tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post3330926116047377221..comments2024-03-28T09:10:48.790-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: The Land of the LostCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26137559986383365462013-09-06T22:50:07.177-04:002013-09-06T22:50:07.177-04:00Huh, these days you could bypass that by using a v...Huh, these days you could bypass that by using a virtual machine and just suspending it when you wanted to go eat or such.<br /><br />That is a great feature for games that don't let you save anywhere: a pause and way to save the entire thing to disc when you want to go to bed. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56226299326225045882013-09-05T11:32:04.715-04:002013-09-05T11:32:04.715-04:00This game can actually remember dungeon levels. B...This game can actually remember dungeon levels. By adding a /b to the command line the game will save the dungeon levels as you go up and down them. The only restriction is that if you save the game these levels are not saved, so it is best to use this feature when you intend to descend and ascend the dungeon in the same session. If I remember rightly, when returning to a previous level, any remaining monsters will still be there, along with any treasure left behind.Mike Rileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27164840605141317362013-09-05T11:23:44.136-04:002013-09-05T11:23:44.136-04:00Actually, the aging does make some sense here. In...Actually, the aging does make some sense here. In the original trilogy, from the time that Covenant first entered the land until Lord Foul was defeated (Well, reduced) was about 48 or 49 years, this indeed made this a long term ordeal for the inhabitants of the land. If you had started on this quest when you were 20, you would be nearing 70 by the end of it.<br /><br />In the books, most inhabitants of the land served some form of oath, The Ramen served the Ranyhyn, the Bloodguard served the Lords, The Lords, Woodhelvenin, and Stonedowners served the land through the Oath of Peace. The giants did not have an oath. I used this vehicle in the game in order to advance time, since serving your oath takes time, it makes you age, and yes, aging does have an affect in this game. At a certain age your stats begin to drop and at a certain age the character will die. I also put in a reward for serving your oath in the form of some bonus that you receive for doing it. If I remember rightly, only the Bloodguard cannot die from old age, this is taken from the books, the Oath the Bloodguard made to the Lords pretty much made them no longer age.Mike Rileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-25530409813023586882013-09-05T11:09:23.849-04:002013-09-05T11:09:23.849-04:00Rogue was my model when I built this game. Actual...Rogue was my model when I built this game. Actually it was because of Rogue this game got written. I had so thoroughly enjoyed Rogue I wanted to take its concept and try to make something better, more dungeons, a country to travel around in, etc. I believe I succeeded in some areas and accept that I fell short in others, but, what do you expect from a first try at something? :) But undoubtedly Rogue was the inspiration for this game.Mike Rileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61648610875274549662013-09-05T11:06:02.261-04:002013-09-05T11:06:02.261-04:00I agree, mountain travel in this game does suck. ...I agree, mountain travel in this game does suck. Due to lack of memory space when this game was written, there was no space to have a separate icon for passable vs impassable mountains. I did a better job of this in Unicorn, where there is actually a separate icon for passable mountains.Mike Rileynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74498071510705183212013-07-04T03:23:01.121-04:002013-07-04T03:23:01.121-04:00Also: I hate games where I have to sort through a ...Also: I hate games where I have to sort through a lot of things to find a better item, and it feels very random:<br /><br />Nethack: There are always items worth keeping out there. Wands, better armour, healing items, food.<br /><br />Baldur's Gate: Gear upgrades aren't common, but are instantly obvious when you find them. Lots of items you find that you want to keep as well.<br /><br />Bethesda games: Lots of dross, but you can tell it is dross. Also you want to pick it up, to trade/sell/repair things, and always more potions and ingredients to find. Also: Books and such. Oh, and you get the based non-unique gear long before the end of the game. <br /><br />Boarderlands: Picking out the best weapon is a pain, due to ammo capacity, damage, rate of fire, and class bonuses (One does more damage a shot, but fires slowly, one does less damage each second, but I'm going to miss a lot anyway, so more lead in the air is good....) however, when you do change weapons you can *feel* the difference. Freqent periods where you randomly get a realllly great gun early and wind up tossing weapons for multiple maps. <br /><br />Torchlite: All attack items feel very similar. Impossible to tell what is best without a spreadsheet and a lot of googling, if at all. DPS number is listed, but doesn't factor in everything, such as duel weapons, gems, etc. All weapons feel almost identical when used. On top of that, every problem with Boarderlands. