tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post8706677484211569369..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Serpent Isle: Gotta Find that MuttonCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37252637441308281242023-11-07T13:15:26.526-05:002023-11-07T13:15:26.526-05:00I'm lookkng forward to the next 8 months of en...I'm lookkng forward to the next 8 months of entries from this point!Zack Macomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18077050078436768492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-33804953082029290412023-08-14T09:57:25.477-04:002023-08-14T09:57:25.477-04:00Update on trying to avoid the Knight's Test.
...Update on trying to avoid the Knight's Test. <br /><br />So I did Moonshade first and my Avatar was level 7. I didn't do any extra grinding and I even skipped half of Furnace (didn't do the Test and left by Serpent Gate to Monitor), but apparently Moonshade part of the game gives way too much experience points. <br /><br />The fun part is that I can cast high level spells, like level 7 Vibrate. I guess it's a good opportunity to cast it on every character, before their proper plot triggers, and see what is available for the player.<br /><br />I cast it on Simon the Innkeeper... and nothing. His inventory is empty. I reload and kill him. The same. But when you do it inside the inn, he will drop the inn key. But if he is outside of the inn, his inventory is empty. <br /><br />The chest in his room is indestructible, I try weapons and explosion, nothing works. <br /><br />The goblin camp in the forest near Fawn doesn't have the Fawnish Ale, which betrays Simon's true identity.<br /><br />So it seems for Simon to have necessary plot items in his inventory (and also for the Fawnish Ale to appear in the goblin forest camp), you must do the Knight's Test.<br /><br />Vibrate works on Shmed and he drops the Knight's Test key, so you can do the Test with all of your companions in the party. Which is kinda an alternative solution for a distrustful Avatar.<br /><br />But everything else in the Test is the same, Shmed will even come at the end and expresses his surprise that you still live and tries to kill you. So otherwise the plot triggers work exactly the same.<br /><br />If you kill him before the Test, then the final door will open on it's own but outside the dungeon, you will see a half-spawned Shmed coming out from the ground, frozen in permanent broken code, beside his own corpse.<br /><br />Also, I visited the Dream Realm before the Knight's Test and Cantra's dream is exactly the same. I guess the dream is vague enough that a player could just think "damn, this girl is haunted"... but I think the designers meant for the player to experience Cantra's dream after her kidnapping.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05221709065580128004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35337942067271190062023-07-06T01:17:17.429-04:002023-07-06T01:17:17.429-04:00It's still always fun to push the envelope on ...It's still always fun to push the envelope on how "open world" an open-world game truly is.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-53815110014609030562023-07-04T17:00:00.245-04:002023-07-04T17:00:00.245-04:00I'm already in Moonshade. No Knight's Test...I'm already in Moonshade. No Knight's Test needed for Bull Tower. They just want the gold bars. :)<br /><br />I wasn't even thinking that gender has anything to do with Spektor releasing Iolo for a fine. It's just I've never thought of trying it before. <br /><br />I am trying to postpone the Knight's Test as long as possible... but I think as they say in Spider-Verse, it's a canon event. Cantra getting kidnapped is connected with that quest. <br /><br />Spektor releasing Iolo for a fine is an intended alternative, but I suspect, that even if I find a way to not do the Knight's Test and progress past Gorlab Swamp, it wasn't intended like that.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05221709065580128004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27606584583352920722023-07-04T15:24:59.505-04:002023-07-04T15:24:59.505-04:00You can pay the fine to Spektor regardless of the ...You can pay the fine to Spektor regardless of the Avatar's gender. Certain NPCs won't talk to you until you've done the Knight's Test, so that may block you from getting the key to the goblin dungeon; it will certainly prevent you from dealing with the tower guards at the Sleeping Bull, which you need t oget to Moonshade.Radianthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03866535042372152723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-62555670420011833082023-07-04T14:49:27.086-04:002023-07-04T14:49:27.086-04:00That's cool. I wonder if you can avoid taking ...That's cool. I wonder if you can avoid taking the test completely. I'm not sure from my own notes if anything prevents you from going through the goblin dungeons and getting the Helm of Monitor without having take the knight's test.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73106852416665559522023-07-04T06:46:58.516-04:002023-07-04T06:46:58.516-04:00After months of reading you playing Serpent Isle, ...After months of reading you playing Serpent Isle, I finally succumbed to the temptation and started playing it again. <br /><br />I'm playing a female Avatar. It seems there is a different way of freeing Iolo. I refused to take the Knight's Test. And when I spoke with Lord Spektor, and he gave me the option of paying Iolo's fine (30 monetari) and Iolo was free. <br /><br />After picking Iolo up from the jail, we left Monitor and went to Sleeping Bull.