tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post1802005638677599414..comments2024-03-28T15:25:30.216-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 11: The Bard's Tale (1985)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56199792648226018452024-03-16T08:39:47.970-04:002024-03-16T08:39:47.970-04:00For anyone considering to check out the original c...For anyone considering to check out the original console version of <em>The Bard's Tale</em> for themselves: earlier this year <a href="https://www.romhacking.net/translations/7179/" rel="nofollow">an English translation of the Famicom BT was published on RHDN</a>. According to the description, <em>"[t]his game did release in English in the US but with a ROM of half the size. As a result a LOT of content was cut or changed. Almost 30 enemy types were cut, including 3 bosses, and most of the remaining ones recycled graphics from other enemies rather than having their own like in the original version. A lot of dungeon graphics and graphical scenes were also cut as well as the intro, step sounds, some flavour text, etc. <br /><br />This romhack took the US version script and inserted it in the JPN version, and translated what doesn’t exist in the US version, so that everyone can enjoy the game in its uncut glory!"</em>Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-29068490737730663302022-09-20T14:12:40.070-04:002022-09-20T14:12:40.070-04:00Just wait until you get to the Grey Crypt and can&...Just wait until you get to the Grey Crypt and can't use magic.POnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-89929909453394097022022-09-19T19:09:52.760-04:002022-09-19T19:09:52.760-04:00Ha... just playing the remake of Bards Tale (my fi...Ha... just playing the remake of Bards Tale (my first Bards Tale play in 32 years) and came across my 7 year old comment.<br /><br />I stand behind my opinion on Bards. Really in BT you've got 2 different kinds of characters - front line and back line. In the remake you can use all 7 character slots for characters, you don't have a special only slot, and the first 4 characters are front line meaning they can melee.<br /><br />My Bard is 4th and she is the weak link in my party. In melee she doesn't do nearly as much damage as anyone else and her hit points are lower (although that might be a function of her stats more than her class).<br /><br />But if I put her in the back row she'd be even worse. Nothing a bard can do is comparable to what a spellcaster of an equivalent level can do and she wouldn't be able to attack at all. In general she has better back row skills than any front row character and better front row skills than any back row character. Unfortunately that's not useful in any practical sense. Sure, if you bat them 5th (or 4th in the original) and one of your melee characters gets killed, then they move into the front rank and your spellcasters aren't exposed. But if I had an extra spellcaster there, that melee character might not have been knocked out to begin with.<br /><br />I get Bards are needed to get through that one section, and it's nice to have a song effect. But that's it really.. nice to have, not necessary. It's like the rogue who also has some nice skills which (like the Bard) can also be duplicated with spells.<br /><br />And outside of that they are just an empty space in combat unless they're using a consumable, and it's not like you've got unlimited consumables. And even then the consumable effects are duplicated by spells. Give me the extra spellcaster every time.<br /><br />Just wait until I get to the game which requires you to have a rogue. I can already tell I'm gonna LOVE that. :(Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41423853766853933562021-04-30T12:50:29.446-04:002021-04-30T12:50:29.446-04:00Ah, I have fond memories of TBT when I was young! ...Ah, I have fond memories of TBT when I was young! Many hours on my C64...never completed it though! I need to go back. Thank you for this blog! I am reading it from the beginning...very good work!Joe Naberhausnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34841278340173434102021-04-12T03:25:32.673-04:002021-04-12T03:25:32.673-04:00I spent an entire summer (1985, maybe 1986?) waiti...I spent an entire summer (1985, maybe 1986?) waiting for the EA catalog to arrive in the mail so I could read about The Bard's Tale. I think I tore out the magazine ad mentioned above and saved it so I could look at it repeatedly and study every detail. But I didn't have a lot of money for games and I never played it until around 2010. (I had to make do with Phantasie III at the time.) I don't know why I sucked so bad, but my party kept getting killed on the main street of Skara Brae and I couldn't even think about leveling up. It was like, "Here's a band of kobolds. Aaand we're all dead." It felt like the past 25 years had been a lie.Morgan Chasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11028920918400885408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63107623659014402142021-02-22T05:01:46.639-05:002021-02-22T05:01:46.639-05:00A lot of these old games have a pretty significant...A lot of these old games have a pretty significant early hump. The manual suggests that losing 1st level characters is common and should one die, just make a new replacement.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-67191419347643229032021-02-22T00:57:01.792-05:002021-02-22T00:57:01.792-05:00I'm finding it a bit annoying. Just created m...I'm finding it a bit annoying. Just created my party and entered the town. First combat led to one character's death. Second combat left a character old.