tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post27151932800480742..comments2024-03-19T01:35:47.501-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 67: Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (1988)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6767443614575106842023-01-26T22:20:37.506-05:002023-01-26T22:20:37.506-05:00What a coincidence that I found this again on the ...What a coincidence that I found this again on the same day that you posted about Moraff's Dungeons of the Unforgiven. The title screen definitely gave me pause because I saw the exact same thing you did - a heart with legs. If anyone is confused by this comment, let's just say that that's how Steve Moraff tends to design his actual monsters.P-Tux7noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33169606994958741222022-06-29T21:55:58.461-04:002022-06-29T21:55:58.461-04:00I am also of the opinion the game order
mentioned...I am also of the opinion the game order <br />mentioned above is correct. 4 was written last. If you've played 4, it really has a "last hurrah" feel. The uber difficulty, the fan service, the author self-service, etc. It was their ultimate challenge game. I think they just saw Bradley's game as an opportunity to fill in one more scenario to milk the pot, get him on the team, and let him rec up for VI. I recommend people play 1,2,3,5, and then 4 to get the full playthrough ending with the ass kicking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16052951954427315942021-03-26T00:48:51.020-04:002021-03-26T00:48:51.020-04:00I seem to recall reading that Bradley made a reall...I seem to recall reading that Bradley made a really good Wizardry clone-type dungeon crawler that people he worked with enjoyed, and sent it to Sir-Tech, who wanted to remake it as a Wizardry game (I thought that was Greenberg's contribution). IOW they liked the puzzles, mechanics etc, not necessarily the goofiness of the NPCs. Remember, the first four Wizardrys were pretty goofy too.<br /><br />It was originally finished before Return of Werdna (which was supposed to be released in 1984!), but Werdna was waiting on certain technological advances I guess. I've no idea what those could be, but that's what I recall of why there were still wireframe dungeons in both 1987 and 1988.<br /><br />Also, and this is pure speculation, but I don't think Woodhead had any involvement in Maelstrom, or at least not much. And Roe Adams III seemed to have a lot in Werdna. I think Greenberg only served to Wizardry-up Bradley's original game, so that may have been a factor as well. The originators kind of moved on. Say what you want about Bradley, he brought Wizardry up to speed with the next two games.<br /><br />Judd9noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-89356343353230930832019-10-26T13:44:48.445-04:002019-10-26T13:44:48.445-04:00Gnoman, you may be thinking of statements that I&#...Gnoman, you may be thinking of statements that I'm not, but for my part, while I've often found Bradley to be a bit comically vainglorious, I don't believe I've ever seen something from him that was outright untrue. <br /><br />The only thing that makes me wonder about these statements is that <i>Wizardry V</i> really isn't much of anything without the engine. Surely, Sir-Tech didn't pay Bradley for the game's STORY. A kindergartener could have written that and probably would have offered more serious NPCs. So if Sir-Tech made Bradley adjust his game to the <i>Wizardry</i> engine, what exactly did they buy from him in the first place? Did the Siroteks really sit there and say, "We've got to have the Duck of Sparks and G'Bli Gedook! But we need them in OUR engine!"?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14404134040301907232019-10-25T13:09:19.502-04:002019-10-25T13:09:19.502-04:00Evidence suggests that Bradley is something of an ...Evidence suggests that Bradley is something of an unreliable narrator, and there are other examples of ego-boosting statements from him that are... less than entirely accurate. <br /><br />I'd take this with a grain of salt. A grain the size of a boulder, actually.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-810123233735246522019-10-25T08:24:31.439-04:002019-10-25T08:24:31.439-04:00Sorry if this was mentioned in a comment for a dif...Sorry if this was mentioned in a comment for a different part or if you learned this later, but Wizardry V was actually completed before IV and held back two years! DW Bradley described what happened in an old interview:<br /><br />"I had started work on my first computer RPG about the time the original Wizardry appeared, but I still continued doing business software during the day. Once it was completed, I sent the finished RPG to the publisher, and after about a year's worth of phone calls, they accepted it for publication with one caveat - they wanted to publish it as a Wizardry game. I had to rewrite the whole RPG over from scratch, and rewrote the insides of Wizardry while I was at it. This became Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom.<br /><br />It was finished in mid-1986, but as the publisher had announced Wizardry IV: Return of Werdna several years earlier and it was still a year away from completion, they ended up holding the completed Wizardry V game for two years. Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom was finally released in 1988, some four years after I had finished the original version."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49806922086877330652019-10-14T11:40:20.819-04:002019-10-14T11:40:20.819-04:00I generally don't believe in bashing developer...I generally don't believe in bashing developers for re-using engines if the engines are good, so re-reading my opening here makes me cringe a bit. A game as well-balanced and challenging as the original <i>Wizardry</i> would remain a high-scorer well into the 1990s.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52235185628939389072019-10-01T04:22:01.338-04:002019-10-01T04:22:01.338-04:00What's really funny is that I misread and thou...What's really funny is that I misread and thought you were comparing Wizardry I to Wizardry II. I was thinking, gosh, isn't he really being a bit hard on the developers? <br /><br />But yeah, four sequels on one engine with no significant upgrades. You can kind of form a spectrum with this level of effort on one end, and Ultima's 'no two games in the same engine' rule on the other. Presumably Bethesda with their decades-spanning running repairs on the Gamebryo engine falls somewhere in the middle.asdasdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15459638043573476026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49364268627326645082013-04-01T15:49:04.076-04:002013-04-01T15:49:04.076-04:00I guess I'm retro commenting here. Wizardry d...I guess I'm retro commenting here. Wizardry didn't offer much in the way of graphical improvements between III, IV and V (and the changes between II and III are of dubious advantage). It might be debatable how much they could have done given how much of their fanbase was still on the Apple II - which didn't have a graphical upgrade after the IIe rev B. They could have put some energy into making the engine FASTER. On a 1MHz machine paging through Boltac's Trading post was horrifically slow.Axon Punchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03654322486717732061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65573039145634821962011-12-14T22:42:21.414-05:002011-12-14T22:42:21.414-05:00Hey Addict,
Sorry for your misfortune and hope th...Hey Addict,<br /><br />Sorry for your misfortune and hope things get better for you this holiday season! We love your blog!<br /><br />- JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56070434717579841812011-11-30T18:28:17.739-05:002011-11-30T18:28:17.739-05:00GammaLeak, that's hilarious. I had completely ...GammaLeak, that's hilarious. I had completely forgotten that I wrote that. I should have taken the advice I gave to all of you and reviewed my previous <i>Wizardry</i> postings.<br /><br />Obviously, graphics aren't everything with me, and my initial forays into W5 show gameplay elements that are substantially advanced from its predecessors. I do think I'm going to like this one.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20152701132106235812011-11-30T10:05:50.668-05:002011-11-30T10:05:50.668-05:00Ahh yes the world of D.W. Bradley. Graphics is nev...Ahh yes the world of D.W. Bradley. Graphics is never the strong suit of Wizardry. Pity that since the tactical system is very strong, but we cannot have everything. Good work CRPG addict. You continue to impress.JJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1971014396731156132011-11-29T13:19:59.261-05:002011-11-29T13:19:59.261-05:00Wizardry V is pretty noteworthy for being D. W. B...Wizardry V is pretty noteworthy for being D. W. Bradley's entry into the series. But Wizardry V-VII were his best efforts (there were things in Wizards & Warriors and Dungeon Lords that were interesting mechanically, but the games were fairly flawed. To say the least). V is something of a departure from I-III in that it's more involved, and it shows off some of the things you'll see in Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Crusaders of the Dark Savant.peacedoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15474788565660706482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24968529714375454122011-11-29T06:22:35.507-05:002011-11-29T06:22:35.507-05:00Modifier even. Modifer looks like it's referri...Modifier even. Modifer looks like it's referring to a type of tree.williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13165046805752023823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75007790524095010372011-11-29T06:21:51.045-05:002011-11-29T06:21:51.045-05:00>>because now the only Wizardry we're ge...>>because now the only Wizardry we're getting are retranslated Japanese-made ones<< I dloaded some of the latest Wizardry games for the PS3 lately. Except for the classy grapichs, they could still be the same wireframe dungeons, step-by-step gameplay. Rather amazing, really. Kind of cool, actually. Statement, comma, modifer.williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13165046805752023823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-40661774976628582872011-11-28T21:29:41.784-05:002011-11-28T21:29:41.784-05:00Wizardry really takes off at part six, at least th...Wizardry really takes off at part six, at least that was the first one I could stand to finish. It's pretty classic, but rough around the edges up to that point. You have a lot of games between this and that, but I think you'll find it to be a lot better. Then again, I was only in middle school when Crusaders of the Dark Savant came out, so my glasses aren't so rose tinted.Synertianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69757903705816043482011-11-27T16:37:01.944-05:002011-11-27T16:37:01.944-05:00@Bunyip That may be true about Sir-Tech designing ...