<br /><br />All the Gwenno related information points at Moonshade and Monk Isle, so it feels appropriate for Avatar not to get too interested in local politics just yet.Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05221709065580128004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30928239113734810312023-04-01T05:47:19.332-04:002023-04-01T05:47:19.332-04:00I kind of took the cities to represent anti-virtue...I kind of took the cities to represent anti-virtues. Moonshade = opposite of Moonglow - so Moonshade seems the opposite of truth/honesty, though even Moonglow's mages rely on deception as I suppose most magic would (to some degree). They imprison political prisoners in a mountain to starve to death. Moonshade is cowardice. Or in Ultima-ese, perhaps Destardice, or something destardly like that.<br /><br />Fawn is the opposite of truth - the city of beauty (beauty = truth) told lies about Dupre which led to some trouble.<br /><br />Monitor, city of courage, seems to be about hatred as the Bears, Leopards, and Wolves all seem to hate each other.<br /><br />But that's just one interpretation. I think they took the cities and anti-virtues and mixed them up, as every city has some mixture of hate (Monitorians hate goblins, Moonshade hates everyone), deception (Moonshade and Monitor), and cowardice (Monitor is xenophobic, Fawn is terrified of it's own rulers).<br /><br />But that's too simplistic. You're not in Brittania anymore.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91703159663253992922023-04-01T05:10:41.313-04:002023-04-01T05:10:41.313-04:00Why couldn't they just make a character that l...Why couldn't they just make a character that looks the same but isn't actually, say, Batlin?judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50725240316253445912023-02-17T19:09:56.416-05:002023-02-17T19:09:56.416-05:00Well, since we're splitting hairs, technically...Well, since we're splitting hairs, technically speaking it wouldn't strike the same 'place' if it hit the Avatar again, just the same person who is moving around and very likely not in the spot where he (or she) was hit the first time... and I doubt the Avatar is supposed to be one of the tallest and/or most conductive 'structures' in that world.<br /><br />But since this is all fiction and magic anyway, as author you could have lightning strike wherever and whenever it suits you.Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43943114658096735132023-02-17T12:52:46.233-05:002023-02-17T12:52:46.233-05:00I don't mind the amount of text as such but it...I don't mind the amount of text as such but it's sure hard to summarize in blog postings. Plus, NPCs have a way of going on and on when there's urgent business at hand. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-60021256574790767472023-02-17T12:51:55.059-05:002023-02-17T12:51:55.059-05:00It was probably also meant to a) explain how the A...It was probably also meant to a) explain how the Avatar could adventure for years in Britannia, then somehow return to a normal life back on Earth; b) make more explicit the vaguely Narnian nature of Britannia.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-71580113316673192822023-02-17T12:25:25.698-05:002023-02-17T12:25:25.698-05:00Yes, but we're not dealing with real lightning...Yes, but we're not dealing with real lightning here. We're dealing with lightning designed by imperfect humans in the pre-Internet era who probably believed that lightning never strikes the same place twice.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74925493061851127192023-02-17T05:47:14.653-05:002023-02-17T05:47:14.653-05:00I have been loving U4-U7 since the dawn of time (a...I have been loving U4-U7 since the dawn of time (aka the 80's), and am really enjoying reading you playing these games.<br />Regarding U7:SI, I think there are so many bits and pieces missing that to this day I think it is a tremendously big achievement that they were able to ship a complete game.<br />Today, this would have a day 1 patch that basically turns the whole game upside down.<br />It is a shame that the source code for both games got lost.<br />Our Ultima Dragon community still would love to get our claws into that and *fix* the game. <br />The Exult project is doing an awesome job on this with the possibilities that they have.