tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post8067951373157365047..comments2024-03-19T05:42:08.863-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 189: Eye of the Beholder (1991)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33993313931128789322023-03-31T17:04:56.279-04:002023-03-31T17:04:56.279-04:00as previously mentioned:
i never really "fel...as previously mentioned:<br /><br />i never really "fell into" the crpg genre the way i fell into the adventure game genre.<br /><br />but this particular game, with it's beautiful sprite work, is one of the few then-modern games i did toy with a little bit more than some of the other rpg's that i'd tried along the way.<br /><br />it still wasn't my cup of tea, but westwood - here - are still making VERY beautiful sprite-based games/pixel-based games.<br /><br />i think their brand of storytelling ended up working best in their non-rpg's: cf: legend of kyrandia 1/2/3 [but even those have basically pretty eh stories. i will say that the framing device of having malcolm come back in 3 to clear his name is REAL interesting, even if the game that he's the protagonist in is...wonky. at best.]<br /><br />this is likely true of command and conquer, too. though that gets somewhat goofy very quickly.<br /><br />[and, of course, ea buy them up and kill them and that doesn't help, long term.]lostwolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697299839262994456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11971291925531338742022-10-11T04:57:53.691-04:002022-10-11T04:57:53.691-04:00It is really an impressive achievement, considerin...It is really an impressive achievement, considering they did not have access to the source code and had to rely entirely on reverse engineering! Igornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-81120800136640036412022-10-08T09:01:28.453-04:002022-10-08T09:01:28.453-04:00Some madman went and ported Eye of the Beholder to...Some madman went and ported Eye of the Beholder to the Commodore 64. I don't mean some crippled copy, every single thing is there. Even the intro sequence, which is like a demo. It's even been improved in some spots, such as adding an auto-map. Even dual monitor support, so you can play the game on one and keep an eye on the map on the other. The project took 16 years to complete. No, not on an enhanced C-128, no a stock C-64. A single Megahertz and 0.064MB RAM. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2IWyzAVVBQ" rel="nofollow">Check out this review, it's fantastic.</a>Harlandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5602319326626584862017-05-24T17:20:20.573-04:002017-05-24T17:20:20.573-04:00Eye of the Beholder. I think this was the first CR...Eye of the Beholder. I think this was the first CRPG I ever played, back in 2010. All I remember was playing for about an hour, getting stuck because I couldn't figure out how to open the first door, then getting killed because I didn't know how to attack. At the time, my main RPG experience was Pokemon, so that explains the extreme ineptitude I displayed.Twibathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11872080022551062309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10179245015921694932016-12-26T05:48:50.516-05:002016-12-26T05:48:50.516-05:00Me too. The first time I played EoB I didn't r...Me too. The first time I played EoB I didn't realise the trick, and my parties got hammered at the lower levels despite my kiddie practice of maxing all my characters with the modify function. Years later, after realising the trick it felt like a cheese to use it, so I usually didn't.<br /><br />A lot of games have an exploitable engine and sometimes it's hard to tell whether the exploit was intended or not. It generates a bit of is-this-the-genuine-experience angst for me at times!<br /><br />Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-32473658248316957792016-12-26T02:05:04.630-05:002016-12-26T02:05:04.630-05:00By reading Tristan's comment, I feel like I ha...By reading Tristan's comment, I feel like I have a confession to make, though I noticed this way before in the Dungeon Master posts. I'm very ashamed to admit that it never ever occurred to me to use the engine of these types of crpg's to win combats. EOTB was my first real-time blobber, and I always played it like Wizardry, making a stand in every combat. I made it down to level 6 or 7 before finally giving up. Even later when playing Lands of Lore I made the same mistake. Well, I have a whole lot of crpg's to play again sometime.fireballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01094871771537115267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8954630607752863272016-05-22T23:36:12.953-04:002016-05-22T23:36:12.953-04:00The walls at the salt mine I visited in Poland see...The walls at the salt mine I visited in Poland seemed quite thick, so I'm going to the 10 foot thick side of things. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59334907218222784852016-05-22T23:31:30.752-04:002016-05-22T23:31:30.752-04:00Oh man, by the Ys composer? Ys has some of the bes...Oh man, by the Ys composer? Ys has some of the best game music I've ever heard.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36802364159554512492016-05-22T23:27:07.662-04:002016-05-22T23:27:07.662-04:00In this game, Chet's joke aside, I don't t...In this game, Chet's joke aside, I don't think you are exploring the sewers: I think you are exploring The Undermountain. Waterdeep is built on the foothills of a mountain, by the sea. Kind of like Vancouver. <br /><br />I forget the start of it, but over the years an underground complex was started. A previous ruler of Waterdeep, The Mad Archmage, Halastar Blackcloak used his magic and summoned creatures to greatly expand the existing ruins there, and eventually abandoned the city to live there. He also connected it to a series of caves that run under the entire world (The Underdark) and all sorts of other planes and worlds. So I suspect you are exploring the caves and passages in the undermountain, rather then the sewers. (The sewers connect to the undermountain, but don't flow into it.)Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-44388811654392047892016-05-22T22:42:42.030-04:002016-05-22T22:42:42.030-04:00I don't see why story has to be tied to epic. ...I don't see why story has to be tied to epic. I'd love for RPGs to do more small, local stories. Baldur's Gate went epic later on, but at the start is is just a quest to find out who you are, and to help with an IRON SHORTAGE. Not save the world, not stop an army, help restore trade and stop an iron shortage. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22868765762053224002016-05-22T22:07:03.151-04:002016-05-22T22:07:03.151-04:00As I understand it, training halls have long been ...As I understand it, training halls have long been an optional rule in D&D. By second edition they were not needed, I'm not sure about first. <br /><br />As to the taking damage from weak monsters: That was because other D&D games, including the tabletop ones, abstract out the dodging. This one makes you do it yourself. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59377883119522982672015-06-09T06:14:01.842-04:002015-06-09T06:14:01.842-04:00Hi !
EoB 1 was the first cRPG I played - which mad...Hi !<br />EoB 1 was the first cRPG I played - which made me fell in love with the genre in general.<br />It also spoiled me a bit as the graphics are much better than many games that followed it.<br />I like EoB 2 even better as the dungeon makes more sense - you revisit some areas and discover new things ...<br />I just use the save/load mechanism supplied by the game - so I don't care for the mentioned points.<br /><br />EoB 3 is for my a big step backwards. The graphics are ugly - the well-known faces you imported from 1 and 2 just look awful ...<br />And the game is just to hard. I had a fully equipped party from EoB 2 but I could not leave the starting level without being killed ...<br />So I never got any further than lvl 1 with EoB3 ...<br /><br />FerdinandAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10057343575861893832015-06-05T22:30:54.389-04:002015-06-05T22:30:54.389-04:00The Addict's explained before that he finds th...The Addict's explained before that he finds the Amiga emulator a nightmare to configure, so he plays Amiga versions only if they're the only version available or all the other ones are unplayably broken.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-47133467924921613472015-06-05T22:00:08.002-04:002015-06-05T22:00:08.002-04:00It seems to weird to reject the Amiga versions out...It seems to weird to reject the Amiga versions outright, though you're pretty much already past the time window where it's worth selecting that platform.jrodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06567198770927408479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14925346649031211562015-06-05T21:58:44.429-04:002015-06-05T21:58:44.429-04:00Wizardry 4 was a deliberate "okay 2 and 3 wer...Wizardry 4 was a deliberate "okay 2 and 3 were too easy for all of you? We can fix that."<br />jrodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06567198770927408479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15539956114890343432015-06-05T21:52:41.992-04:002015-06-05T21:52:41.992-04:00Gameplay elements are concepts. There are no inte...Gameplay elements are concepts. There are no intellectual property laws that allow people to lock down general concepts like that, and it would make us all *much* poorer if it was.<br /><br />The closest thing is a trade secret, which is a thing that you've figured out and gives you an advantage as a business and you are choosing to tell no one about. Obviously game mechanics do not qualify.