@Bunyip That may be true about Sir-Tech designing the Wizardry games for Apple II first and then porting to other systems. But even so, by 1988 the secrets of double hi-res for the Apple II had been unlocked and mastered, so Might and Magic II (1988) for the Apple II looked like this:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEX1UhMPpdw<br /><br />(I never saw double hi-res when I had an Apple II back then - if I had, my little mind would have been blown).<br /><br />So even if they were still developing for the Apple II first, Sir-Tech was pretty lazy. :)<br /><br />But as the Addict says, the game may still be great even with the lazy graphics.Josh Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08736023883647078365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22855453112597997712011-11-27T10:36:03.798-05:002011-11-27T10:36:03.798-05:00This, in my opinion, is where the Wizardry series ...This, in my opinion, is where the Wizardry series started to actually get interesting.<br /><br />Alas, this is also where the Japanese Wizardry line broke off from the main line. It's a shame, because now the only Wizardry we're getting are retranslated Japanese-made ones, and so they don't have the plethora of classes and races found in the post-V games.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13189636946415447932011-11-27T06:50:01.423-05:002011-11-27T06:50:01.423-05:00I was under the impression that they designed the ...I was under the impression that they designed the game for an Apple II still, out of some loyalty to their original player base. Then ported it to other systems without worrying about updating graphics or sound.<br /><br />Still, I did stick this one out until about two-thirds through, and I think the Addict will be able to hold out till the end since there's a more interesting story here, plus lots of characters in the dungeons and some fun level design. It's far more accessible than IV and succeeds as a classic dungeon hack.Bunyipnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50318746033509485742011-11-27T03:53:25.611-05:002011-11-27T03:53:25.611-05:00Seven years after the inaugural game in the franch...Seven years after the inaugural game in the franchise, and the Wizardry series continues on the afterburner fumes of the success of the original. However, by '88, Wizardry V must have looked anachronistic in comparison to the more modern CRPGs. But I like wireframe graphics for some weird reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69178371349726100352011-11-26T18:45:45.266-05:002011-11-26T18:45:45.266-05:00@Raifield:the thing is, since wolf3d fps games did...@Raifield:the thing is, since wolf3d fps games did not advanced as much as rpg games did in the 80s. So I don't think you are right about that. CoD is good old action b-movie, after 20years you will be still able to jump in for a quick ride.feamatarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813811539434268297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-51912787329275618612011-11-26T03:02:09.146-05:002011-11-26T03:02:09.146-05:00Ryan, you were probably around 13 when at the time...Ryan, you were probably around 13 when at the time, and thus on the target audience. ;-)PetrusOctavianusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26610481419207345252011-11-26T01:52:53.527-05:002011-11-26T01:52:53.527-05:00I liked Peter Jackson's King Kong. : )I liked Peter Jackson's King Kong. : )Ryan Szramahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06049316937001027625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5463373888640739332011-11-25T21:26:16.324-05:002011-11-25T21:26:16.324-05:00Eh, that's still the way it is though. Imagine...Eh, that's still the way it is though. Imagine in 20 years when the FPSAddict is playing through the Call of Duty series. Each one, especially the Modern Warfare flavors, is basically the same game with a different scenario.Raifieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08478524519453417677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33333469881383910312011-11-25T18:21:17.181-05:002011-11-25T18:21:17.181-05:00The hilarious thing is that you had some of the ex...The hilarious thing is that you had some of the exact same first impressions of Wizardry IV. This is what you posted last year:<br /><br />"Seriously, Sir-Tech? Five years have passed since Wizardry III. People have been telling me over and over how awesome your fourth 'scenario' is. 'The most challenging CRPG ever created,' they say. I've spent months anticipating it, along the way making fun of games like Swords of Glass for their primitive programming. And this is what I've been waiting for?<br /><br />The same wire frame dungeons? The same monochromatic graphics? The same spells? The same commands?"<br /><br />Actually, I think you're being a little nicer this time around. :^DGammaLeaknoreply@blogger.com