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7481409018315765732013-07-04T03:13:46.992-04:002013-07-04T03:13:46.992-04:00Oh, and the items lying in the hallways. That is v...Oh, and the items lying in the hallways. That is very CotW, and something it took a long time for most games to get. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8332215412938994512013-07-04T03:12:11.622-04:002013-07-04T03:12:11.622-04:00That said, I don't see the similarity, except ...That said, I don't see the similarity, except in the horizontal line heavy art style. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86213251543815261782013-07-04T03:11:13.666-04:002013-07-04T03:11:13.666-04:00I sent him an email once, thanking him for the gam...I sent him an email once, thanking him for the game. He was very nice when he responded. There was even a forum and IRC channel dedicated to it, on MagicStar I think. It seems to have vanished though, but I think the forums are http://cotw.fr.yuku.com/<br /><br />Based on the interview it was mostly written in 1989, handed out internally at Microsoft, and then sold commercially in 1992. <br /><br />Why not compromise and play part 1 (The shareware release) as the final game of 1989, and part 2 (The longer, then pay, now free) release as the first of 1992? Neither should take you long; probably under 6 hours each. For someone who beat nethack this is going to be a speedbump. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27976610667870558802013-07-04T03:00:37.512-04:002013-07-04T03:00:37.512-04:00I could see it working in one of those tactical RP...I could see it working in one of those tactical RPGs with a *large* party and a level cap; It would encourage you to spread the XP around, as you know your level 20s will stop being useful sooner or later, so you don't want a bunch of 20s and then a bunch of 1s. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-21776021900992672972013-07-04T02:56:46.497-04:002013-07-04T02:56:46.497-04:00It is also very possible that the game was written...It is also very possible that the game was written in TP, then hand-tweaked in Assembly; that is still common today for video codecs and viruses (Well, C not Pascal) <br /><br />What is wrong with Pascal? I thought it was just a failed competitor to C?Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27428109076746619792013-07-04T02:54:17.233-04:002013-07-04T02:54:17.233-04:00Back when I gave MUDs a try newbie gear was all se...Back when I gave MUDs a try newbie gear was all set to decay and be worthless for this reason; so you couldn't rob them and get a ton of stuff.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85891127828342579062013-07-04T02:52:02.946-04:002013-07-04T02:52:02.946-04:00Castle of the Winds runs on Windows XP just fine; ...Castle of the Winds runs on Windows XP just fine; that is where I beat it. <br /><br />Huh, I'm surprised none of the vitalization solutions offer 3D support; aren't they literally running a copy of the OS? I recall mine said some stuff was restricted as I had the free version, and an unsupported graphics card, are you sure there aren't versions that do that?<br /><br />Man, I had a bunch of computers perfect for that in my basement that I took to the old hardware disposal place when I moved out to Vancouver earlier this year. Ah well, it would have cost a fortune to mail them to the US anyway, when they just aren't that hard to find. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17826601109378800372013-06-28T11:41:31.562-04:002013-06-28T11:41:31.562-04:00It was a possibility in Phantasie due to certain r...It was a possibility in Phantasie due to certain races only living to 45, Sorcarian too I think. Most games run out of content long before your party drops dead.<br /><br />M&M4+5 (worlds of xeen) might be the worst offender due to the party transfer option, the inaccessible dungeons, and the years delay between releases.<br /><br />In a way, it's actually a little offensive to older gamers - Young players can create characters in their own image without penalty, but older players risk being penalized.Vicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90768626119770087592013-06-27T16:29:40.371-04:002013-06-27T16:29:40.371-04:00It's for this reason that I don't like agi...It's for this reason that I don't like aging in games. First, it doesn't make sense in most RPGs that the quests would last a lifetime. Second, to get 90% through the game and have to re-start because your characters are keeling over from old age would be a bit enraging.