tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post7320655165743389078..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: The Two Towers: A Decent Percentage of Those Who Wander Are, in Fact, LostCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-81431259982320098082019-03-07T10:13:07.151-05:002019-03-07T10:13:07.151-05:00It's perfect, isn't it? You can just see t...It's perfect, isn't it? You can just see the scene!<br /><br />And Yeah, I'm a sucker for multi-level humor... I even do "multi-LANGUAGE" humor, where you have to know the 2 languages and even need additional context. Makes it Very hard to explain to someone why you chuckled, sometimes...<br />Modrannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-66104197248329403442019-03-03T10:04:25.358-05:002019-03-03T10:04:25.358-05:00Sorry for off topic comment, but did Chester once ...Sorry for off topic comment, but did Chester once do a post where - for fun - he went through a list of games that while definitely not CRPG's still fit the blogs ruleset to qualify one? I'm sure I remember reading one once, but can't find it in the archives.BobbleDognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34008906626979438252019-03-01T14:37:06.889-05:002019-03-01T14:37:06.889-05:00Ah, yes, Tangled Tales. The only RPG to feature th...Ah, yes, <i>Tangled Tales</i>. The only RPG to feature the classic dialogue, "Yo, blood. I be a changed dude."CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-68255629391911821192019-03-01T14:34:31.580-05:002019-03-01T14:34:31.580-05:00Ba-DUM-bum.Ba-DUM-bum.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61516307199102682792019-03-01T14:33:52.870-05:002019-03-01T14:33:52.870-05:00As much as I don't like the constant yanking b...As much as I don't like the constant yanking back and forth, I think it would have been even worse if the game had featured one complete adventure, then another. Probably the thing to do would have been to jettison all but one thread entirely. Only the Aragorn/Gimli/Legolas group really makes any sense in a classic RPG sense anyway. The hobbits could have been NPCs.<br /><br />Jakub, you offer some good alternatives. This game hasn't had cut scenes at all so far.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-78391691943466904052019-03-01T14:29:36.735-05:002019-03-01T14:29:36.735-05:00Oh, God. Their version of "I'll Never Tel...Oh, God. Their version of "I'll Never Tell" is the best thing I've heard in years.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-67921268223220016742019-03-01T14:27:06.370-05:002019-03-01T14:27:06.370-05:00This is some multi-leveled humor. To enjoy it, you...This is some multi-leveled humor. To enjoy it, you have to know <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> AND <i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> AND be familiar with the plot, music, and lyrics in that specific episode. But if all those things are true, then it really does pay off.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15422705842436480732019-03-01T05:24:59.448-05:002019-03-01T05:24:59.448-05:00Replying to myself: Oh yes it's good...
I real...Replying to myself: Oh yes it's good...<br />I really laughed with this omwh thing XDModrannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80866668950170974742019-02-28T14:34:44.414-05:002019-02-28T14:34:44.414-05:00As another interesting point of party banter, Star...As another interesting point of party banter, Star Ocean: The Second Story, allowed your party to enter a town and then split up. This allowed the main character to talk to party members individually to get to know them better. You only had control of the main character though, and this was only an option for towns. Like most JRPGs, during scripted dialogue characters would speak up on their own, but that's not as interesting.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22679344280266707762019-02-28T04:49:42.715-05:002019-02-28T04:49:42.715-05:00I don't think it's the switching back-and-...I don't think it's the switching back-and-forth that's the problem as such, though. It's more about the... hmm... rude manner in which the game does it. More control over the process would have been good.<br /><br />I can think of a few ways this could have been done. One would be to give the player total control: add a "switch parties" button. For Frodo's and Aragorn's groups, this could work essentially any time, since there's no need to coordinate these time-wise. For Aragorn and Merry, it may be necessary to add certain blocks in the world - geographic choke-points (e.g. the path to Edoras, the path to Isengard, etc.) where you are told you cannot proceed this way until you've advanced further with the other party. So, the plot still enforces certain limitations, but you get full control.