tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post3473342754965314603..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Quest for Glory II: Final RatingCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38951020684607052832023-12-07T18:53:38.496-05:002023-12-07T18:53:38.496-05:00"I wanted to see how fast I could do it and h...<em>"I wanted to see how fast I could do it and how low a score I could get. [...] I managed to win in about an hour, achieving a score of 323."</em><br /><br />That"s indeed an interesting combination to try. For speed alone and using some tricks/tools, <a href="https://tasvideos.org/1968G" rel="nofollow">the current record seems to be less than nine minutes</a>.Buscanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24815224141609504332023-02-19T13:50:09.019-05:002023-02-19T13:50:09.019-05:00i only ever really "get through" this ga...i only ever really "get through" this game so that i can get the stats [and the little things you can carry across like spells and the like] so that i can be in games 3 and 4. plus, being a paladin!<br /><br />otherwise, i'd just skip it entirely.<br /><br />admittedly, they introduce my VERY FAVOURITE character in this game. [i've always had a super soft spot for rakeesh and for the story of his journey]<br /><br />but gah. that timer.<br /><br />---<br /><br />your gimlet is spot on, though. even about how the combat doesn't feel "quite as integral" to this game.lostwolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697299839262994456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6144945071586943722019-02-05T17:26:01.320-05:002019-02-05T17:26:01.320-05:00Thanks for posting such a lovely sentiment. I thin...Thanks for posting such a lovely sentiment. I think it goes to show that if a game (or, I suppose, any piece of art) is done with thoughtfulness and honesty, it will reach SOMEONE at just the right moment.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18341023777794813502019-02-05T13:30:02.156-05:002019-02-05T13:30:02.156-05:00Despite all flaws and mistakes, "Quest for Gl...Despite all flaws and mistakes, "Quest for Glory II" succeeded at being a fantastic game, and - what's even more important - a fantastic piece of "procedural rhetoric"!<br /><br />It's on par with Ultima IV in this respect - if not even bigger stuff than Ultima IV.<br /><br />The mixing of heroic adventures and wise mentorship by the Liontaur paladin and by the Sufi poet really allow a person playing the game to experience something akin a true catharsis, leaving this experience (a bit) better person than one went into it.<br /><br />"Ultima: Quest of Avatar", while teaching us about virtue, does this in a quasi-mechanical way.<br /><br />But "Quest for Glory: Trial by Fire" allows us to live a story of the young ambitious boy - one who's out there only for his own glory initially - gradually learning about the existence of deeper meanings, of greater beauty, about paradoxical "glory that is not about being glorified"... <br />ultimately - about the meaningfullness of kindness and honor in the face of the world that had long abandonded those values.<br /><br />The latter point about the world made all the more poignant by learning the backstories of certain half-faerie magician and certain female WIT dropout... This world is NOT all sugar and ponies - just like our own. <br />But the point that Quest for Glory delivers impeccably is - it's still worth trying. Kindness is still an existence in the world, - even if not overpowering omnipotent presence like in fairy-tales.<br /><br />The message of the meaningfullness of the kindness... its importance cannot be over-stated for the life of lonely, unloved, bullied kid questioning if life's even worth it.<br /><br />Those words may sound loud, but Trial by Fire may be (a part of) the reason that I, myself, personally am still alive today.<br /><br />So... flaws - yes, but despite them, this story is a great "Lie of fable hinting at the Truth."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044384583192888822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54644620285528982732018-03-14T21:05:14.858-04:002018-03-14T21:05:14.858-04:00I would love to hear a colcusive definition of &qu...I would love to hear a colcusive definition of "technocery"!Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13204834161177852469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64295524002347076662015-06-21T19:23:25.802-04:002015-06-21T19:23:25.802-04:00Oh man. Corey: I just read that. There is a web co...Oh man. Corey: I just read that. There is a web comedy group I love (Loading Ready Run) that has branched into video game streaming, and one person plays a ton of survival horror and he has canned rants he gives about several of those points (arbitrary puzzles most of all) that occur in a ton of games.Why does solving the chess puzzle left on the table open the secret door in the fireplaces, etc etc.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-29567201668516063812015-06-11T09:03:08.291-04:002015-06-11T09:03:08.291-04:00My guess is that it hits 120.My guess is that it hits 120.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-21686928424188233132015-06-11T07:43:56.309-04:002015-06-11T07:43:56.309-04:00https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/transolargame...https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/transolargames/hero-u-adventure-role-playing-game<br /><br />4 more days to go and short of more than $8,000.<br /><br />Really hope it will come through.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-71158988457066202822015-04-06T00:02:07.210-04:002015-04-06T00:02:07.210-04:00I found your blog a couple weeks ago while searchi...I found your blog a couple weeks ago while searching the net for Ultima IV commands, and ended up getting the QfG series based on your recommendations. I remember avoiding these games in the '90s, just based on the looks (the bright blue/pink clothing on the hero was not very appealing to my teenage self).<br /><br />I did really enjoy the first one, other than the combat. I wasn't quite as impressed with the sequel but it still had some nice ideas. It was great to read about the quests and ending sequences for the other classes as well, thanks for showing all of them.