petz 4 and Dogz 5. I love the games because it's easy to get attached to these little critters. I love Tamagotchi's and have my favourite characters but you can't get attached to them in quite the same way, even the newer versions with their fancier animations. That's more about the challenge of trying to meet the criteria to get a certain character but Petz for me is just about sitting back, relaxing and playing. The PC has made it so we can have such a varied crew that it keeps things fresh. My favourite version is probably Petz 4 partly because most of my pets are in P4 and it's easier to breed things for everyone using P4 and partly because changing the resolution to stop my P5 game looking weird is a pain as I often play the game on one screen while doing things on the other so it's not always practical for me. I do like the weather and crisper looking backgrounds on P5 though and some of my favourite Petz are in P5 so I won't stop playing it.
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Post by Analyn on Jul 29, 2015 13:13:13 GMT -5
I wanted to post last night but it was also 2 am for me and I knew I'd fall asleep I got into Petz sometime in elementary school...I was probably somewhere between 6-8 years old. Our neighbor babysat us from time to time, and if she couldn't, her friends (twin sisters) did. So one time we were at the twins' house, they were probably 13-14 years old, and they decided to show us their new pet game. I don't remember my younger sister being very interested, but I distinctly remember sitting there next to one of the girls as they logged in, loaded their petz game, and took out an animal. The one main thing I remember from that is that I really liked throwing out those little luvz treats! Anyway, I then went home and begged for it. I received Dogz III for Christmas, and my sister got Babyz (I also liked Babyz more than her, she probably played it like less than 10 times). So I grew up with Dogz III and loved it. I remember learning about Petz 4 and 5, and for whatever reason I decided on Petz 5. I kinda remember going to GameStop to pick it up. I was probably 11-13 at that point, and growing up with a computer engineer for a dad meant I quickly learned little tricks. I probably had downloaded the entire APKC site at some point. I didn't even need my dad for it! Alas, then came along PetzA. A blessing and a curse. The profiles became so corrupted that even if one loaded, only one or two petz would load. At that point I wasn't playing Petz as often, and I didn't feel like looking for a work around. So I moved on. Grew up. Went to college. And then, home for break, my 19 year old self found the Petz 5 CD. Overwhelmed with nostalgia, I installed it and tried to find downloads, and in the process found this website! My favorite version is definitely P5, I've just always loved the multiples in a litter and the updated feel to the game. I never had files that I wished could go backwards, and never had P4 in the first place, hence not caring about the files. My favorite aspect of the games is breeding and genetics. I've always been a bit obsessed with genetics in everything - humans, plants, animals - and this game has "living" breathing forms I can experiment with. The possibilities are endless. Other games just don't have the same complex system. Actually, for an oldie game, I'm super impressed with how massive the genetics system is! Least favorite...Probably the pet selection. If I'm working on an extensive project, it's super hard clicking on "pick a pet" and then having to scroll...idk it's a dumb little thing but I've just never liked that scroll down of petz! Also, how you can only take out 2 petz at a time in the AC. It's really slow when looking for a certain variation! I've got to say though, I also just love the memories Petz gives me. Dogz III gave me all my labs, named by color (Pepper the black lab, Cinnamon the brownish lab, Coco the chocolate lab...) and APKC gave me playtime with "Heaven is a Place on Earth" in the background <3
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Amu
Petz Walker
Posts: 68
Petz Versions: 5, 4
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Post by Amu on Jul 29, 2015 20:18:04 GMT -5
Ha! I'm glad that some of the same songs that were so iconic for young me playing Petz were present in you guys' memories too!
Also, I have to agree.. the pet selection is kind of terrible! I never really thought about it, but truly.
I keep entertaining the idea of delving into the code of Petz 5 and tweaking things and improving it... maybe like "Petz 6!"
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Post by Analyn on Jul 29, 2015 22:23:46 GMT -5
Woah would you be able to do that?? I always hoped PF Magic or Ubisoft would release another version, but Ubisoft got invested more in those Nintendo Horsez and stuff. Maybe several people or a team of people from here could work together if your thoughts grow more serious
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Amu
Petz Walker
Posts: 68
Petz Versions: 5, 4
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Post by Amu on Jul 29, 2015 22:30:50 GMT -5
I'm not sure yet! I'd love to do it, though, these games deserve a proper update and I figure it'd be a nice way to spur action in the Petz community. I poke around a bit but I'm not too great at any sort of programming yet.. I'm still just in the "what sort of things would be cool to add?", brainstorming phase. It'd certainly be great as a communal effort!
