tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post7095522754973133565..comments2024-03-28T07:13:19.910-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Wizardry: Won! (Seriously!)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18955996476677160482023-07-25T08:51:42.073-04:002023-07-25T08:51:42.073-04:00Thanks for reading, and thanks again for all the p...Thanks for reading, and thanks again for all the posts over the years! Short posts or not, it's always been encouraging seeing you and commenters actively playing and engaging with these games.John Thyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17629076787737164071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88628510921240206762023-07-24T19:37:40.186-04:002023-07-24T19:37:40.186-04:00Great story. Your comment is almost as long as my ...Great story. Your comment is almost as long as my entry! I'm so embarrassed with how quickly and briefly I covered games during those first couple of years. <i>Wizardry</i> deserved a lot more ink, not to mention a comparison of the versions as your comment gets into.<br /><br />The version I played came with <i>The Ultimate Wizardry Archives</i> from 1998, so I feel confident saying that if they hadn't fixed the leveling problem by then, they never did.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70717327633643933342023-07-24T16:03:32.471-04:002023-07-24T16:03:32.471-04:00Me, my partner, and a friend just spent two weeks ...Me, my partner, and a friend just spent two weeks straight playing this one non-stop. All of us finally cleared late last week. This comments thread was really helpful for untangling some questions we had about the game after finishing. I'm writing a long rambling post about our experiences in case they're useful to other players down the line! <br /><br />I played on DOS, they played on SNES. Some version observations:<br />1) Can confirm I seemed to get more stat downs on DOS then other versions. <br />2) Outside of the stat downs (which sounds like a DOS problem) the SNES version seems almost identically balanced? Partner had exactly as much trouble on Werdna as I did. The level layouts for floors 1-5, 9, and 10 are identical, floors 6-8 were changed. ( Only combat balance change we detected was that the SNES version also gives Thieves the ability to hide and ambush which I understand was introduced in Wizardry V.<br />3) SNES version gives you a full map of tiles you've visited on a floor when you cast dumapic. There's an option in the menu to change Dumapic back to coordinates only. (You can also set the graphics back to wire-frame hilariously.)<br /><br />I didn't go to the DOS version over other versions expecting it to be "authentic" or anything, I know the Apple II version is the original experience. I just like the full screen wireframe look of the DOS version a lot, and by the time I found out about the stat down weirdness I was already committed. It's also very very snappy, which I like. Do they fix the stat down stuff in later DOS ports of Wizardry games? I know IV doesn't have normal level ups, my hope is that Wizardry V at least is fixed and the balancing matches the Apple II version.<br /><br />Some thoughts on the actual game: we were all really impressed up front with the level design and density of events in floors 1-4. It's very odd how empty the floors get after that, and it's also odd how you don't really have any reason to visit most of the floors in the dungeon. One of us got the blue ribbon early on so we were just exploring like "wait is there REALLY no reason to visit any of these floors". <br /><br />We all started out playing with permadeath. I gave up and started backing up characters at the start of dungeon dives on the seventh floor, after my fourth or fifth full party-wipe. I'm glad I stuck with it for as long as I did, the whole "rescue your main party with a backup party" ruleset makes for some really exciting moments. But I don't regret stopping when I did, the finale is so mean and unless you prepare VERY aggressively I think the Werdna fight still comes down to whether or not he tiltowaits you immediately. My partner lasted longer than I did but finally started backing up near the end (the SNES version has a buried away save file option), I don't know how long my friend lasted or if they won "fully legit".<br /><br />I mapped in Google Sheets, which has its pros and cons. There are easy keyboard shortcuts for laying down cell borders, but changing between border types requires two mouse clicks which is annoying. The other two mapped on graph paper. Here are my maps:<br /><br />https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OBGFHjTAmG4Gz2ehsUpn3v_WUvf3AyXklO77_DY2gtQ/edit?usp=sharing<br /><br />It's very fun how much this game got its hooks in all of us. It was all we were thinking about and talking about for two weeks straight. It's definitely hard and a product of its time in a lot of ways, but it's still an extremely cool game we got a lot out of engaging with. This was my first full "map it out in graph paper" dungeon crawler I played all of. I feel very confident now that I can play and enjoy other games I've been eyeballing for years, like Ultima III, Might and Magic, Pool of Radiance. Thanks as always for relaying your experiences with these games and making them more approachable! John Thyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17629076787737164071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65051038219876809962022-10-17T15:11:26.243-04:002022-10-17T15:11:26.243-04:00If any of you are still interested, I have recentl...If any of you are still interested, I have recently made my personally developed CRPG mapping tool available at https://kejabrsoftware.wixsite.com/kejabr-software for free (or support if you want).