<br /><br />I ended the first game with 489 points but my final score for part II was terrible, didn't even break 400. It took me a while to realize that the game assumed my imported character was a fighter instead of a thief. I think I'll wait a while to start part 3, but probably not as long as you're going to be waiting.<br /><br />I also downloaded The Dark Heart of Uukrul based on your score, it looks fascinating!Vittorio Enoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36390950625638619742014-08-12T17:37:46.807-04:002014-08-12T17:37:46.807-04:00There have been games with overly-long and complic...There have been games with overly-long and complicated labyrinths that I hated--both <i>The Third Courier</i> and <i>B.A.T.</i> come to mind. But I find it hard to regard QfG2's as even a "labyrinth" given how small it is and that, again, the game came with a map.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-51158881835054997742014-08-12T07:03:40.718-04:002014-08-12T07:03:40.718-04:00LucasArts also liked to insert mazes into their ga...LucasArts also liked to insert mazes into their games. From side-scrolling mazes that leave you with no sense of orientation in Zak McCracken, to real mini-games in Indiana Jones 4 (and probably beyond but I haven't played their classic adventure games after Day of the Tentacle). I hated them as a child and couldn't see their purpose. Now I can see their structure and certain regularities so I can finish them rather quickly and they don't break the game for me anymore, but still, they disrupt the flow.Alexander Sebastian Schulzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15135338616598357444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37055899858628636082014-08-12T00:45:21.220-04:002014-08-12T00:45:21.220-04:00You'd understand if you're looking it from...You'd understand if you're looking it from an Adventure game perspective and not from a CRPG perspective. Labyrinths had always been "padding" used to bulk up the length of gameplay in Adventure games because, let's not kid ourselves, we can finish it in 2-3 hours time if we know what to do.<br /><br />And since QFG already has that RPG aspect in it (through grinding and amassing wealth), Adventure gamers seriously don't see the point of having these mazes. <br /><br />And don't you find it strange that the Kattas didn't provide the Hero with a map since this item complements with their trade (innkeepers for travelers? Hello?) and should have plenty of them for sale like condoms in Circle K.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79376332244828877082014-08-11T23:56:01.473-04:002014-08-11T23:56:01.473-04:00I'm not sure I understand why the "maze&q...I'm not sure I understand why the "maze" aspect of the city is so bad. It's not very big, you provided a map, and except for having to find the moneychanger, you mostly just click around on the automap. I didn't mind it at all. I was surprise there weren't combats with brigands at night and whatnot, but otherwise I thought it was good design. The alleys did a good job of rendering non-obvious certain quest locations that would have stuck out like a sore thumb if they'd been on a regular screen.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73490982287990981812014-08-11T19:00:42.565-04:002014-08-11T19:00:42.565-04:00It's a school, so no problem there. The real p...It's a school, so no problem there. The real problem with such a format will be the interactions with the NPCs who will respond accordingly to your past actions and current events.<br /><br />I loved how The Walking Dead handled that but it was more of a QTE Visual Novel than an actual Adventure Game. On top of that, Hero-U also has a mix of RPG blended in to make it even more complex. It's going to be a nightmare to do it well.<br /><br />But if it's done well, it's gonna be a masterpiece.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22335700897361977512014-08-11T17:34:08.126-04:002014-08-11T17:34:08.126-04:00Incidentally, two valid criticisms of QfG2: Trial ...Incidentally, two valid criticisms of QfG2: Trial By Fire are the city maze and waiting for the fixed-day Elemental events. I think the maze would be fine if we had enough resources to populate the streets with NPC's and combat as originally planned. One 64K memory segment to hold all game code and data (except graphics and sound) was much too paltry to allow that. That's why we ended up with our complex, intentionally difficult to navigate, city with little going on in the streets. Almost all the memory went to drawing the maze.<br /><br />As for the set time scale, I just discussed that with Lori. She said she would design that differently today, with the player's actions defining the events. The essential article on this for all game designers is Ron Gilbert's "Why Adventure Games Suck..." ([url]http://grumpygamer.com/why_adventure_games_suck[/url]), in this case the "Real time is bad drama" section. That article came out a month or two into QfG2 design. We incorporated it into the staged combats (EOF and Khaveen), but not into the day event structure. Anyway, that is the greatest article on adventure game design ever written.<br /><br />Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption also features a linear day-event structure, but it is much easier for the player to skip ahead, e.g. by going to sleep earlier. Balancing the events is challenging because we decided to give "pure" adventure game players the option of playing without ever entering combat. Those players may find themselves waiting more often.Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52151180745168028612014-08-10T13:44:07.103-04:002014-08-10T13:44:07.103-04:00I think the Addict put it on the list because of t...I think the Addict put it on the list because of the recommendations of others in the Starflight posts. I regard it as an "honorary" or "adopted" RPG. I saw that it was fairly popular with the RPG codex crowd, and it doesn't fit anywhere else. In a way, the starship is the character and so there is a lot of character development.Alexander Sebastian Schulzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15135338616598357444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24200484508167162852014-08-10T13:22:22.078-04:002014-08-10T13:22:22.078-04:00Star Control 2 has significant NPC interaction and...Star Control 2 has significant NPC interaction and non-puzzle based inventory in pursuit of an overarching plot. Not sure how it fits with "character development" but to consider it something other than an RPG is hard to justify in my mind. Bluerazorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08417137714916057380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-21174266800761643592014-08-10T09:50:08.857-04:002014-08-10T09:50:08.857-04:00(Damn you, blogspot, for eating my comments!)
