tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post7242486564105655998..comments2024-03-29T11:46:15.172-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 25: Swords of Glass (1986)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88858038428136587192018-12-28T10:42:43.997-05:002018-12-28T10:42:43.997-05:00Sword of Glass actually has a ending. No spoiler. ...Sword of Glass actually has a ending. No spoiler. <br /><br />A few items I learned about this game after playing it in the 1990s:<br /><br />There are 10 levels; but level 9 is randomly generated thus making finding level 10 harder. <br /><br />Monsters are not always the same as you go further in a certain number of dungeon levels. <br /><br />Gargoyles on a wall are actually hidden door knobs to secret rooms usually with a elevator. You have to find a way to remove the gargoyle to reveal the knob.<br /><br />Elevators have a special purpose to figure out; just be careful. <br /><br />Items that are not "weapons or armor" can have a +#, the # refers to the max dungeon level that it can work on. <br /><br /><br />Sector3600https://www.blogger.com/profile/00549895751417254554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28229468925333283832018-09-24T17:54:38.646-04:002018-09-24T17:54:38.646-04:00I loved playing this game when I was younger. Rep...I loved playing this game when I was younger. Replayed it recently- still an intriguing game!Lion Kimbrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12052505334390972307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13451027290549116812017-05-28T14:09:00.794-04:002017-05-28T14:09:00.794-04:00Heh, understood. Plus Swords of Glass also has ple...Heh, understood. Plus <i>Swords of Glass</i> also has plenty of coverage in other sources already. Maybe if you ever find out who wrote it, that could be the occasion to complete it?PK Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14416777230563913195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27575988962408194282017-05-28T12:38:26.336-04:002017-05-28T12:38:26.336-04:00Yeah, or forgot. I don't know. I wrapped it up...Yeah, or forgot. I don't know. I wrapped it up too quick back in 2010, but the dungeons are quite large, and I'm not sure to what purpose I'd be investing that time again. To enjoy more of the puzzles?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47545037200441153762017-05-27T11:51:15.954-04:002017-05-27T11:51:15.954-04:00^Did you decide against this? (Not needling, just ...^Did you decide against this? (Not needling, just curious)PK Thunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14416777230563913195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-824527470154009142016-06-16T12:51:43.427-04:002016-06-16T12:51:43.427-04:00Borland made one of the most popular compilers of ...Borland made one of the most popular compilers of the 80s. So it may be a remnant of being linked to come of the Borland proprietary libraries.Andrew Sherrodnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91864330658185240822016-05-02T17:47:13.436-04:002016-05-02T17:47:13.436-04:00It's not terribly hard to find. I'm probab...It's not terribly hard to find. I'm probably going to take another look when I hit 1986 again.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20939219414898188182016-04-28T19:20:06.305-04:002016-04-28T19:20:06.305-04:00I purchased this game from a shop that had it on a...I purchased this game from a shop that had it on a rack that you would normally find post cards... it was packaged with Swords of Glass on the packaging so I do not think it had anything else in the package... it was pretty cheap but I do not remember... It was the first game I played on my own personal PC... (I had played Ultima several years earlier on my high schools apple II) Anyway I wish I still had this game... I enjoyed playing it and mapping it... would love to play it again!Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15163250675486970243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45193318382006865162016-03-21T06:05:47.638-04:002016-03-21T06:05:47.638-04:00I was doing a search to see if anyone had heard of...I was doing a search to see if anyone had heard of this game because it's a blast from my own past. The first RPGI ever played on a computer and I was probably about 10, 11-ish. It will always have a piece of my heart (just like Startflight) because my parents bought the package of games that it came in for my brother and me so we'd stay out of their hair while they wrapped presents at Christmas. Thank you for jogging my memories.Jenn Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16778914341305736291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31721153291328928552016-01-03T03:53:36.783-05:002016-01-03T03:53:36.783-05:00That's correct. It looks like it was written i...That's correct. It looks like it was written in Pascal, some of the code is even readable in the game files. Alas, no author name anywhere.Zardasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74965089847873428492016-01-02T16:29:59.144-05:002016-01-02T16:29:59.144-05:00Borland may be referring to the compiler the game ...Borland may be referring to the compiler the game was created it with - Borland Delphi or turbo pascal, perhaps?SilverAlexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10872331142442337005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91575282835125242572015-11-15T15:25:18.682-05:002015-11-15T15:25:18.682-05:00Huh. I can't believe I didn't think of tha...Huh. I can't believe I didn't think of that. You might have given me a lead. The main game executable says "Copyright 1985 Borland Inc." I don't remember seeing Borland associated with the game anywhere else. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61129857640930864412015-10-31T11:28:23.631-04:002015-10-31T11:28:23.631-04:00Have you tried a HEX editor searching the binaries...Have you tried a HEX editor searching the binaries for text clues of the programmer's name?trduffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10428066158873797999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85155656292240438462014-01-17T15:20:14.174-05:002014-01-17T15:20:14.174-05:00I just looked it up. The typo is the game's. (...I just looked it up. The typo is the game's. (As you can see from the shots above, typos are nothing new in this game.) It also has "Muchohelio" for a lot of ice. But it was still my fault for not noticing the poor Spanish.<br /><br />Every once in a while, I think on this game. It irks me that we can't seem to find out who programmed it. I consider it one of the great mysteries of CRPG history.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43587688497699806362014-01-16T16:09:19.265-05:002014-01-16T16:09:19.265-05:00I suppose it is a typo but "helio" is no...I suppose it is a typo but "helio" is not ice, it is helium. "Hielo" is ice.