tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post5447231434520810285..comments2024-03-28T10:19:08.172-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Twilight: 2000: Won! (with Summary and Rating)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85430311822218371462022-09-18T10:56:36.048-04:002022-09-18T10:56:36.048-04:00Playing this as a 10 or 11 year old I rather strug...Playing this as a 10 or 11 year old I rather struggled - despite being the kind of kid that read manuals cover to cover (and now I recall how inaccurate the manual was). I came to the conclusion most of the skills were useless, obviously being a computer geek I took 'computers'; might be mis-remembering but I think that was a useless one. I also remember hundreds of languages and it frankly being a miracle if one of my team could talk to an NPC...<br /><br />I've no doubt I got absolutely nowhere in the missions, but I dimly remember the firing line bit - maybe I drove over to Checiny for 'fun' early on and got the bad ending...<br /><br />Fully agree with your rating: seemed like they took on more than they could handle, a very ambitious project, but ended up being delivered unfinished.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17706277522752281968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7100854875475730152018-06-22T20:24:25.651-04:002018-06-22T20:24:25.651-04:00Probably IV then, I seem to recall a V in the titl...Probably IV then, I seem to recall a V in the title. <br /><br />I COULD go to those blog posts I made where I went through all the gaming stuff in my parents basement (Now all sold I think, when they retired and moved to a condo on the west coast they had to downsize heavily). <br /><br />On the plus side, now that he is retired he has time to play Divinity: Original Sin (He and my brother were going to play Co-op, but he has more free time then my brother and left him behind), and to play Fortnite with my brother and I. <br /><br />I'm wishing they were on XBox instead of PS4, so we could play Fallout 76 together when it comes out. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11703195831016689652018-06-17T00:17:25.649-04:002018-06-17T00:17:25.649-04:00It was Ultima III and Ultima IV that offered separ...It was <i>Ultima III</i> and <i>Ultima IV</i> that offered separate spellbooks, each page fully describing a different spell, often so thickly that you couldn't really tell what the spell did. By <i>Ultima V</i>, each spell was just a paragraph and they included the descriptions in the regular lore book.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50584727237090476152018-06-17T00:02:46.048-04:002018-06-17T00:02:46.048-04:00I know I'm 6 months late (again), but the two ...I know I'm 6 months late (again), but the two manuals that stick in my head are Elite (well, the novella that came with it, The Dark Mirror, I think it was called, and The Magic Candle, with its descriptions of each NPC in the game and their personality. <br /><br />Oh, and there also was a good Ultima one (IV? VI? Something like that) that came with a cool description of the magic system in a separate book. (I'm sure Chet will be able to identify the game from that alone, given his knowledge of early Ultima gamaes)Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79243077264466678582018-01-29T23:58:25.743-05:002018-01-29T23:58:25.743-05:00So...Twilight 2000 was kind of just crappy X-COM.So...Twilight 2000 was kind of just crappy X-COM.Guppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18343455976180391433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14728988545138974572018-01-04T22:36:38.041-05:002018-01-04T22:36:38.041-05:00One of the most enjoyable parts of purchasing a ne...One of the most enjoyable parts of purchasing a new game is unboxing it on the bus ride home from the games store. I'd spend the entire trip tearing through the manual and just soaking in the (hopefully) fun and excitement that would ensue.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39124560133759292912017-11-25T06:30:36.681-05:002017-11-25T06:30:36.681-05:00Challenge of the Five Realms and Bloodnet seems li...Challenge of the Five Realms and Bloodnet seems like a kind of games that only you, our heroic crpg addict, can really like without being driven over by their interface, amount of stats that you never know if they are really useful or not, and general lack of guidance.<br /><br />Two developers/designers in all those games, Laura Kampo and John Antinori, are unique in the sense that they basically were the most unique defenders and designers of the cyberpunk/horror mix. After Bloodnet, Hell and Ripper are two very flawed adventures that are also awfully interesting in what they bring up to the narrative genre.