Talk:The Oregon Trail (computer game)

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[edit] Original Floppy, Packaging

I have a copy of the original Oregon Trail on floppy with the packaging, so I could possibly contribute a picture of that if anyone thinks it would be beneficial to the article. I'm actually making a project to breathe life back into the computer with the flavor of floppy drive required to run it. I'm hoping it will run with some sort of DOS emulation of Linux.--132.198.93.49 18:45, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Screenshot

I'll get a screen shot. --Kryptknight 14:06, July 29, 2005 (UTC)

Can you get a dysentery one? It'll help with the part of the article about pop culture Jackpot Den 02:56, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tombstone Inscription

I added a bit about the often-abused tombstone inscription feature - although I probably didn't do the best job of putting it in, so this is where I read about it.--El Zilcho 21:49, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

I expanded a bit upon the origin of the line. I think it is something relevant to the article because I think that at this point many people believe it is a part of the original game (so short are memories and so widely circulated is the ROM image), and so those reading an article about the game may be curious as to where it came from. Lavareef 14:13, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Was the "Here lies Andy" tombstone removed from this page? It was the best image on wikipedia. :-( - 60.46.212.28 04:09, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I took it out because there wasn't any reference to it. It was just floating around. If there was something significant about it to keep it in I would. In other words, if you (or anyone) can find some factoid, and be able to reference it in the article, then the picture should be able to go back in no problem. Just to show nothing against you and the others that enjoyed the picture, I'll leave it here for the time being. b_cubed 05:27, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
A player-entered tombstone.
A player-entered tombstone.
Very late replying, but thank you for at taking my comment into consideration. I guess it's only notability is that it seems that many of the surviving copies of Oregon Trail have "descended" from this line, as many players have commented on finding this tombstone in their copies. Cheers! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.113.194.194 (talk) 00:43, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Typing/Hunting in Oregon Trail

I remember a variation of the game on the Apple IIe where you had to type words on the screen to "shoot" at animals for food. Unfortunately, I don't remember anything else about this version. DrSlump

[edit] Occupation Choice as Doctor?

The entry includes the following: "The player can choose to be a banker from Boston, a carpenter from Ohio, or a farmer from Illinois. Each profession has different advantages and drawbacks, such as starting money, end game point bonuses, and special circumstances; for example, sick or injured characters are less likely to die with a Doctor chosen."

How can a Doctor be chosen if Banker, Carpenter, or Farmer are the only choices? I'd edit this page now, but I am unsure if later versions of the game include other choices of occupation.

Any ideas?

Its a mistake i accidentally left when I revised/rewrote most of hte article. As far as Oregon trail the original is concerened, the only 3 are carpemter banker, and farmer. --Larsinio 21:46, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
Later versions had a Doctor though. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.191.17.168 (talk) 02:18, 16 February 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Criticisms

I reverted the edit by 68.98.167.121, returning the criticism section. Since the game was widely used as an educational tool to supposedly show was life was like on "the Oregon Trail," critiques of the game's representation of women and minorities is notable. --mtz206 02:16, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

E.g. the book "Let them eat data" (Bowers), a book concerned with the impact of computers and cultural values on education. A full paragraph is devoted to this game and sums up some educational shortcomings and cultural bias. --Dialecticator 22:00, 21 August 2007 (CEST)

The game had no women (at least none explicitly shown) and the 'minorities' (natives) were friendly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.122.63.142 (talk) 18:22, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Older versions

I know that there was at least one older Apple II version from MECC, from around '81 or thereabouts; it had the older logo screen upon bootup, and far more primitive graphics. I can't seem to find any evidence for it, though - because who saves old Apple II disks from 25 years ago?

I remember that version too...you typed "BANG" to shoot, right? But I can't find any Internet-based evidence for it either. Thunderbunny 00:34, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
I actually recall the older version I saw at school. The graphics were much cruder and the game play different. It was, however, Oregon Trail I. It must not have been very widely used as I've never seen a reference since nor anything on the web.
Yes, there must have been another version around 1981 because I remember being in first grade (1981-1982) when I played it on an Apple II. I know it wasn't 4th grade when I played it. -- Suso 20:04, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

I remember playing a version for the TRS-80 written in BASIC. Anyone else remember that or am I just making it up? --60.225.0.88 09:44, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

Just as a point, it says a version was released in 1996 in the side bar, however, in the versions list at the bottem of the article the only version released was Oregon Trail II. There is a version released noted to have been in 1991 however. Can anyone check these dates and correct the inconsistancy? --DeMyztikX 06:02, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

I also recall the Apple II hunting and graphics being much more primitive than in the screenshots in the article. I believe the hunter was a stick figure in early versions. It is possible I tested beta versions as a student though since I went to school in Minnesota. --BenFranske 02:04, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Why is nothing mentioned regarding chaulking the river??? 68.150.202.252 00:10, 29 March 2007 (UTC)


I just wanted to chip in on this, as I certainly remember an older version of OT for the Apple II series. I would have played it sometime in the years 1983-6; probably at the earlier end of that range. The graphics were monochrome, and hunting was very different and quite difficult for me to get the hang of. It was a sort of first-person shooter game, with your (stationary) hunting blind at the bottom of the screen. At varying intervals, a game animal would come trotting horizontally across the screen--almost like a phantom, you remember those early graphics?--and you'd hit the fire button to release a cloud of very slow-moving buckshot. If they intersected just right, you got the kill. This rarely worked for me; I remember being delighted when I saw the newer version in middle school. I've never been able to find a downloadable version.
Also, the earliest versions of OT seem to have been text-only games for TTY and, later, glass TTY. Those were the ones when you hunted by typing BANG in a specified window of time.

