tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post4654518065001556177..comments2024-03-28T23:14:06.156-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Darkside of Xeen: Th Thr TwrsCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65529080603652190382023-06-21T10:42:02.703-04:002023-06-21T10:42:02.703-04:00As a midwesterner, I order a whiskey and cola. As a midwesterner, I order a whiskey and cola. Zack Macomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18077050078436768492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10066748466223315512022-06-07T04:44:07.586-04:002022-06-07T04:44:07.586-04:00@stepped pyramids: of course the games were locali...@stepped pyramids: of course the games were localized a lot. There is a German version available, just for example. Back in 1993 fluent English was a very rare skill in a lot of countries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85544033931673793452021-06-13T11:15:21.705-04:002021-06-13T11:15:21.705-04:00I know this is late chet but our premier in Ontari...I know this is late chet but our premier in Ontario was roundly made fun of for telling people not to go out golfing during lockdown “I know what happens...you play golf with your buddies...then you go for a few pops.”<br /><br />He previously excused his brother for drinking and driving "He had a couple pops. Big deal. No one got hurt, everyone had a good time”<br /><br />He probably goes to the bar and orders a scotch and pop.Foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07923230209685215650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-25659138734022210252021-06-04T11:43:57.747-04:002021-06-04T11:43:57.747-04:00Well, based on this blogpost I don't regret ne...Well, based on this blogpost I don't regret never playing this game, and I am looking forward you moving to other games that are less popular but with a better narration (since we exhausted the "systems" a long time ago, there is only narration left, and here you are limited obviously by the material).Narwhal, the Wargaming Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808952600298482923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88480005010691995472021-06-01T16:41:38.475-04:002021-06-01T16:41:38.475-04:00I think the gaming audience XEEN was intended for,...I think the gaming audience XEEN was intended for, around the time it was released along with the genre, the clues provided were more than sufficient for anyone to reasonably solve. Remember New World Computing didn't produce games for the mass market to consume ala candy crush. PC gaming at that time wasn't really a mature industry, more a flight of fancy that also required some knowledge of computer hardware and configurations that predated API's like DirectX, which far more than anything made games easily available to the masses. There wasn't any dedicated gaming stores beyond retail toy or hobby shops, and the RPG genre itself wasn't particularly well understood either as most folks considered a 'game' to be little more than a Pacman or Donkey Kong box at the arcade or neighborhood laundromat. Certainly an activity to not spend more than 10 minutes on.<br /><br />The various factors thus reserved early PC gaming to the more nerdy or similar, resulting in puzzles and cultural nuggets serving that audience. XEEN's fascination with sci-fi in particular Star Trek is simply a reflection of that audience.Tizzynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36093847547677604172021-06-01T15:16:10.280-04:002021-06-01T15:16:10.280-04:00The same is true of puzzles that aren't outsid...The same is true of puzzles that aren't outside-knowledge, of course. Even when all the clues are present in the game, that doesn't guarantee that the player will be able to duplicate whatever the designer used as a substitute for logic.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85335059269486118362021-06-01T03:41:25.495-04:002021-06-01T03:41:25.495-04:00The specific idiom "take on the world" v...The specific idiom "take on the world" vastly predates DOTT. (The Judas Priest song of that name came out in 1978 and obviously relies on the phrase being well-known at that point.) And "feel like you could take on the world" is not such an idiosyncratic usage of it that it makes sense to think that DOTT coined it.<br /><br />The M&M games are nerdy, and they DO love references - but given that DOTT came out in June 1993 and MM5 came out in September 1993 (and likely went gold at least a month earlier to allow for publication and shipping), that's a relatively small window for the devs to have bought DOTT, played it, and decided that it needed to be immortalised through a reference in Xeen.<br /><br />I think it's unlikely that this is a DOTT reference.GregThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01532920274312703426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1760175167613564932021-06-01T02:52:27.250-04:002021-06-01T02:52:27.250-04:00Oh I only made the reference because you called ou...Oh I only made the reference because you called out the reference in the vowel puzzle. Vince there is no equivalent because nerd culture is now mainstream. joehbrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03837988222714030857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59437850981494305742021-05-31T07:49:56.536-04:002021-05-31T07:49:56.536-04:00As a non-native English speaker, I am definitely w...As a non-native English speaker, I am definitely with GregT in this.Tygrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79507404122641078202021-05-31T07:36:58.032-04:002021-05-31T07:36:58.032-04:00If I remember well, my experience with missile wea...If I remember well, my experience with missile weapons was not so bad. Ok, they were not better than melee attacks, but they were not completely useless. And yes, I played Adventure mode.Tygrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36196644781229174442021-05-31T03:10:50.709-04:002021-05-31T03:10:50.709-04:00I was asking myself what would be the 2000s equiva...I was asking myself what would be the 2000s equivalent of Star Trek references in the 90s. Game of Thrones? <br /><br />Or maybe more strict editing and copyright fears do not allow to have nerdy references in modern games.Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019892418296525854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-62802211392211173462021-05-31T03:02:56.464-04:002021-05-31T03:02:56.464-04:00I planned my M&M 4/5 party so that everybody c...I planned my M&M 4/5 party so that everybody could wield a missile weapon and be effective in melee (Warrior, 2x Paladins, 2x Archers, Ninja) and I remember my experience being closer to Chet's. Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019892418296525854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-676115901011014372021-05-30T23:08:29.882-04:002021-05-30T23:08:29.882-04:00I guess you've finally made your peace with To...I guess you've finally made your peace with Tolkien references at least.Man of Stonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58195467562894741862021-05-30T18:37:42.442-04:002021-05-30T18:37:42.442-04:00Its a bit hard to apply the same rules to each pai...Its a bit hard to apply the same rules to each pairing, because fire is something of an odd one out - after all, the elemental plane of fire needs air! Mud, smoke, steam, mist, dust and magma would probably be my takes.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50237115977575961152021-05-30T18:18:50.564-04:002021-05-30T18:18:50.564-04:00Oh, you are going to be insufferable after my next...Oh, you are going to be insufferable after my next entry. I probably shouldn't even read the comments on that one.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35835688078610481342021-05-30T18:17:05.519-04:002021-05-30T18:17:05.519-04:00Oh, yeah, "magma" is a good one. I forge...Oh, yeah, "magma" is a good one. I forget sometimes that "earth" includes practically everything physical, including metals and plants as well as literal soil.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27056468513892176852021-05-30T18:15:33.897-04:002021-05-30T18:15:33.897-04:00People call sugared, flavored soda "pop."...People call sugared, flavored soda "pop." Not even in the mid-west does anyone sit down at a bar and order a "scotch and pop."CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1559767464510081302021-05-30T18:05:30.117-04:002021-05-30T18:05:30.117-04:00I mean, this idea of the mixtures of the four clas...I mean, this idea of the mixtures of the four classic elements is as old as the very *idea* of the classic elements and you have Empedocles musing on steam being the interaction of fire and water back in the fifth century BC.<br /><br />I don't honestly think there was much original creativity involved when Gygax et al specified their "para-elemental planes" beyond the initial idea of these being "planes of reality" in the first place.GregThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01532920274312703426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36466004415559078372021-05-30T17:32:52.265-04:002021-05-30T17:32:52.265-04:00All this training cost inflation reminds me of Dia...All this training cost inflation reminds me of Diablo 2, where HP and damage values reach ridiculous levels on later difficulties.kuniqshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713085862362524573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-40059331003604762512021-05-30T14:22:23.471-04:002021-05-30T14:22:23.471-04:00The entire series is an extended Star Trek referen...The entire series is an extended Star Trek reference. Only natural that it comes up.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-4172590263352653882021-05-30T14:17:20.758-04:002021-05-30T14:17:20.758-04:00As funny as it would have been, making soda the an...As funny as it would have been, making soda the answer to that would be a bad idea considering a lot of people call it popTwibathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872080022551062309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-89692391259921387872021-05-30T13:41:51.911-04:002021-05-30T13:41:51.911-04:00In the (1&2E) D&D cosmology, between Water...In the (1&2E) D&D cosmology, between Water and Air was Ice for some reason. Yeah, okay, so I guess not all of those combinations made a lot of sense either.<br /><br />The plane between Fire and Earth in the D&D cosmology is Magma, which at least I think is a little more logical.Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30414895456362844542021-05-30T13:13:07.685-04:002021-05-30T13:13:07.685-04:00I think they missed out on having a water-air ridd...I think they missed out on having a water-air riddle and made the answer SODA. Fire-earth could be POTTERY.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65149773226346839532021-05-30T13:10:00.195-04:002021-05-30T13:10:00.195-04:00Interesting history either way. My problem with th...Interesting history either way. My problem with the riddles is that the logic doesn't really hold. Mud is a literal combination of earth and water, and it legitimately works as a "halfway between." Steam is not a combination of fire and water; it's what happens when you apply one to the other. Smoke is neither. It is the manifestation of one within the other; by that logic, "steam" would apply to water and air rather than water and fire. And dust is still something else--not a combination, not really an application. More like "what do you call it when a quantity of X element is small enough to be affected by Y element."<br /><br /><br /><br />CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58887802025375452112021-05-30T13:09:15.115-04:002021-05-30T13:09:15.115-04:00Yeah, that. Otherwise you might as well ask if the...Yeah, that. Otherwise you might as well ask if the "mystic mages" were inspired by, oh say, Terry Pratchett.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com