<br />Still, it has a big place in my heart.Clarcohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17488871871166757469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20232255186184125112023-02-14T14:18:51.826-05:002023-02-14T14:18:51.826-05:00It's not a big deal in VI, but it having been ...It's not a big deal in VI, but it having been generations since the Avatar was last in Britannia is a huge plot point in VII. You're constantly meeting people who don't believe the Avatar exists (anymore) and the Fellowship grew into the space left by a loss of belief in the Virtues.stepped pyramidsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64199115955937468792023-02-14T14:11:49.627-05:002023-02-14T14:11:49.627-05:00It's true that the two Bear trainers increase ...It's true that the two Bear trainers increase Strength and the two Wolf trainers increase Dexterity, but there's no Leopard trainer. In fact, there's no Intelligence trainer at all in the base game. (But the Avatar starts off with very high Intelligence anyway.)stepped pyramidsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49418252757240872022023-02-14T08:06:41.147-05:002023-02-14T08:06:41.147-05:00I remember having been seriously hyped up about th...I remember having been seriously hyped up about the game for YEARS when it came out. That turned into disappointment over a miserable week playing the game as it first came out. Never got much beyond the first (earth) questline / dungeon crawl.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86661332612082228092023-02-14T08:02:54.345-05:002023-02-14T08:02:54.345-05:00DRAXINUSOM: "Wait, what? You didn't even ...DRAXINUSOM: "Wait, what? You didn't even disembowel anyone over the thing that destroyed our homeworld? Your lack of Passion and Diligence disgusts me! Time to remedy that!"Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35389140250850664302023-02-14T07:59:45.821-05:002023-02-14T07:59:45.821-05:00The three groups make a lot of sense from a crunch...The three groups make a lot of sense from a crunchy game design standpoint: Monitor is where you can train and increase your attributes. Therefore, there must be options available for all three main attributes.Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34712638787374627512023-02-13T11:51:26.369-05:002023-02-13T11:51:26.369-05:00I'm the one who comes by with the obligatory p...I'm the one who comes by with the obligatory pointing out that lightning often strikes the same place repeatedly, because it discharges along the path of least resistance, which is generally a tall conductive structure, i.e a lightning rod.<br /><br />You are collectively welcome.<br /> Iffy Bonzooliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519858732154180575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-2323071048410114352023-02-13T10:05:35.919-05:002023-02-13T10:05:35.919-05:00Playing this right now. The amount of text irritat...Playing this right now. The amount of text irritates me a lot because a lot of it is reiterative and superfluous. The Silver Seed puzzles are also very irritating. It all feels very gamey. I am not the biggest fan of Black Gate, but that game felt way more alive and less artificial. Risingson Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915480026187953569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5628715574972418862023-02-13T07:42:03.116-05:002023-02-13T07:42:03.116-05:00I always found the whole "Time works differen...I always found the whole "Time works differently in Britannia" thing to be extremely odd. What's the point of this conceit that decades or centuries pass in Britannia? You still meet all the same companions and NPCs every time, and the world itself only changes in plot-time. You don't show up in VI to find that a cathedral started in V is finally completed, or that the children you met in IV are great-grandparents now. The "time is different" aspect seems to mean little more than "This world's year is only about six weeks long"Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09703211229982182936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63896187986163296182023-02-13T06:10:04.220-05:002023-02-13T06:10:04.220-05:00Lightning switching items still happens throughout...Lightning switching items still happens throughout the game, it just doesn't hit the Avatar and party anymore. Which is reasonably realistic as the saying goes that "lightning never strikes twice on the same place"Pedro Q.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03572150497835442981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35588567172051341212023-02-11T23:40:32.282-05:002023-02-11T23:40:32.282-05:00If you replace "King George III" with &q...If you replace "King George III" with "the King of England", and assume that the US and Britain had no contact between independence and an emissary of the King showing up at your doorstep, it feels less odd.<br /><br />The people of Serpent Isle don't necessarily assume that it is the same Lord British (unless I'm forgetting something later), but they might well be assuming it is his many-great-grandson seeking to secure what the original LB lost.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13027644093380186552023-02-11T22:19:38.577-05:002023-02-11T22:19:38.577-05:00U7 engine is kind of what you get when the develop...U7 engine is kind of what you get when the developers have overdosed on simulationism. There is exactly one instance of every NPC in the world, and they all already exist at the start of the game. They can't be created or destroyed. So everybody you encounter in the Black Gate endgame is just sitting there patiently in the gate chamber (the Batlin you find there is different from the Batlin in Britain) until you trigger their dialogue by entering the room. When you kill an NPC they're teleported away to a limbo area on the map and replaced with a corpse object. Lots of weird stuff like that.stepped pyramidsnoreply@blogger.com