<br /><br />Fortunately, I've yet to play a game with an aging system in which I ever got close to the point of age-related death. But I suppose it could easily happen in the Gold Box series if I over-relied on haste.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-66624786024931779492013-06-27T11:57:18.581-04:002013-06-27T11:57:18.581-04:00That's basically what I meant by 'control ...That's basically what I meant by 'control value'; It's a (semi)limited resource which prevents the player from using an option excessively and ruining the game balance.<br /><br />If there's a a counter (like M&M's shrines), then it's power is short term (i.e. 1 dungeon). If there's no or limited ways to replenish the resource then it's long term (i.e. potential game over).<br /><br />The only thing a player really has to lose is time.<br />In rpgs you're risking playing a game only to find out you've irreparably screwed it up due to decisions made 10 hours ago (That's even worse than Space quest).Vicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90009342968779690312013-06-26T09:42:21.363-04:002013-06-26T09:42:21.363-04:00Apparently, Rick actually worked at Microsoft in t...Apparently, Rick actually worked at Microsoft in those early days, and Castle of the Winds was possibly one of the first games made for Windows 3.0, having been created internally (but independently).<br /><br />http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/12525/Playing_Catch_Up_Castle_of_the_Winds_Rick_Saada.php<br /><br />Rick's still around online and probably available for asking questions.<br /><br />For 1993, you're going to have much better games to play, but I'll always have a special place in my heart for Castle of the Winds. It's not a hardcore roguelike since you can save and load as much as you like, but I found it very enjoyable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16627600391498761972013-06-25T21:34:29.284-04:002013-06-25T21:34:29.284-04:00I actually didn't mean that as a direct respon...I actually didn't mean that as a direct response to your posting, so we're both a little confused. It was just that your mention of CotW caused me to look up the game, at which point I found the discrepancy.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43589997845946047432013-06-25T07:52:22.847-04:002013-06-25T07:52:22.847-04:00Oh, I wasn't questioning the release date, jus...Oh, I wasn't questioning the release date, just noting the similar graphics, in my opinion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59351325839775290672013-06-24T19:28:08.576-04:002013-06-24T19:28:08.576-04:00Wikipedia still insists that CotW was a 1989 game ...Wikipedia still insists that CotW was a 1989 game released for Windows 3.x, which wasn't released until 1992. I thus went with MobyGames's date assessment for 1993 as more likely. Am I missing anything?CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86567766995561114072013-06-21T22:35:13.965-04:002013-06-21T22:35:13.965-04:00This game looks very oddly similar to Castle of th...This game looks very oddly similar to Castle of the Winds in several ways, most notably graphics. If you had told me they were made by the same person I would believe it, but they are stated to have been made by different people.<br /><br />I wonder if Rick Saada played The Land or was inspired by it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39492533933148931222013-06-19T09:19:09.643-04:002013-06-19T09:19:09.643-04:00The PC version of PoR is definitely Turbo Pascal.....The PC version of PoR is definitely Turbo Pascal... The TP runtime is in the exe, the embedded text strings are all TP format, and the game is known to crash out with TP runtime errors in certain circumstances. It's likely that other versions were assembly (on the Apple II and C64 there probably wouldn't be much choice -- although the original Wizardry games were in Apple Pascal, that was not commonly used and assembly would have been more likely).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-77235624292324504682013-06-19T08:27:27.087-04:002013-06-19T08:27:27.087-04:00The devil lies in the system requirements ;)The devil lies in the system requirements ;)VKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6426794880658034602013-06-19T08:22:41.158-04:002013-06-19T08:22:41.158-04:00In some games (notably Might and Magic) magical ag...In some games (notably Might and Magic) magical aging occurs due to hostile spells or casting certain powerful spells, so youth becomes another resource to be managed.Gerry Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078394659680797175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5741233025834548622013-06-19T08:16:48.176-04:002013-06-19T08:16:48.176-04:00See also: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033318/b...See also: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033318/black-annex-is-the-best-qbasic-game-youve-ever-seen.htmlGerry Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078394659680797175noreply@blogger.com