<br /><br />Oh, and congrats beating the Paragon games. I cannot stop admiring you.Risingson Carloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915480026187953569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-4453263513014750592017-11-22T20:16:57.774-05:002017-11-22T20:16:57.774-05:00Twilight 2k tries to keep it realistic, that means...Twilight 2k tries to keep it realistic, that means no mecha stomping in for the final confrontation. The game was too rushed and too early to bring that system to market as a CRPG.Burzmalihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00700214318733639704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82613391803834395912017-11-22T14:24:23.175-05:002017-11-22T14:24:23.175-05:00Problem with printing back in the 90's wasn...Problem with printing back in the 90's wasn't that it was difficult but that it costed money because each change had to be repeated per palet (4 CMYK + spot colors) per offset run (and even this day still) and you also had to pay for each run you made.<br /><br />Off set plates have to be prepared well in advance so you can't really do any "last day" changes and with a large queue even less so.<br /><br />So say you have the first run and then 5 others well guess what you now have 4x printing runs worth of useless manuals that you still have to pay up for.<br /><br />Binding also costs money though these days printing machines can wham the rivets auromatically, depending on what's being printed.Petri R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-70232347482791724432017-11-22T08:56:22.642-05:002017-11-22T08:56:22.642-05:00Early Microprose was something like 80/20 educatio...Early Microprose was something like 80/20 education/gameplay so far as the manuals went. I learned more about 19th century railroads via the original Railroad Tycoon manual than any other single source.Raifieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08478524519453417677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39899990742801950302017-11-21T23:23:35.768-05:002017-11-21T23:23:35.768-05:00A final mission with no boss and which you can re-...A final mission with no boss and which you can re-roll for less enemies? Thanks for the climax paragon.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-44529090008191168482017-11-21T12:22:17.684-05:002017-11-21T12:22:17.684-05:00Veil of Darkness uses the same engine as Dusk of t...Veil of Darkness uses the same engine as Dusk of the Gods and The Summoning, both of which are decent RPGs in their own right. It's more a horror/adventure title though, with no real stats or character development, but I'd consider playing it anyway due to it's similarity to the other two games on the engine.<br /><br />I think they also did Dungeon Hack, which is a Eye of the Beholder-style Rogue-like, with randomly generated dungeons. A bit tedious after awhile, as the dungeons all feel the same, but still fun for a quick run through. DRGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03101990235685120060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50845824817610930452017-11-21T11:47:52.124-05:002017-11-21T11:47:52.124-05:00Actually, combat in Cot5R was quite easy to figure...Actually, combat in Cot5R was quite easy to figure out once you understood that it is neatly divided into a moving phase and action phase. The bigger problem that a single well-rolled mage could basically mop the floor with more or less anything right from the start, and then you got mage NPCs...VKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18659097334415848332017-11-21T10:45:31.006-05:002017-11-21T10:45:31.006-05:00I was under the impression riding cpuld be used in...I was under the impression riding cpuld be used in the second game just after getting a certain item to get where you need to faster.Bakuielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06708554023018591850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8751945215112782082017-11-21T10:24:39.159-05:002017-11-21T10:24:39.159-05:00Origin definitely is the company I have in my head...Origin definitely is the company I have in my head when I say I miss manuals. Their manuals and other documentation 'add-ons', particularly for the Ultima games, were wonderful. I still remember following the path in the underworld described in Lord British's letter in Ultima 5 and at risk of sounding cheesy, it was magical to me to have the documentation/letter and gameplay intertwine like that.PirateGrrognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-76503646425109937512017-11-21T10:06:17.347-05:002017-11-21T10:06:17.347-05:00Challenge of the Five Realms definitely shows that...Challenge of the Five Realms definitely shows that the Paragon developers were slowly improving. It had great non-linear exploration (if you follow the obvious story trail in the beginning, the time limit becomes a non-factor), lots of NPC interaction (though not nearly as good as to something like Ultima), and decent skill usage for puzzles. Unfortunately, it seems like the never mastered combat, and even in Cot5R, it was a bit of a cluster-F. The only upside was combat was pretty infrequent and as such, reminds me a bit of a more primitive ultima 6/7. I think the addict will find it relatively enjoyable.PirateGrognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8969805228483218642017-11-21T07:53:56.173-05:002017-11-21T07:53:56.173-05:00Oh, I did enjoy my first playthrough too. It's...Oh, I did enjoy my first playthrough too. It's when I started replaying it that I noticed how much unfinished stuff is there.VKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39804916431669887232017-11-21T07:51:09.801-05:002017-11-21T07:51:09.801-05:00@The Architect, I doubt it's because of NWC in...