<br /><br />Another way would be to use the present system, but make it gentler. For example, suppose that the game would first deploy a prompt: "It is time to see what Frodo and Sam are up to. Are you ready? Y/N". The player could decline, but a minute or two later, he'd be told that soon he will be switched automatically, but he can also switch straight away if he's ready. Finally, another minute or two later, the switch goes through the way it currently does. Doing it this way would at least make the player more aware of the coming switch, and they'd have time to get used to it (though I think this concept is probably least useful - it's nowhere near as good as player-controlled switching, and doesn't add that much to the present system).<br /><br />And finally, simplest of all, you could stick with the present system, but add a text window before the transition. The thing that's "rudest" about the present system is that here you are, about to do something, and suddenly, no warning - bam, here's Frodo and Sam. If you instead first had a text window with your current party still visible underneath, telling you, for example, that you settle in for the night, blah, blah, blah, and meanwhile, it's time to see what Frodo is up to, then the switch over to the other party wouldn't be so shocking. In theory, this is what the book-style windows are supposed to be doing, but they fail, because they suddenly switch you to a different screen - it's just very jarring - and because they don't do ewnough to wrap up your present party's situation (IIRC, usually they don't say a word at all).<br /><br />Or... you know, cutscenes. Like, is it me, or does The Two Towers feature fewer cutscenes than Vol. 1 did? Cutscenes would be much better for transitions. But, as I commented under the previous entry for Vol. 2, this is a game that struggles to make up its mind if it wants to be a fully-blown CRPG, relying on graphics, or a sort of digitised tabletop RPG, where the emphasis is placed on the DM telling you the story in second-person dialogue boxes. It's very interesting to compare this one with Origin's Ultima VI. Very similar games in many ways, and yet... so utterly different.Jakub Majewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04346544936010598248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-48850682373056966932019-02-28T01:58:03.900-05:002019-02-28T01:58:03.900-05:00Tangled Tales had characters in your party say thi...Tangled Tales had characters in your party say things relevant to where you were or what you were doing. And having the right character in the party at the right time was the solution to many puzzles.Iffy Bonzooliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519858732154180575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43990300518775822982019-02-28T01:45:50.897-05:002019-02-28T01:45:50.897-05:00The novel also switches between Aragorn & Co. ...The novel also switches between Aragorn & Co. and Merry+Pip, though.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16594966196618648451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74804674659856968442019-02-27T11:47:11.617-05:002019-02-27T11:47:11.617-05:00Albion had quite a bit of it, but yes that's t...Albion had quite a bit of it, but yes that's the only other game I remember from the early period doing this. There was a bit in Lands of Lore, but not much.<br />Not that story-driven RPG with multiple characters was that common.Narwhal, the Wargaming Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808952600298482923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86492406238955325622019-02-27T03:08:32.133-05:002019-02-27T03:08:32.133-05:00Also, party members actively participating in the ...Also, party members actively participating in the main story and dialogue (another point raised in the post) is something that is more of a staple in console JRPGs than in early CRPGs,mostly because it require party members to be well defined and the party composition predictable,I think.<br /><br />Of the early CRPGs I played that featured it, aside from Krondor, where it is prominent, I can think of Ultima 7 P2, and little else. Any other that comes to mind?<br /><br />Of course, party interaction would later become a prominent feature in Bioware games, especially from KOTOR onwards.<br /><br />Vincenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31027173071610373782019-02-27T02:57:40.977-05:002019-02-27T02:57:40.977-05:00Although this game keeps switching between parties...Although this game keeps switching between parties (as the movies will do, years later), the NOVEL was literally divided in two parts, one per tower: the first half told the adventures towards the tower of Orthanc; and the second half followed the Ringbearer going to the tower of Cirith Ungol. <br /><br />I think the game would have benefited from being more faithful to the book about this. <br /><br />I can easily think of a (console) role-playing game divided in long chapters, each one starring a different party, then joining up in the final one; and it worked extremely well! It is "Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen" (localized as "Dragon Warrior IV"). You would hate it, though.Abacoshttp://ww.strategywiki.org/wiki/User:Abacosnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24540295393031087562019-02-27T02:36:42.027-05:002019-02-27T02:36:42.027-05:00Tbh, I hated this about Betrayal. I hated a lot of...Tbh, I hated this about Betrayal. I hated a lot of that game's contrivances that were there simply to serve the story, making Betrayal one of those titles where I never got why so many people like them. I suspect the same would be true for these LotR games.