tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post1207710718889237622..comments2024-03-28T15:25:30.216-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 337: Treasures of the Savage Frontier (1992)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8509934344971443102023-06-28T10:51:22.606-04:002023-06-28T10:51:22.606-04:00I always have thought that savage frontier was in ...I always have thought that savage frontier was in a oriental desert setting before reading the lore of torilKitiaranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38255742011106194952022-07-06T12:06:35.970-04:002022-07-06T12:06:35.970-04:00Modern D&D has moved away from save or die and...Modern D&D has moved away from save or die and save or suck effects as what Pkdragon says it's an ideal, and typically takes both experienced players and a skilled DM, and when groups are often six friends who have never played before, you don't have any of that knowledge. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82682017795698329912022-07-06T11:59:50.478-04:002022-07-06T11:59:50.478-04:00The Architect: I use that explanation in my campai...The Architect: I use that explanation in my campaigns. Adventuring Wizards are like military combat engineers: you can throw up a bridge or dog a good trench line like nobody's business, but you probably don't have the skills to build an opera house. <br /><br />I think this is also going to be my explanation for why powerful wizards don't just solve problems themselves: being good at deep level spying and teleportation magic doesn't automatically make you fast enough at casting spells to avoid a knife in the ribs.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26057852778951570272019-09-06T14:05:11.167-04:002019-09-06T14:05:11.167-04:00Damn...speaking of drugs, Anonymous either needs t...Damn...speaking of drugs, Anonymous either needs to get on some good ones or off the crap s/he's on now. <br /><br />Dude done gone and killed the joy of exploring this site, something I thought impossible just moments ago. Your opinions, Chet, are both welcome and appreciated by the majority of us who wouldn't consider taking a dump in the toy isle at Target in protest of "societal norms".BlindedByTheDarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08368753397007718366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-87468616962628177072019-08-03T14:16:53.506-04:002019-08-03T14:16:53.506-04:00All right, last post, since someone asked.
I firs...All right, last post, since someone asked.<br /><br />I first saw it in RPG Codex. (I know, there's a lot of stuff on there that's offensive and I find frankly disturbing, but it remains the best source for goldbox information.) What it is, is that characters are saved in more or less the same format between Curse and Gateway, and Pools and Treasures, I'm guessing largely because they ported the engine to allow Stormfront Studios to make the games. So you remove your characters, copy the files to the appropriate directory, and add them back in to the other game.<br /><br />The thing is that (given the order the games were made in) items transfer reasonably well from Curse to Gateway, and from Pools to Treasures, but not vice versa. (Note that the 'reverse transfer' is actually the most enjoyable one for moving characters between games.) So I would avoid trying to transfer items unique to Gateway or Treasures (a lot of the named items you get later in Treasures fit the bill), as they get weird names as they have item vocabulary pointers that don't exist in the older game, and I haven't tested all the weirder behavior that can result.<br /><br />That said it still allows for a 'grand campaign' including both Pools-series and Savage Frontier-series, so it's something to do if you're a goldbox fan at least once.Null Nullnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16608028229015183142019-08-03T07:56:51.369-04:002019-08-03T07:56:51.369-04:00I, for one, am glad I live in a society where &quo...I, for one, am glad I live in a society where "not stinking" is considered a social expectation that most people try to adhere to!Mikrakovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359946565373258773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70281821104492091732019-08-03T07:09:34.714-04:002019-08-03T07:09:34.714-04:00If people started to disdain the idea of adapting ...If people started to disdain the idea of adapting to social expectations we would all be dead, seriously injured or in jail in the shake of a lamb's tail. It doesn't sound like a bright future to me.EonFafnirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10744213515441037859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52103789919083060432019-08-03T01:32:44.325-04:002019-08-03T01:32:44.325-04:00Who says "life is about learning to read a ro...Who says "life is about learning to read a room?" Really? Correctly adapting to social expectations is the only way to live, the very substance of life? I agree this is how our time seems to think, and I think it's very sad. I'm not sure that if you live in a place and time currently building concentration camps being well-adjusted is such a good thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6451429457716135362019-08-03T00:08:34.148-04:002019-08-03T00:08:34.148-04:00Oh, don't be absurd. Even someone as edgy and ...Oh, don't be absurd. Even someone as edgy and "chaotic" as you recognizes certain standards for public behavior. You like wouldn't be okay with someone yelling at the top of his lungs while you're trying to eat breakfast at Denny's, or two people deciding to have sex on a train full of commuters, or a kindergarten teacher lighting up a joint in front of her class. Even those hippies you refer to would probably have told someone going on a racist screed to do it someplace else. Everyone's tolerance has limits. Life is about learning to read the room.