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Post by CatCreature on Jul 29, 2015 22:43:27 GMT -5
All I know is...a couple years back, a group of people on another petz forum came together to try and kinda-sorta make 'Petz 6'. They got really far, making a bunch of breeds for it, as well as backgrounds and other stuff. As far as I know, they weren't planning to 'sell' the game, they were going to release all the custom stuff to people who wanted it, or whatever.
Towards the end, they had to cancel everything. It was decided that it was taking things too far, and a lot of people thought it was going against Petz' copyrights, or something? There was something wrong that might involve legal trouble, or something serious like that. It was a long time ago and I don't remember why it shut down exactly, but it was something big like that. (Somebody else might be able to fill you in better)
So I don't know what all you want to do, or how far you'll go, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea, considering what happened last time. Just wanted to let you know!
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Amu
Petz Walker
Posts: 68
Petz Versions: 5, 4
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Post by Amu on Jul 30, 2015 9:41:53 GMT -5
Oh, that's interesting o: I tried my darndest to research "Petz 6" to see if anyone else had done anything, but I couldn't seem to find much. Hmm... will have to look into the copyright laws. I would think that surely, if we're allowed to hex and modify the game, we could take it a bit further as long as we're not trying to profit off of it... Until then, maybe I'll want to aim lower x) Just a few simpler things. That is, if I figure out how to code anything in this game at all!
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Post by Analyn on Jul 30, 2015 10:27:41 GMT -5
Maybe based off that you/people could work out "add-ons" that people can download for free if they want to upgrade their game? Like Sherlock software sort of thing, where Petza is a free download. So in the case of the pet selection bar, say you found a way to change it. You could release it for free for users who also want an upgraded pet bar. It makes me wonder what sort of copyright/obstacles the people who released the "runaway rescue" and "Petza" etc looked at.
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Post by Catbaloo on Jul 30, 2015 14:46:07 GMT -5
All I know is...a couple years back, a group of people on another petz forum came together to try and kinda-sorta make 'Petz 6'. They got really far, making a bunch of breeds for it, as well as backgrounds and other stuff. As far as I know, they weren't planning to 'sell' the game, they were going to release all the custom stuff to people who wanted it, or whatever. Towards the end, they had to cancel everything. It was decided that it was taking things too far, and a lot of people thought it was going against Petz' copyrights, or something? There was something wrong that might involve legal trouble, or something serious like that. It was a long time ago and I don't remember why it shut down exactly, but it was something big like that. (Somebody else might be able to fill you in better) So I don't know what all you want to do, or how far you'll go, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea, considering what happened last time. Just wanted to let you know! Did they actually get issued with some sort of cease and desist notice? I can't see that being so if they hadn't actually released anything yet. People have rewritten Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 to add new features and remove bugs and made it open source. (It does requires files from the original game which you need to purchase.) I would say that this would go along the same sort of lines. As long as no money is being made it's more of a fan pack. There's that Skywind mod that been in development forever that is taking the Morrowind world and putting it into the Skyrim engine. I think someone got a job from that. I've always thought it would be great to take what we love about Petz 4 and Petz 5 and put them together in one game without the bugs but I know almost nothing about about coding so I wouldn't know where to start.
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Post by CatCreature on Jul 30, 2015 16:27:05 GMT -5
^ No, and I don't really understand why they decided to cancel it. Really all they wanted to do was give out a bunch of hexed stuff AS IF it were a P6 expansion. They didn't actually change coding, or want money, or anything. It's the same as giving out a bunch of hexed goodies. I thought it was fine, and a lot of work went into it... It happened on PCG a few years ago. I'm digging around to try and find the thread to get my facts straight, as I barely remember what the issue was...I just knew they were afraid it was going to get into legal trouble, or something like that. Hopefully the thread wasn't deleted. --- EDIT: Found it! Hmm. The thread was a lot worse than I remembered. There was a lot of anger about multiple OTHER issues, and a lot of bad language used, so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to link it here? I'll not for now. I picked through it for details though. Basically what happened was... Reloaded was going to make an 'expansion', which was going to involve the PC community coming together to make a bunch of hexed stuff, and it would all be released to people. She posted threads on PCG, RKC, and AAP asking for volunteers that wanted to help. AAP and RKC deleted her topics, and on AAP she was supposedly accused of doing all of this illegally. She then posted on PCG, telling everybody that she couldn't continue with this because people thought it was illegal. She got TONS of backup on PCG, people saying how PetzA and hexing are also technically 'illegal', but there's been no issues with that. And another person said that maybe Relo was misunderstood after using the term 'expansion'. Maybe the mods at AAP thought she was going to be making money from this, or something. So she changed to calling it The Project, and started work on it again. But then she quit...for different reasons, supposedly health. I guess that was about the same time she quit the PC altogether. So she DIDN'T actually shut it all down for fear of legal problems...I'd forgot that was the same time she claimed to be having health problems. Well...take from this story what you will. xD Sorry if I've derailed this topic, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get into any trouble.