<br /><br />Specific implementations of game mechanics can be protected. It might be possible to patent such things, but this is generally considered more harmful than helpful.<br /><br />Making similar game mechanics is a time-honored tradition -- cloning and improving upon a baseline, and it should be celebrated. If you tread too close to a litigous company, they may make you sorry for what you've done, but the law does not offer any fundamental protection against your competitors making *similar* games.jrodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06567198770927408479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36492347612808860552015-05-30T22:02:07.041-04:002015-05-30T22:02:07.041-04:00Aww, man you're right. It did have an automap....Aww, man you're right. It did have an automap. Who would make a GBA game without an automap? I remember I had a game that expected me to carry around graph paper with me for some dungeon crawler on that thing, and it seemed kind of ridiculous, but I was in math class so it didn't bother me. As for the "serious trouble", you might count me failing the class as that, but I was sneaky enough to play gameboy in class in high school.UncertaintyLichnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-23018799553039060542015-05-30T19:59:08.112-04:002015-05-30T19:59:08.112-04:00Wait, you convinced your teacher you were doing wo...Wait, you convinced your teacher you were doing work while using the automap in the GBA EotB? You must have been REALLY good at that. And considering I was old enough to have a separate math class, but young enough to still get in serious trouble for cutting school when this came out on GBA, I can't decide if you just made me feel really old, or really young.EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52367832656148159102015-05-30T19:40:37.319-04:002015-05-30T19:40:37.319-04:00I guess I'm the only one young enough to have ...I guess I'm the only one young enough to have played this on a Gameboy first. I have fond memories of mapping the dungeons in math class with the teacher thinking I was doing work XDUncertaintyLichnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91826751404939666862015-05-30T15:47:21.322-04:002015-05-30T15:47:21.322-04:00There's plenty of food for the first five or s...There's plenty of food for the first five or six floors, so casting Create Food seems like an annoyance that doesn't really add any resource management to the game- so why was it included? The Gold Box games show that TSR didn't insist on every single mechanic from D&D being represented in every computer implementation of D&D rules (and they did just fine without hunger mechanics. Why not at least give you an option to autocast Create Food when resting, like Cure Wounds spells?)EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-81577693191605058172015-05-30T15:35:18.359-04:002015-05-30T15:35:18.359-04:00"Create Food and Water" works so well th..."Create Food and Water" works so well that it basically renders the entire food system moot. I figured when I cast it, it would edge up everyone's hunger bar slightly. It entirely replenished it!CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75220421138916649042015-05-29T18:21:46.858-04:002015-05-29T18:21:46.858-04:00The manual also notes that you can't replenish...The manual also notes that you can't replenish spells while starving- so it's probably a good idea to keep either a Create Food and Water spell ready or have a few rations (if not both.) This seems like more of a problem than losing 1 HP/24 hours.EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16332594862119972352015-05-28T02:15:59.343-04:002015-05-28T02:15:59.343-04:00I'm not an engineer, but I suspect underground...I'm not an engineer, but I suspect underground walls should be thick, the corridors narrow and the ceilings arched or heavily supported by beams or pillars so they don't collapse under the hundreds of tons of rock and dirt above them. Those flat, brick ceilings look like they'd cave in instantly...Vicarionnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18682237204291503242015-05-28T00:10:23.530-04:002015-05-28T00:10:23.530-04:00Gelatinous Cubes would obviously be slower, due to...Gelatinous Cubes would obviously be slower, due to the additional friction. As for the walls, how's "thick enough to be impenetrable, not thick enough to take up an entire dungeon space?"EriChanTheRetroGamerNerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862547154849146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10793569555623490912015-05-27T22:26:00.780-04:002015-05-27T22:26:00.780-04:00You don't need to ROT13 an adventure game that...You don't need to ROT13 an adventure game that Chet will not be playing, OHRG.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.com