I t...(Damn you, blogspot, for eating my comments!)<br /><br />I think you let your bias get the better of you here... :)<br />I have to defend German mags here - the only noteworthy Amiga mag back then was the Amiga Joker, and the mags from that publisher were of questionable quality in general (Case in point: Their infamous Wing Commander Amiga "review" which was obviously based solely on the preview screenshots which had nothing in common with the actual released game...)<br />If anything, the multiplatform mags (esp. Power Play) had a Lucasarts bias vs. Sierra ;) <br /><br />I imported a lot of british mags back then (Amiga coverdisks!!), and while their style was refreshing compared to the rather...ahem, "German" style (I'm Austrian after all! ;) ), the elitism and extreme unreflected subjectivity were rather annoying and made many reviews quite useless.dahaunshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02098585704891226776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-44473289228653157282014-08-09T22:41:03.235-04:002014-08-09T22:41:03.235-04:00Ultima 7 and Star Control 2 remain some of my all-...Ultima 7 and Star Control 2 remain some of my all-time favorites. (Quest for Glory 3 is wonderful, of course, though I'd say it's not as strong as Trial by Fire or Shadows of Darkness.)<br /><br />Wizardry 7, though, is one I'm really curious to see our friendly Addict analyze. It has some great puzzles and (to my mind, though I know others will disagree) a really moody and interesting atmosphere. I also find it almost unbearably combat-heavy, and could see a lot of frustration develop from aspects like the maps and the dungeon mechanics.<br /><br />Darklands should also be a fun 1992 writeup.<br /><br />(Technically, does Star Control 2 qualify as an RPG by Chester's definition? I'm not convinced it does, though it's awfully close to Starflight and I'm sure he'd enjoy it.)A. Freedhttp://alexanderfreed.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37183084316725797922014-08-09T18:24:47.447-04:002014-08-09T18:24:47.447-04:00It did indeed.It did indeed.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15758991254704096432014-08-09T18:24:24.614-04:002014-08-09T18:24:24.614-04:00Forgot for a moment I hadn't published that re...Forgot for a moment I hadn't published that review yet. Sorry about that. Yes, the site is very helpful.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-40526229689332204582014-08-09T18:23:27.760-04:002014-08-09T18:23:27.760-04:00That's the same site I linked to in the review...That's the same site I linked to in the review. It's not that kind of wall, unfortunately.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79105864292732113592014-08-09T16:56:10.386-04:002014-08-09T16:56:10.386-04:00You may not be good at playing adventure games, bu...You may not be good at playing adventure games, but you are very good at making them, and I will get Hero U when it is released.<br /><br />I learned some obscure words from Sierra games, like crepuscular from The Dagger of Amon Ra. I also learned a few German words by playing Wolfenstein 3D with a couple of German speakers. <br /><br />I remember one time the parser failed in a Sierra game: In Leisure Suit Larry 2, the programmer accidentally ruined a puzzle by changing a variable during last-minute playtesting. Normally in text adventures, you could use shorthand to express your commands, like "hit man with sword," but the final puzzle was changed so that the command had to be worded, "put the bottle in the airsickness bag," which confused a lot of players who were used to simpler sentences. I wonder if the experience of playing such games with a limited understanding of English was similar to the experience of trying to figure out that puzzle? <br /><br />I also love a variety of genres: Action, adventure, action-adventure, CRPG, JRPG, space shooter and shoot-em-up games I am not so good at shoot-em-ups, but I have loved them ever since The Guardian Legend. I get annoyed by guys who focus on specific genres and refuse to try anything different, especially if they do so because they lack imagination. Habermann and the CRPG Addict are great Let's Players, and are very good at pointing out the flaws in bad games but their obdurate nature is annoying. <br /><br />I also loved the humor in Sierra's spinoff company, Dynamix's games like Willy Beamish and Heart of China. Corey, did you or your wife do any work for Dynamix?Japanese games are the bestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6021763924042332582014-08-09T16:34:30.938-04:002014-08-09T16:34:30.938-04:00I remember hitting a dead end pretty early as well...I remember hitting a dead end pretty early as well, when I played Captive back in the days on the ST. Despite the staggeringly high frustration tolerance I had as a kid, I couldn't be bothered to keep trying and never got into the game.trudodyrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50955340086446886902014-08-09T14:36:00.718-04:002014-08-09T14:36:00.718-04:00Thanks for sharing that, very cool. We've hear...Thanks for sharing that, very cool. We've heard from several fans who learned to read by playing our early parser-based games.<br /><br />Personally, I'm pretty terrible at adventure gaming, and often resort to hints and walkthroughs. I do better at RPGs (and usually enjoy them more).Corey Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772474266362396768noreply@blogger.com