<br /><br />This is doesn't seem like a reasonable set of outcomes for first combats. Certainly I can question my own abilities, but rationally, I already question play balance. <br /><br />The criticisms I have seen are, the game is too easy. That may be later in the game. I conclude that Interstil has failed miserably to playtest and address fundamental issues of game balance.<br /><br />After this limited play, I'm arguing, give me Pool of Radiance any day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-76283662547949714612020-10-08T17:10:42.701-04:002020-10-08T17:10:42.701-04:00According to Rebecca Heinman, they were flat out t...According to Rebecca Heinman, they were flat out told not to include female characters in Bard's Tale because women do not play these games. Then when she was in charge in game 3, she included them right away.<br /><br />She mentions that in her "burgertime" stream on Bard's Tale. It's an hour long on Youtube. I'd link it, but that'll probably make the comment not go through and you probably know it already.Mopey blokehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15676995334416896716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64252761020173907612020-06-27T23:13:26.777-04:002020-06-27T23:13:26.777-04:00I'm somehow attuned to not looking at shop nam...I'm somehow attuned to not looking at shop names. I noticed that I had to force myself when I played <i>Realms of Arkania</i>. So it doesn't surprise me that I missed it. I agree it's pretty funny. Judging from some online maps, these temples were in the original game.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38650322630025890352020-06-27T19:50:42.382-04:002020-06-27T19:50:42.382-04:00I tried this game for the first time in "The ...I tried this game for the first time in "The Bard's Tale Remastered Trilogy" when it was on Xbox Game Pass. I didn't like it even a little bit, mostly because the new art actually looks worse than the original pixelated graphics.<br /><br />Something I found funny that wasn't mentioned in these entries is that in the town square you have the "Temple of the Great God," "Temple of the Greater God" and "Temple of the Greatest God" all across the street from each other. I don't know if that was in the original game, but it got a chuckle.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14025511634630902101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56357649178426132552018-02-21T15:50:43.352-05:002018-02-21T15:50:43.352-05:00Interesting to see that early Interplay logo on th...Interesting to see that early Interplay logo on the title screen. Not sure if I've seen that before.Romhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17424138564206888866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1055873404832741912017-06-20T21:16:00.987-04:002017-06-20T21:16:00.987-04:00I tweeted Garriott about this - he said it was a h...I tweeted Garriott about this - he said it was a homage to Bard's Tale. Which is pretty obvious when you realise that one of the characters in the Ultima IV "Skara Brae" is named "Roscoe"Mr Backloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01776861922344186921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30516615762426795652016-12-28T17:05:15.221-05:002016-12-28T17:05:15.221-05:00I first got this game around 1987. I played it on ...I first got this game around 1987. I played it on my Atari ST. One cheat we found we dubbed "The Closet". Say you found a Fire Horn. Go back to the guild, create a new char, give the Fire Horn to the new char and save him to disk. Then shut off the computer. Boot back up and both char's still have the Fire Horn. Rinse and repeat.<br /><br />Was this a common cheat?<br /><br />-MattMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06311524577278988128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69610176584476565442015-08-04T13:37:52.982-04:002015-08-04T13:37:52.982-04:00Heya Chet. I just wrapped up this game on the NES,...Heya Chet. I just wrapped up this game on the NES, so I'm here to report on the differences I noted from the above post. From top to bottom:<br /><br />There are no races. Classes are limited to warrior, hunter, rogue, bard, sorcerer, and wizard. There's no class changing. The front line is definable between 3 - 6 members that participate in melee combat (can attack and be attacked). Bard songs are slightly different, of which the most noticeable is the Traveller's Tale that warps the party back to the Adventurers' Guild. Magical instruments are one-time use, but anyone can invoke them. The key locations in Skara Brae are located on the same street within four squares of each other where it's impossible to encounter enemies. Healing spells are unlocked at level two. Actually many of the spells are mixed up, as Trap Zap isn't gained until spell level 3.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54601273125119767322015-06-11T05:24:38.218-04:002015-06-11T05:24:38.218-04:00Some interesting news from the campaign:
"Re...Some interesting news from the campaign:<br /><br />"Rebecca "Burger" Heineman and her company Olde Sküül [will] update the [original] games for modern machines! She will be working to make the games run natively, without needing emulators, on PC or Mac. This re-releases will be primarily based on the Apple IIGS versions of the games, along with updated art."Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50074230629688298142015-06-04T04:12:15.422-04:002015-06-04T04:12:15.422-04:00The Bards Tale IV Kickstarter campaign started!