<br /><br />I developed it specifically for games like Wizardy, Dungeon Master, Might and Magic, etc.<br /><br />If you check it out, please drop me an email from my site and let me know what you think.Ken Brubakerhttps://kejabrsoftware.wixsite.com/kejabr-softwarenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36845025182778144582022-10-02T22:30:46.716-04:002022-10-02T22:30:46.716-04:00You did a great feat (with some luck) winning this...You did a great feat (with some luck) winning this one without saves, but even the Apple II version let you make a backup of all your characters to another disk from the game own utilities, before loading the scenario disk.<br /><br />I don't know if the DOS version has something like that, but it appears that the game was initially not that hard on perma-death. You could restore your backed up characters using the game own utilities if they were killed, and you would only lost the progress of the last expedition (if you backed them up after every expedition).<br /><br />I think it is not cheating if this option is implemented in the game, but it's true that the backup process could be much more tedious at the time than today (with emulators). The case is that there was some type of commercial strategy guide (from 1983-4) called Wizisystem that encouraged using character backups regularly to avoid disasters.Exploradorrpghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17491422055928443184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26439087310296474402022-08-30T17:55:57.778-04:002022-08-30T17:55:57.778-04:00The Podcast "Retronauts" episode 162 has...The Podcast "Retronauts" episode 162 has an interview with Robert Woodhead - he talks about the origins of Wizardry (and its relationship to PLATO), the playtesting, and at the end of the Podcast, he also fields a few questions from listeners.<br />https://audioboom.com/posts/8113487-retronauts-episode-162-wizardry-podcast-chat-of-the-mad-overlordPlunderBunnynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39021320321655964972021-12-02T14:10:12.469-05:002021-12-02T14:10:12.469-05:00For autoREALM, I can send you what I did already f...For autoREALM, I can send you what I did already for Oubliette and you could use it for Wizardry, this way you would save quite a bit of time, just copy/paste doors walls, stairs, etc. Email snafaru at gmail dot com.<br /><br />SnafaruSnafaruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17109839921841375491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90931933548479783142021-12-02T09:12:15.422-05:002021-12-02T09:12:15.422-05:00I'll have a look at these.I'll have a look at these.The CRPG's Innhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14774691020916265245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33324532174228992032021-12-02T09:11:36.689-05:002021-12-02T09:11:36.689-05:00Yes, I found a video on Youtube where he uses Exce...Yes, I found a video on Youtube where he uses Excel for Wizardry V. Thanks thoughThe CRPG's Innhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14774691020916265245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74368131302518213352021-12-01T23:19:13.295-05:002021-12-01T23:19:13.295-05:00Personally I use autoREALM, fairly easy to use (an...Personally I use autoREALM, fairly easy to use (and free) for the standard and simple Wizardry or Oubliette grid... I know also Campaign Cartographer exists, but it is bigger... nevertheless, whatever program you are going to use I am afraid you will have to put a little bit of elbow grease in it.<br /><br />SnafaruSnafaruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17109839921841375491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80375189086512578592021-12-01T18:01:31.264-05:002021-12-01T18:01:31.264-05:00He uses Excel. He uses Excel. PetrusOctavianusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82166139490084068802021-12-01T09:48:13.677-05:002021-12-01T09:48:13.677-05:00Sorry for commenting on such an old entry but what...Sorry for commenting on such an old entry but what program do you use to draw your maps ? I'm using Dungeon Painter Studio (found on Steam) which is nice but too laborious in my eyes.The CRPG's Innhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14774691020916265245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-77732921297716049672021-10-10T22:54:16.979-04:002021-10-10T22:54:16.979-04:00Fun to stumble onto this blog. My friend and I pla...Fun to stumble onto this blog. My friend and I played Wizardry for many, many Saturday mornings in our childhood until finally beating it. I came across it again last year, and played again for nostalgia sake. Got all the way to level 10 and my thief did the same as yours -- tripped a teleport trap. In my world, though, we teleported into a rock wall...and that was that. Ah well. Thanks for writing!Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14011411653388397626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-78042359802271587312021-09-20T09:10:53.826-04:002021-09-20T09:10:53.826-04:00No idea, but a friend of mine noticed the same, wh...No idea, but a friend of mine noticed the same, which makes me think that they intended to reduce the "old age" check to 65 (which is 0x41 in decimal) instead of 130 as a balancing measure, and just screwed it up.<br /><br />I've noticed anecdotally that all of the ports of Wiz1 I've played (NES, SNES, DOS, PSX, GBC, TG16) feel like they have less generous stat growth than the Apple version, but none quite to the degree that the DOS version displays. So I feel like they were aiming for an intentional balance change and just screwed it up.Reiskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09444824451578560746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18304301079973422302021-09-19T23:35:07.432-04:002021-09-19T23:35:07.432-04:00Amazing that 40 years later we are still hacking a...Amazing that 40 years later we are still hacking at Wizardry.<br /><br />Now, I have to check that Where Are We utility.<br /><br />I can't help but notice that 130DEC is 82HEX which is 41HEX (here's the 41) if you divide by 2, so I wonder if during the port when they were looking at the bytes they messed up, I realize what I am saying here could very well be pure coincidence, but no matter what they were looking at, they messed up.<br /><br />Then I'm thinking the original on the Apple was written in the UCSD Pascal language, what programming language was used for the DOS version?<br /><br />SnafaruSnafaruhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17109839921841375491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37981333735197836652021-09-19T21:26:49.302-04:002021-09-19T21:26:49.302-04:00Thanks to Where Are We, I was able to figure out e...Thanks to Where Are We, I was able to figure out exactly *what* the bug is (although it's beyond me how the port managed to screw this up).<br /><br />First, to paraphrase Snafaru's documentation as to how statups are *supposed* to work: when you level up a character, there's a 75% chance a stat gets modified at all. If it gets modified, there's an Age/130 chance it goes down (with a 5/6 chance to nullify the decrease if the stat was currently 18), and otherwise, it goes up.<br /><br />So for an 18-year-old character leveling up, for instance, there should be a 64.62% chance of each stat going up, a 10.38% chance of each stat going down (1.73% if from 18), and a 25% chance of no change.<br /><br />The bug in the DOS version, at least of Proving Grounds, is that, for *some* reason, that Age/130 check is instead an Age/41 check, which results in a 42.07% chance of a stat-up and a 32.93% chance of a stat-down. (5.49% if already 18.)<br /><br />I have no idea how they managed to screw that up, but the divisor of 41 produces exactly the odds Where Are We reports. Note that I didn't check Wiz 2/3/5.Reiskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09444824451578560746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64680377111784366272021-08-11T00:27:27.924-04:002021-08-11T00:27:27.924-04:00Theres a wonderful utility I discovered recently c...Theres a wonderful utility I discovered recently called Where Are We. Its core feature is an auto mapper, but it *also* will simulate 100 or 1000 stat rolls at character creation (allowing you to quickly get high bonuses), and has a feature that effectively removes stat drops on level up (basically it detects and cancels any stat loss). Makes the game *a lot* more fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20979296030100037412021-02-26T08:52:07.123-05:002021-02-26T08:52:07.123-05:00That's an interesting approach. The only way I...That's an interesting approach. The only way I've ever been able to really justify grinding is that it takes time and is a bit boring, so you're really putting in some "work" for that reward. I suppose if you find a way to "work smarter" like you did, you're still putting in the work. Still, if it trivializes grinding to the point that the rest of the game isn't challenging, I'd regard that as a problem, as it unbalances the entire game. I suppose as long as you're having fun . . . CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72849661296976750042021-02-26T08:43:48.924-05:002021-02-26T08:43:48.924-05:00Updating the dead link:
http://www.hardcoregaming1...Updating the dead link:<br />http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/wizardry-robert-woodhead-interview/Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50258693499866947632021-02-26T08:34:11.746-05:002021-02-26T08:34:11.746-05:00On a modern replay, maxing out emulator speed and ...On a modern replay, maxing out emulator speed and macroing can really change your definition of grinding. With this setup, your characters can "grind" 30,000 XP out of Murphy's Ghosts in 3-4 minutes, or 300K XP in 30-40 minutes.<br /><br />One drawback with AppleWin: when done with Murphy's Ghosts, you must remember to set emulator speed to one click less than max, or the chest identification message passes to quickly to be seen, which can make looting very costly!<br /><br />Details: <br /><br />I assign F4 to a standard combat cycle, say {f1 f1 f1 p p p enter} (each fighter attacks first enemy group, while the back row parries). This executes one combat cycle in the blink of an eye.<br /><br />I assign F5 to inspect the space, leave, observe the idol, and search {i L enter enter y}, which instantly spawns a new engagement.<br /><br />If the ghosts are friendly, I leave and hit F5 again.<br /><br />In combat, I hit F4 until enemies are vanquished, then hit F5. Lather, rinse, repeat.<br /><br />I pay attention to my fighter's health, and occasionally forego the macro to manually attack while the back row heals anyone whose hit points have become too low.<br /><br />This rapid grinding transforms the game. I don't know how others play, but my objectives become the formation of my ideal party, and then dungeon question in the more difficult areas for those highly desirable but extremely rare equipment items.<br /><br />Even so, with the apple version, the monsters occasionally surprise you, and it becomes very exciting to see how many tiltowaits and breath attacks your optimized party can survive.Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-68061803657616512952021-02-26T08:11:13.832-05:002021-02-26T08:11:13.832-05:00@Chase Duncan: +1 for topically relevant Tolkein r...@Chase Duncan: +1 for topically relevant Tolkein reference :)Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-60436867091529467032021-02-26T08:08:38.594-05:002021-02-26T08:08:38.594-05:00Concur with Snarfaru: random stat decreases is a f...Concur with Snarfaru: random stat decreases is a feature, but excessive stat decreases is a bug unique to the MS-DOS version. I chose the Apple version this time, so while I'm not experiencing all-18 stats on my higher level characters (some sites claim this routinely occurs), at least a few of my higher-level characters qualify for the advanced classes. That never happened on my MS-DOS run a few years ago.Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-60886742738125386542021-02-22T01:30:12.646-05:002021-02-22T01:30:12.646-05:00This was really quite an amazing game in its day. ...This was really quite an amazing game in its day. Long, long ago, when the Earth was young and my time would have been better spent studying, SirTech released the first Wizardry on the Apple II. I had a Commodore 64, but my colleague was gracious enough to tolerate my near-continuous use of his Apple II, throughout my Wizardry obsession. I haven't seen him since those college days, but Mark, if you should ever stumble across this note all these years later, thank you so much for your truly charitable tolerance of those abuses of your kindness.<br /><br />While today you have helped us understand something of its provenance, there was absolutely nothing like it in the day that was accessible to us in the home computer market.<br /><br />Anyway, thanks again, CRPG Addict, for bringing back those memories and helping us with our current nostalgic play-throughs!Rangeroushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05384980667033682190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88212553536318906652021-01-11T21:21:20.659-05:002021-01-11T21:21:20.659-05:00Quite a few of the early ones, since "porting...Quite a few of the early ones, since "porting" a game meant literally reprogramming it from the ground up in the very early era. You'd get less changes when going from very similar computers most of the time, but when going from a DOS computer to a Gameboy or Supernintendo or weird British computer you'd get strange stuff happening. <br /><br />Also, often the art would have to be totally redone as the screen resolution would be very different, and the colour pallet would have nothing in common, etc etc.<br /><br />Luckily, most of the big changes will be when moving to consoles, which unless things have changed a lot you still don't do, and when translating things to Japanese. That said, I've been watching ROMHacking.net and a lot of stuff has been coming out where they take the Japanese version of an English game that had major script changes, and translate it back to English so you can see what Japanese players thought the plot to Might and Magic or Wizardry or whatever was. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65457219098877785622021-01-06T15:20:07.481-05:002021-01-06T15:20:07.481-05:00That sounds like functionally a different game. It...That sounds like functionally a different game. It makes me wonder how many other "ports" were so different from their originals that I really should treat them as new titles entirely.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com