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Post by midnightwolf on Jul 30, 2015 16:33:05 GMT -5
I think overall a lot of people didn't like what the group was doing. I can't remember it well but I think some people were contacting UBI/PF? It was too long ago to remember. But as for actually getting into the games coding and stuff, it's been tried (Croag and I were trying to get the hidden animations to work) and it's not possible for reasons I'm too tired to get into.
I think if you want to add/share things, I'd refrain from calling it "Petz 6" and just offer it as people do now.
I got into Petz back in '03 when I bought the game for my girlfriend at the time. After we broke up I stored it. 6 years later I found it and as a joke I installed it to show my wife. I remembered hexing and that's what's pretty much kept me here another 6 or so years later.
P4 is my preferred version. I prefer the look of it and since I'm more of a hexer, I can get hexies to more people. I don't breed so the litter issue doesn't affect me. I think what bothers me the most is the lack of things to do. xD But I think that's just after years of game development, then going back to an old game.
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Post by Catbaloo on Jul 31, 2015 12:48:19 GMT -5
CatCreature Found the thread you meant now. First bit is basically a misunderstanding about what was essentially a mod pack with a self installer; the same way that the official downloads are self installers. No big deal but (and I haven't read it all) the rest looks like the start of the Relo drama so lets not go there and I'm sorry I asked. XD Back on topic I got my daughter into Petz around 3 years old. It seemed like a nice easy game to get her used to the computer. When she started working with computers at school they said she had good mouse control and that's the reason why. She loves dressing up her petz, often all of them into the same outfits and takes them to all of the different playscenes. I think the snow scene is one of her favourites.
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Post by Pya on Jul 31, 2015 13:03:23 GMT -5
I think i played Petz for the first time roughly 7 years ago (man how time passes). I was an avid google searcher when i was young, i'd turn google upside down trying to find as many pet games as i could (since it was my obsession. I think i've played every single interesting pet game ever available haha, i do know at one point, i was disappointed to find that i ran out of games to find). Back then, the most interesting game i had played was Lost Sock Puppy Luv, which quickly became boring, and that's when i found a free trial of Petz 4. I can't even begin to explain how horribly saddened i was when the subscription ran out because it was the most in depth game i had ever played, and i had really gotten attached to the dali i adopted. I fiddled around with the files so that i got rid of the "buy to keep playing" screen (haha don't get me wrong, i had no idea this was a bad thing when i was little, i just wanted the game and i knew my parents wouldn't pay for it, i figured if you could so easily disable the "buy now" screen, it wasn't a big deal), but it was left without any kind of sound. I found out later about Petz A, and it allowed me to play with sounds on. I was in heaven. THEN... i found out about downloadable things, about toyz, petz, adoptables, clothez. Man i spent hours and hours and hours downloading tons of things for it. I had no idea there was a community though, i just thought it was an old game that no one else played. Nonetheless, i was in love. That said, i quickly spread the news to all my friends. We would do playdates, using USBs to make our petz visit eachother and play together. My friend even downloaded a Scooby Doo and made him her favorite pet. Those were some beautifully simple and joyful days. Then, Petz 5 came out (found it one day in a store, instant buy). I was really really excited for it, mostly because it supported day and night, and especially, litters made of more petz. I still have Petz 5 . I prefer this one over Petz 4 (though i like P4 more for the room graphics as well as the collectible feature, since you can collect items found in different scenes), mostly because of the day&night, and the fact that it supports more colors.
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