h...The Bards Tale IV Kickstarter campaign started!<br /><br />https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/the-bards-tale-iv<br /><br />Estimate release date: October 2017<br /><br />Basic info:<br /><br />A single-player, party-based dungeon crawl, rich in exploration and combat<br /><br />Dungeons filled not just with dangerous fights but with challenging puzzles and devious riddles<br /><br />Dynamic phase-based combat, where the pace of battle is animated and fluid, but still gives you time to think and respond to your enemies<br /><br />A game set to beautiful Gaelic music, where the Bard’s songs and melodies affect gameplay<br /><br />Co-funded by fans and inXile: if this game hits its $1.25 million goal, inXile will put in at least $1.25 million of its own money to double the initial budget!<br /><br />Built using Unreal Engine 4, for PC, Mac and Linux. Available from Steam or DRM-Free from GOG.com<br /><br />Available in English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Polish<br /><br />Built for and with the help of our fans. Your feedback and input directly impact the design and features of the game during alpha and beta stagesmpxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16366744101617096955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9965652018234839432015-04-07T23:53:52.717-04:002015-04-07T23:53:52.717-04:00What? No. Bards are your monkey wrenches/Swiss Arm...What? No. Bards are your monkey wrenches/Swiss Army Knives. Every party should have one in case the principal character doing the meleeing/shooting/spellcasting/healing/lockpicking/trap disarming/scouting/lollygagging is incapacitated.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45459042470243951792015-04-07T09:40:12.274-04:002015-04-07T09:40:12.274-04:00Yeah, I played without a Bard until I was forced t...Yeah, I played without a Bard until I was forced to use one.<br /><br />People gave me stick at the time for not using a Bard, but I thought Bards were lame. They were weak fighters and their songs were far less effective than the spells that a dedicated spellcaster would cast. I think I used my 4th slot on a Rogue at first, then a spellcaster of some kind, and finally a Bard only because I had to have one.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85569268553727518152013-09-30T06:53:29.584-04:002013-09-30T06:53:29.584-04:00Regarding the question of whether Ultima IV copied...Regarding the question of whether <em>Ultima IV</em> copied Skara Brae from <em>The Bard's Tale</em>, actually <em>The Bard's Tale</em> wasn't even the first CRPG to use the name -- the documentation to the original <em>Wizardry</em> mentioned a character named "Hawkwind of Skara Brae" (though I'm pretty sure he was mentioned <em>only</em> in the documentation, and not in the actual game). While it's true, of course, that there is an actual real-world place called Skara Brae, that the creators of three different games would all completely independently happen to make use of the name of the same otherwise rather obscure prehistoric settlement seems unlikely enough that I suspect there was some copying or homaging going on.Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35387911981207644242013-06-26T16:09:43.532-04:002013-06-26T16:09:43.532-04:00One PC claims it first with the promise that they&...One PC claims it first with the promise that they'll have a rotation system, sneakily reasoning that nobody else will want to claim their go before the party finds a) more loin cloths or b) a wash basin and soap.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-32054089867568255662013-03-31T14:42:54.853-04:002013-03-31T14:42:54.853-04:00No one gets to wear the first one. You turn it int...No one gets to wear the first one. You turn it into a sling.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20311028047672925932013-03-30T08:45:48.463-04:002013-03-30T08:45:48.463-04:00PHDO and APAR will solve all your bardless problem...PHDO and APAR will solve all your bardless problems. But trying to play without a Bard ... just doesn't feel right.Prometheushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149242619066303031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33388601950420882332013-03-30T08:43:49.436-04:002013-03-30T08:43:49.436-04:00Slot #4 is the place for the Bard. He's a pret...Slot #4 is the place for the Bard. He's a pretty pathetic fighter and doesn't have a lot of HP, but his songs get more and more useful the deeper you go. If I remember correctly, the song which grants additional AC (can't recall which one) gives -1 in the wine cellars, and progressively more and more in the more difficult dungeons, and finally something like -6 or -8 in Mangar's tower.<br /><br />IMO, warriors and paladins are only useful in the early game because they can use the best weapons and armor and get multiple hits/round. Once you get into double digits, you ought to switch out for hunters (who "critically hit" = instakill with increasing frequency) and monks (who eventually have ridiculously low AC and high damage without any weapons or armor, so great as pack-horses).<br /><br />Of course, you'll want to keep two spellcasters around at all times, and get promoted to sorceror/wizard as soon as is practical.Prometheushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10149242619066303031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64700788049511037682012-10-25T06:47:48.843-04:002012-10-25T06:47:48.843-04:00Really???
Really???<br />PetrusOctavianusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82463201131119486622012-10-24T23:28:19.300-04:002012-10-24T23:28:19.300-04:00Ladies first, I would hope.Ladies first, I would hope.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com