<br /><br />Fortunately, there's always somewhere you can go to do what you want to do and say what you want to say, if only the privacy of your own home.<br /><br />If such views make you not want to read my comments on CRPGs, that's your decision. No reviewer can entirely separate his reactions to games (or films, or whatever) to who he is as a person, and I'm not going to apologize for having views and preferences that may be different from some of my readers'.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24426329036604609022019-08-02T22:46:47.716-04:002019-08-02T22:46:47.716-04:00Sigh. Well, I really like your site. But I don'...Sigh. Well, I really like your site. But I don't think I'll enjoy reading any more. No offense.<br /><br />I may be wrong, but I think there used to be people who instinctively felt uncomfortable at talk of making things "socially unacceptable". What happened to that? Where have all the hippies gone? I feel like the last chaotic person on earth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84969611716339100582019-08-02T22:03:47.633-04:002019-08-02T22:03:47.633-04:00Nobody is talking about prison. People aren't ...Nobody is talking about prison. People aren't generally sent to prison for simple possession in places where it's still illegal, and in any event I never said I wanted states to re-criminalize it just because I didn't like the smell. Nobody goes to prison for smoking cigarettes in public places, either, but we've managed to make it socially unacceptable, reinforceable by civil fines, and that's what I would expect to ultimately happen with marijuana in places where it's not already happening.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58766394182748691742019-08-02T21:17:57.329-04:002019-08-02T21:17:57.329-04:00Rape is common in American prisons. Before support...Rape is common in American prisons. Before supporting a prison sentence for marijuana (or any drug, or any anything else), I would ask myself if any level of annoying stink or behavior could possible justify predictably damning someone to that. As a rape survivor, I find the idea horrifying beyond words. But I'm pretty much convinced humans are generally monsters and mostly best avoided. :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41007576111330505672019-08-02T17:37:34.440-04:002019-08-02T17:37:34.440-04:00The final battle is not so bad, but for the penult...The final battle is not so bad, but for the penultimate one you need mages or characters with Wands of Fire or Ice. Dispel Magic won't work against Hold Person, so you need to make sure the enemy mages don't get off their spells. And for that you need Initiative and Fireballs. PetrusOctavianusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63903082223406853322019-08-02T16:22:27.215-04:002019-08-02T16:22:27.215-04:00Hmmm... Siulajia should get a special item too. So...Hmmm... Siulajia should get a special item too. Something to work with me not being able to control her. How about the "ice storm bastard sword +2" (rehack after she gets captured). It will have cold fire shield damage plus resist cold. Her icon looks like she's using a bastard sword to me.basicgothgirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24989417333510479792019-08-02T16:15:41.966-04:002019-08-02T16:15:41.966-04:00Thanks for the advice! Dear god I remember that fi...Thanks for the advice! Dear god I remember that final battle. That was so brutal. Well, if I get slaughtered there I get slaughtered.<br /><br />With your advice in mind, I could do a fighter/mage, a cleric/mage, and a mage/thief. Then I have multiple fireballs, or multiple dispel magics in a pinch. I'll have Siulajia as a fighter anyway (temporary sex hack when the love quest triggers - it worked in Baldur's Gate II), though no paladin means I can't control her I think.<br /><br />So to try to avoid the slaughter thing I'll make some very special custom items. One per character:<br /><br />* For my LG fighter/mage, the fearsome "diamond hammer bracers", with the effects giant strength, fire touch, and cold fire shield protection (protected from fire, vulnerable to cold)<br />* For my CG cleric/mage, who worships Sune, the "blessed ruby mirror". It's a +3 shield, with gaze reflection, prayer, and harpy charm touch attack. <br />* For the mage/thief, the "shortbow of speed +3". It's a +3 weapon, fine bow, personal haste when worn. Think this sniping little bastard's going to be CE.<br /><br />From playing around with mods for FRUA in the past I'm pretty sure most of these will work.basicgothgirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-87773448809171719232019-08-02T14:08:20.159-04:002019-08-02T14:08:20.159-04:00In the vanilla game, I think your party would get ...In the vanilla game, I think your party would get slaughtered. The second half of the game, in particular, features a lot of combats with multiple spellcasters in multiple groups, and it's hard to avoid a few "Hold Persons" or "Hold Monsters" unless you're very lucky with the initiative. You really need redundant characters with "Dispel" to cure the holds and mass-damage spells to negate the spellcasters. My party only had one mage, so I had to deal with the spellcasters (as many as I could) with bows, and your party would only have a couple of people capable of that.