<br /><br />Be careful with your spanish because you have at least one spanish reader! ;-)Laertesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47253897875794575442010-09-19T01:57:19.089-04:002010-09-19T01:57:19.089-04:00Jack, thanks for your comments and I apologize I d...Jack, thanks for your comments and I apologize I didn't read them before the subsequent blog postings automatically published. Your description of the fear associated with taking a low-level character into the deep dungeon resonates well with me.<br /><br />I fixed the errors where I could find them and posted an addendum.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-48641715422011170722010-09-16T12:15:31.207-04:002010-09-16T12:15:31.207-04:00You do have to forgive this game's graphical s...You do have to forgive this game's graphical shortcomings. Even back in the late 80s, games were made by teams of people. Swords Of Glass has all the look and feel of a game made by a single person that was uploaded to a bulletin board system. Keypunch had a tendancy to swipe such games and release them for money. Probably why they removed the credits. I also know that Keypunch closed it's doors back in the day because it owed money. Don't know any more than that, but it's not hard to speculate. <br /><br />Don't forget that the "multiplayer mode" is also designed to used for single-player as well. Take two characters to the dungeon, go to utilities, select "formation on" using zero as the delay. The 2nd character will turn or go forward in perfect synch with the 1st character. That way you can have a magician follow a warrior around. It's still not very practical because the experience gained is divided among the two characters. <br /><br />Also, this game is NOT a perminant death game. But, you do have to work to get your character back. When a char dies, go to the temple with a different character. You can buy a potion to revive the dead character. The downside is you have to go to the exact spot where that character died. You'll see a big tombstone when you get to that spot. If you wait too long, the dead character will indeed become dead forever. But, it won't tell you that until you try to revive him. Hurry! ;)<br /><br />To this day, I can still remember when my main character died and I took a low-level character down deep into the dungeon to revive him. It was.. actually kinda scary at the time. I've played more RPGs than I can remember and this is the one experience that always stands out in my mind. Today, though, it's not such a heart-pounding experience because I know what I did that caused that low-lev character to survive and can duplicate it if needed. Also, after being revived, my main char went on to eventually become level 50+. <br /><br />Still, this makes it practical to not keep all your gold on your main character. If you do so and your main character dies, then there goes your gold as well. <br /><br />Also, notice how some of the hallways have lines on the walls? You can see those lines even on some of the screenshots here. Ever wonder where you'll wind up if you follow those lines? ;)<br /><br />Been playing this game since the late 80s and always seem to come back to it.Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00075709214618738050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52328873982328086462010-09-15T20:45:58.900-04:002010-09-15T20:45:58.900-04:00Skavenhorde, you have to forgive the game a little...Skavenhorde, you have to forgive the game a little. You remember what it was like back then. For every major commercial release that had people raving, there were half a dozen games written by amateurs that might qualify for "freeware" status today.<br /><br />Ethan, I didn't get much of a chance to explore the multiplayer, but no, you can't attack your companion and yes, the chalk marks unfortunately make only an X.<br /><br />There's actually a bit of liability with multiplayer because when you're in multiplayer mode, an action taken by either player counts as a "round" for both. So relative to each characters, monsters attack twice as often and move twice as fast as single-player mode. This is balanced, obviously, by the fact that you have a partner to help you wallop the monsters.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61917949884159016752010-09-15T15:10:06.601-04:002010-09-15T15:10:06.601-04:00Bloodwych on the c64, pc and Amiga had the co-op m...Bloodwych on the c64, pc and Amiga had the co-op mode / split screen but that came out much later.Acrin1https://www.blogger.com/profile/02424198775294748644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14933335257553795782010-09-15T14:41:12.451-04:002010-09-15T14:41:12.451-04:00Great post. Probably not a stellar game, but seems...Great post. Probably not a stellar game, but seems to have charm (and again that shows through in your writing). There are some neat features and quirks in there it seems. The co-op mode seems just.. kind of mindblowing, actually, like with Zyll, I'm really interested in how that would work out.<br /><br />--EinoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-32617986147705322312010-09-15T13:14:06.012-04:002010-09-15T13:14:06.012-04:00After searching around a bit I noticed something o...After searching around a bit I noticed something odd. Starflight and Ultima III/IV were definitely not CGA, but at this time I was playing the commodore 64 which by all accounts kicked Dos's butt because it had COLOR and sound :) I got into PC gaming in 1987 - 1988 I believe. Right when EGA was taking over so I missed all those wonderfully horrid CGA graphics.<br /><br />Anyways, have fun with this one. Maybe it's a hidden gem that just never was released correctly. Although they did strip the credits so that doesn't bode well for this game. Methinks they didn't want to be assoiciated with it ;)skavenhordenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36004926468849685922010-09-15T13:00:23.040-04:002010-09-15T13:00:23.040-04:00This came out....sorta....when Ultima IV and Starf...This came out....sorta....when Ultima IV and Starflight were released? Then there is no excuse that they should still be using CGA graphics. The coop mode is interesting for that day and age and if I had known about it my friend and I could have had a ton of fun playing it (Spy vs Spy gets old really quick).<br /><br />Hope you don't spend too much time on this one unless the narrative or features take a turn for the better.skavenhordenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-46074500054955902602010-09-15T09:01:06.239-04:002010-09-15T09:01:06.239-04:00I have to admit, that sounds pretty neat! I can ac...I have to admit, that sounds pretty neat! I can accept terrible graphics if a game has it under the hood.<br /><br />Some questions:<br />What are the battles like? Can you fight your fellow adventurer in Co-op? Is the only thing you can chalk on walls an "X", or can you do different symbols?King Lysandushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18010340842310779497noreply@blogger.com