@The Architect, I doubt it's because of NWC influence, because AoD plays basically like a sequel or spiritual successor to Event Horizon's earlier awesome dungeon crawler The Summoning (perspective being the primary difference). I just think they didn't really know what to do with the DnD properties and were much better off with their own designs.VKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49674977126009838052017-11-21T06:13:10.910-05:002017-11-21T06:13:10.910-05:00In the Realms of Arkadia trilogy you can use some ...In the Realms of Arkadia trilogy you can use some skills and spells later that have no use in the first game(s).<br />As they are also a software implementation of a P&P game they share the issue of unused skills with Twilight2k and MT, but at least some are used later (though not riding).<br />The remakes from 2015/17 reduced the amount of skills and spells to a much more manageable list.<br />Discobutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11779788258464817270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-4005491593809070982017-11-21T03:56:02.683-05:002017-11-21T03:56:02.683-05:00Yes, I would agree there, Chester - 25 pages of er...Yes, I would agree there, Chester - 25 pages of errata is more than a bit excessive (though, I suppose, it does indicate the manual was significantly more than 25 pages). Clearly something went wrong there.<br /><br />Regarding learning to play in the opening stages - it definitely is better to design games with this philosophy in mind, as it leads the developer to provide a better learning progression through the early game.<br /><br />That having been said, I definitely more than appreciate the effort that went into SOME of the old manuals. Specifically, I think those manuals that described the world, its contents and inhabitants, were in a special category of their own. And best of all were the ones that were conceived as part of the game world. I absolutely loved the way Origin handled manuals, with a flimsy install guide and playguide, and the thick gameworld booklet. I'm happy that no one assumes any more I need a playguide or an install guide to get into the game, but that gameworld booklet, I greatly miss.Jakub Majewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04346544936010598248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43703773081012147212017-11-21T03:14:11.696-05:002017-11-21T03:14:11.696-05:00Dreamforge were also behind Anvil of Dawn, which i...Dreamforge were also behind Anvil of Dawn, which is a seriously good dungeon crawler, far better than the Ravenloft games. Maybe the cooperation with New World Computing has something to do with that.The Architecthttp://ancient-architects.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39724229776078851852017-11-21T02:12:20.839-05:002017-11-21T02:12:20.839-05:00Yeah, I'm with you, Tristan. I APPRECIATE the ...Yeah, I'm with you, Tristan. I APPRECIATE the effort that went into old manuals, but I vastly prefer the modern era where you learn to play the game in the opening stages.<br /><br />Jakub, you offer a spirited defense, and I agree that all these concerns were present, but if a manual needs 25 pages of errata plus a separate errata file, the development schedule was really out of whack. Too many changes were being made at the last minute. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-69590113475050065602017-11-21T01:28:13.447-05:002017-11-21T01:28:13.447-05:00Well heck nobody read manuals anyway. I was about...Well heck nobody read manuals anyway. I was about the only one. Everyone else was, "Just start playing the damn game, who likes reading?" or "If you can't figure out the game by playing, then it sucks anyway" and other brilliant attitudes.<br /><br />The manual for Civilization (1, but it didn't need a number dammit, that's not what it was called) was a masterpiece. It was a fricken book. I read it on and off for *months*. One chapter here, one chapter there. It led to a much deeper understanding of not just the game, but history itself. But screw that, amirite, any game that requires reference to an external source is defective by design, if it doesn't handhold you in the game itself it's stupid. Harlandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28788670428485386562017-11-21T00:40:21.108-05:002017-11-21T00:40:21.108-05:00(I should add that my expectations have completely...(I should add that my expectations have completely changed, nowadays I feel a tutorial plus tool-tips should provide you with everything you need to understand the game)Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26705209148833374702017-11-21T00:38:13.975-05:002017-11-21T00:38:13.975-05:00Manuals were a big deal. I was really disappointed...Manuals were a big deal. I was really disappointed when we shifted from thorough manuals with good production values to pamphlets. It was like I was getting less of a product. Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.com