<br /><br />On the other hand, I have no experience with the GBC, and I suppose it's possible that with higher class levels, your party will work. Maybe I'll re-try the final battle with my PoD party and see how much easier it goes.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34848821055968861222019-08-02T06:52:43.819-04:002019-08-02T06:52:43.819-04:00Hey, I've been waiting for you to do another g...Hey, I've been waiting for you to do another gold box game! Currently playing through the Krynn series.<br /><br />I think reading this I'll play through TSF. I want a different gaming experience, so I'm thinking of doing it with a three-character party, using GBC to hack away the race and level limits (if you can port POD characters, I can get 6th or 7th level spells right?), maybe add a few low-level unique magic items for flavour, and then playing on highest level to make the enemies more threatening. Current idea for a party:<br /><br />1 LG female human paladin<br />1 CG female elf ranger/cleric<br />1 CN male gnome mage/thief or fighter/mage/thief<br /><br />Would love suggestions/advice for ideal party composition :Dbasicgothgirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52111600251349733802019-07-30T10:33:33.339-04:002019-07-30T10:33:33.339-04:00ToEE's combat engine is, to me, one of the bes...ToEE's combat engine is, to me, one of the best in CRPG history, and it is indeed a surprisingly faithful adaptation of D&D 3E pen&paper combat rules (including even such outlandish-in-CRPGs things as attacks of opportunity, attacking to trip or disarm etc.). Too bad the game itself felt kind of generic. Especially since the sandbox-y approach to a dungeoncrawl appealed to me a lot.<br /><br />Good game, all in all, and I would have finished it even in the days before Co8 mod if my savegame (which I had stupidly kept to one slot) hadn't been corrupted.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16594966196618648451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13435345153438529212019-07-30T00:24:29.388-04:002019-07-30T00:24:29.388-04:00Yeah, recharming a party member and then having th...Yeah, recharming a party member and then having that party member die permanently erased them in earlier versions I think.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37872765624141476052019-07-29T23:00:26.059-04:002019-07-29T23:00:26.059-04:00Boooooooooooooo!Boooooooooooooo!ThirtyNinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720392687278454430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16391382736462850912019-07-29T22:59:55.245-04:002019-07-29T22:59:55.245-04:00Mushroom joke, nice one 🍄Mushroom joke, nice one 🍄Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06204901637975146609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52872977140074254862019-07-29T22:54:21.630-04:002019-07-29T22:54:21.630-04:00I wonder if the campaign against secondhand stink ...I wonder if the campaign against secondhand stink is going to be as rabid as the one against secondhand smoke.ThirtyNinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720392687278454430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13823026549694409592019-07-29T22:24:15.656-04:002019-07-29T22:24:15.656-04:00She's only sort of on the cover. Like all SSI ...She's only sort of on the cover. Like all SSI published D&D games, none of the box art is original to the game. Most of them are from D&D books, some from different settings than the games themselves. Some of them, like Treasures', are from novels TSR published when they were briefly putting out fantasy novels unrelated to D&D.Dugan Nashnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20969400170221702312019-07-29T21:45:14.749-04:002019-07-29T21:45:14.749-04:00I was reading the review here http://amr.abime.net...I was reading the review here http://amr.abime.net/review_647 and I have to say it had good points about the technical backwardness of the product and engine. <br /><br />I mean I'm an RPG fan too but the amount of disk swapping they talk about here would've driven me to distraction. <br /><br />This wasn't like Ultima where they had a new engine every game. As a programmer, I would like to think that, by what seemed like the 10th iteration of this engine, they could have ironed out the technical issues and have it run well. <br /><br />And the art looks sloppy, too. In 1990 Savage Empire had beautiful shaded pixel art - SSI couldn't have invested a bit in their art? <br /><br />And the paragraph books, really?<br /><br />Amiga Power is/was a general interest magazine - it was not for the grognards, who - let's face it - were going to buy this anyway but for the general Amiga populace to see if their 30 or so pounds was going to feel well spent in a good game that felt like it had technical and artistic investment in it. <br /><br />TSF was many things but it did not feel like it had the blood, sweat and tears that went into an Ultima put into it. Amiga Power had the score exactly right for its audience.Gamerindreamsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-58484786658950223782019-07-29T20:09:18.140-04:002019-07-29T20:09:18.140-04:00Personally I miss the portrait option. I like to c...Personally I miss the portrait option. I like to customize my characters as much as possible, whenever possible, and doing so in Gold Box is absolute agony. I don't blame anybody for using default icons or simple color swaps.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14025511634630902101noreply@blogger.com