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16594966196618648451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79056136876442303132019-02-26T18:24:47.278-05:002019-02-26T18:24:47.278-05:00The ent is called Twig-late, so of course it does ...The ent is called Twig-late, so of course it does not join the party any earlier.mitchhttps://www.cgarbs.de/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-12052312467332094872019-02-26T14:41:57.673-05:002019-02-26T14:41:57.673-05:00The best example of that story-driven party-switch...The best example of that story-driven party-switching mechanic is coming up soon in Betrayal at Krondor.<br /><br />There it's handled as a great way to keep challenges fresh, when for example you have build up a mage and gotten used to combat strategy using spells and then you get switched to a chapter with just 2 fighters, or vice versa. You also get to develop different characters, and then when you reunite with a favorite one after a while it feels so rewarding.<br /><br />The only downside, when playing it blind for the first time, is that you don't know which items will be useful where, and how/shen the party will split, so you can end in a situation where your mage was holding in his backpack a cool backup sword for your fighter, and then they get separated with the sword in the wrong inventory. Today, this would be simply fixed with a message to the player, like in the Witcher 3 : "You are approaching an important story turning point, save your game".<br /><br />Anyway, I think it's a cool idea, in general. I wonder if there are other good examples of games implementing this?Georgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801694109856585537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28670666019707198382019-02-26T09:32:14.258-05:002019-02-26T09:32:14.258-05:00I have no idea if that's any good, but followi...I have no idea if that's any good, but following your reply, i googled "Frodo the vampire slayer" and Lo and behold, here's what I found: http://www.omwh.com/Modrannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58319755956572867092019-02-26T08:15:18.576-05:002019-02-26T08:15:18.576-05:00Frodo The Vampire Slayer. Sounds good. Why did nob...Frodo The Vampire Slayer. Sounds good. Why did nobody ever do this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-46271958196955480972019-02-26T07:44:54.417-05:002019-02-26T07:44:54.417-05:00One of the more recent D&D rules had group che...One of the more recent D&D rules had group checks, in which only the majority of the party needs to pass a check to count for all of them. I could see something like that working quite well, as long as you don't try to map the dice results to characters 1:1Andreas Kaplanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627726032225417912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17041742114764127832019-02-26T05:32:16.378-05:002019-02-26T05:32:16.378-05:00He also stabbed the Witch-King at Weathertop, alth...He also stabbed the Witch-King at Weathertop, although that hurt him more than it did the wraith.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9817658371468195842019-02-26T04:21:58.591-05:002019-02-26T04:21:58.591-05:00I don't know if Frodo killed anyone but he did...I don't know if Frodo killed anyone but he did get in a good stab at the door in Moria. William Knowleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07075848234082280333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65734829242566888292019-02-26T04:09:04.189-05:002019-02-26T04:09:04.189-05:00I love how you write about that stuff.
Couldn'...I love how you write about that stuff.<br />Couldn't help but imagine an expanded version of LotR in which Frodo and Sam are joined by another hobbit, Chester, when they depart the shire.<br />Before long, though, the trio seperates, and while Frodo and Sam meet Merry and Pippin, venture to Elrond and later to Rohan, Gondor, Isengard and all those other places while handling their business with the One Ring, Chester heads out to systematically explore and map Eriador. Frodo and Sam would meet him again, too, on their way back to the Shire after Saurons defeat, before they find Saruman has taken over reigns back home. Maybe they could even run across him a third time, when Bilbo and Frodo depart from the Grey Havens. LotR would be even more of an epic than it already is. :) Emeskayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14838466890710543463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43643810906218652792019-02-25T23:12:32.654-05:002019-02-25T23:12:32.654-05:00I dislike the "everything unexplained is a Ma...I dislike the "everything unexplained is a Maia" answer the fandom's fond of. The concept of Maia wasn't even in Tolkien's published writings.Man of Stonenoreply@blogger.com