--68.218.113.135 20:01, 22 July 2007 (UTC)


Another tidbit on the original monochome version(s) - I distinctly remember that your wagon could also get attacked by "Indians," and the hunting minigame would launch, but with Native Americans on horseback as the targets instead of animals. If someone could find a cite or shot of that, it would be rather noteworthy. This was in the version that used the space bar to fire instead of typing "BANG." The Yar 19:59, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
I remember this too, but don't believe it was Native Americans or "Indians." I seem to recall it was more generic "bandits" or "rustlers." Either way, it wasn't present in the sequel. I did some googling on early versions of the game, but didn't turn up much. Maybe someone can contribute some sourced material. 71.92.157.73 (talk) 22:47, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Record

It isn't too hard to cheat by bartering and building up a huge store of items and money. Hence, I'm not sure that the world record has much meaning. --Pepper2000 22:05, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Games in the series

I noticed the below [1]

[edit] Games in the series

And I have in front of me a CD the reads

THE OREGON TRAIL ®
Macintosh CD
Version 1.1
Copyright © 1993
MECC and its licensors
All rights reserved

Another sight supports this evidence [2] AMG (July 4, 2006)

My CD cover says Mac. The sight shoes an image of PC/MAC on the bottom and I do not know if it was available for floppy.

--E-Bod 23:33, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mormon Trail

I noticed the later games have the option of traveling the Mormon trail (Nauvoo, IL to Salt Lake City, UT). Should a reference be added?

Ironically, I believe in the first game, it's possible to cross paths with Mormon pioneers. Anyone remember that?

At one point, there was a Mormon pioneer talking of Salt Lake City. 209.222.194.205 17:20, 28 October 2007 (UTC)
Yes, where you can "talk" to fellow travelers, at some point, you can talk to a Mormon. 129.237.172.76 (talk) 20:20, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] on emulation

ATTN: Deathawk I'm suprised you removed the link to Virtual Apple [[3]]. While I think the emulation of existing systems and intellectual property is infringement, we're discussing a game so old you cannot buy it on media that works with any current hardware. Furthermore the hardware the game runs on hasn't been sold in over 10 years. Clearly this is not infringement. If it is, then I would argue that the images in the wikipedia article itself are infringement because they are copies of images on hardware that no longer exists displayed in a format long ago abandoned. If you subscribe to such intellectual poverty, I don't think we can remedy the situation and I suggest we pull the images from the article. I would also like to point out that the emulated version of the game on Virtual Apple is the same version passed around with the Tombstone tombstone. This is not just any version of the game, it is the version specifically mentioned in wikipedia.

In short: Please grow a pair.

Essentially the same reasoning above also applies to Westward Trail, the web based version. It is currently the only modern cross-platform version of the game. I don't see any way how infringement issues could be a factor. DannyRuston 03:25, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, this in particular is not my complaint with the Westward Trail game. Personally I don't feel that a wikipedia article should be the place to 'advertise' random web games. If people are interested in seeking them out they can search via google. I'm sure there is probably some Wikipedia rule to back me up but I honestly won't pretend to be well versed in all the rules that we try to adhere by. b_cubed 06:17, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Party names

From trivia section:

"The game is notorious for the ability to create custom inscriptions on the tombstones of deceased party members; this was often abused by schoolchildren to display swear words, insults, or puns."

While I've never seen this game played without a "bitch" or "poopface" in the party, I have to dismiss this "fact" as unverifiable. ~ Booya Bazooka 15:54, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

As a former student I verify the claim. Although we would use things like "Your butt" and "Your mom" so we could see message like "Your butt has dysentery, Your butt has died." Oh, the halcyon days of youth. TotalTommyTerror 19:37, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wagon Train 1848

Information should be added to the article to note that sometime in the 90s when the Mac version came out MECC also published a multiplayer version called Wagon Train 1848. Wagon train used the Macintosh LocalTalk or EtherTalk network to allow players to interact, trade and make decisions as a team. Watch out where you get information on this version from, information is hard to come by and some sources incorrectly imply that the TCP/IP protocol was supported, it was not, only Appletalk. My personal opinion is that this was one of the best additions/changes made to the program since the early versions. --BenFranske 02:04, 5 September 2006 (UTC)

Do you have some resources/links? That would be a great addition.
Not much that's handy. As time allows I'll take a look and see what I can dig up but I'm incredibly busy and it may be months (or more) before I can get to it. I can certainly provide some screen shots though it visually looks almost identical to Oregon Trail for the Macintosh of the same vintage. --BenFranske 20:52, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
I added a brief mention and a few sources. If anyone has more detailed information, it would be a good addition. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.191.17.168 (talk) 15:08, 16 February 2007 (UTC).
I am in the process of working on more information about this, I've made contact with an original developer and have some history information about Wagon Train in my email box now and will be calling for an intervew when time allows. Once that's complete I'm going to write and publish an article/fact sheet about the program and do a nice section for Wikipedia. I'm quite busy though so getting all that done will probably not happen until the end of the summer. If time allows I may try to do a bit of updating on the secion here earlier... --BenFranske 05:26, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
It appears it was reviewed in MacWeek on 16-Dec-91 [4]. If someone can dig that up, we might be able to add the information. 66.191.19.254 15:43, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "boom" cheat code

When would one enter the "boom" chat code to enable faster game play? 166.113.54.136 17:19, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] country bias

This article doesn't mention that this game was not really available outside of the USA. It even states that 'most elementary school children had access to the game'. This is clearly not the case. --that's not true i have friends in south america that played this growing up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.193.197.41 (talk) 03:49, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Oregontrail 02.gif

Image:Oregontrail 02.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 19:12, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Oregontrail 04.gif

Image:Oregontrail 04.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 19:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Oregontrail 05.gif

Image:Oregontrail 05.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 19:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)