tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post636308114754869185..comments2024-03-28T04:44:28.648-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Ultima IV: Towns and DialogCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14479954783204656252018-10-05T15:30:02.519-04:002018-10-05T15:30:02.519-04:00This post by you made me look at Ultima games in a...This post by you made me look at Ultima games in a new light. Come to think of it, the system of keywords IS a bit lacking in richness; yet, while playing for the first time, you never notice it because every word you know CAN be a keyword - you simply don't know it yet! And it, by itself, creates a feeling of "there is more!" in EVERY conversation - and, well, in some conversations, there IS!<br />And, most intriguing of all - this system creates a distinct "detective novel"-like feeling, making you a bit of a Private Investigator like Sherlock Holmes, coming back to question the people he already questioned after getting some new clues.<br /><br />So... it even makes me wonder: how much fun would be a true detective novel game based on such an engine, where the keywords would be based on actual clues and little facts that you uncover one by one? =) True, there have been many "Interactive Fiction" games in history, and they had the parser interface from the beginning - yet, somehow, Ultima style - where only the dialogue is parsed, and everything else is graphical - seems very distinct and different from Interactive Fiction.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044384583192888822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31453621877222433922016-12-16T10:03:10.528-05:002016-12-16T10:03:10.528-05:00I'm surprised no one mentioned Tibia until now...I'm surprised no one mentioned Tibia until now. When I first played this game about 2004, it was the first (and maybe the only) time I had this type of dialog system. You had to input what you want to know to any NPC on the game as well, starting the conversation with a "hi". The problem was the game is a MMO, and any player could talk with a NPC before you do, locking him to everybody else. The stores were all crumpling with players spamming "hi" until the NPCs was locked, and then would hold it on purpose for as long they wanted, just to no one talk to him.<br />It was a mess and eventually they changed that to a particular thread for every player, so you could talk to an NPC and see his response just on your screen, giving the opportunity to another player do the same.<br />Don't know how Tibia is handling that now, so many years after I played it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14757027239291703720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-28884610762181615422015-10-13T11:32:07.000-04:002015-10-13T11:32:07.000-04:00I played Exile quite some time before I played Ult...I played Exile quite some time before I played Ultima 4. Those games were pretty cool. In fact, they must have been the first RPGs I ever played, because in the beginning all I played was Shareware (first commercial RPG must have been M&M6). Of course, I could never finish any of them, since I didn't buy the full games. I probably still have the dialog notes somewhere...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-55901346067598789402014-04-21T18:18:09.357-04:002014-04-21T18:18:09.357-04:00ROTFLMFAO!!!!!ROTFLMFAO!!!!!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18246253547887956099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-14887259906054195112014-04-13T17:28:27.332-04:002014-04-13T17:28:27.332-04:00I did say YEW. That was a four-year-old typo that ...I did say YEW. That was a four-year-old typo that no one else had alerted me to. Thanks!<br /><br />And thanks for commenting on all of these platform differences. It's interesting to hear about the other side.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56599102342637962582014-04-13T15:06:09.759-04:002014-04-13T15:06:09.759-04:00Dialogue: NES unfortunately continues the trend of...Dialogue: NES unfortunately continues the trend of NPCs only having a single thing to say. The SMS version however seems to keep the entire script in place with the exception that keywords are unlocked by conversation (with the same or other characters) rather than having the option to ask about the virtues, mantras, runes, or stones right away. Basically if someone in the PC version says go ask Pepper about the rune, you could start a new game, go straight to Pepper, type rune, and get the info. In the SMS, you'd have to first learn that Pepper knows about the rune, then you'd have the keyword ready when you speak to her. Standard keywords (job, name, look, health) are always unlocked.<br /><br />Strange, when you said 'YES' to that ranger, it gave you a response as if you said 'YEW'.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-67216781766245188402014-04-03T13:07:20.022-04:002014-04-03T13:07:20.022-04:00Curiously the original Everquest MMO used the same...Curiously the original Everquest MMO used the same method for obtaining quests. If you paid attention to the speech of the NPC you could find out huge amounts of the background lore. Also some of the epic quests introduced later in the game required you to know some of the lore so that you could prompt the correct NPC with right questions. <br /><br />I remember playing it through and thinking back to Ultima IV and its dialog options at the time.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128580968994904640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41828401520670353742013-10-01T13:44:35.486-04:002013-10-01T13:44:35.486-04:00It's related enough. I instituted the rule bec...It's related enough. I instituted the rule because people were linking to Kickstarter projects and GOG games in practically every posting.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-68642337767101571082013-10-01T03:30:37.209-04:002013-10-01T03:30:37.209-04:00Whoops... remembered the rule about linking to com...Whoops... remembered the rule about linking to commercial entities and was going to go back and edit my post to remove the links (an argument could be made that the games in question are "directly relevant to the material in the blog posting", but it's iffy), but apparently there's no way to edit it. Feel free to remove the links if you feel it necessary. Sorry about that.Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15845276589159668522013-10-01T03:28:28.604-04:002013-10-01T03:28:28.604-04:00The shareware Exile games from Spiderweb Software ...The shareware Exile games from <a href="http://www.spidweb.com/" rel="nofollow">Spiderweb Software</a> had a similar keyword interface. (I think the Avernum remake series changed it so you just clicked on the words instead of entering them, but I'm not completely sure I'm remembering that right.)<br /><br />There's also a shareware <a href="http://mozomedia.com/ack/" rel="nofollow">Adventure Creation Kit</a> with the same system implemented.<br /><br />Both of these were clearly inspired by the original Ultimas, though.Jalen Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00973042209003357278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-2533923622125851842013-08-02T19:07:17.734-04:002013-08-02T19:07:17.734-04:00There was an old game called "Pathways into D...There was an old game called "Pathways into Darkness" that had a very similar keyword interface when talking to dead soldiers with the yellow crystal. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-37033578680369460882013-07-23T16:44:20.998-04:002013-07-23T16:44:20.998-04:00Keywords questions were also in wasteland and veil...Keywords questions were also in wasteland and veil of darkness.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04708883585976311586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39193545879113635622013-04-16T13:38:06.418-04:002013-04-16T13:38:06.418-04:00Also, in the original Fallout and (I think) Fallou...Also, in the original Fallout and (I think) Fallout 2 you could both pick responses from a list and type your own, but it was limited to 'important' NPCs.Colinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54639778439447463852012-01-06T01:58:24.908-05:002012-01-06T01:58:24.908-05:00And V, I'm finding out. It doesn't have th...And <i>V</i>, I'm finding out. It doesn't have the same number of NPCs as the <i>Ultima</i> series, but it's still a welcome addition.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-42350856391479522882012-01-01T07:50:51.080-05:002012-01-01T07:50:51.080-05:00Keywords are an important part of conversation in ...Keywords are an important part of conversation in Wizardry 6 and 7, at least!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22822454728033850212011-10-24T14:52:54.767-04:002011-10-24T14:52:54.767-04:00The only other CRPG which I know that a text parse...The only other CRPG which I know that a text parser is an important part of the game is Quest for Glory 1 and 2.<br /><br />For example QFG2 has a puzzle based around a conversation that if you don't pick the correct word to ask about, the dialog will just keep looping.<br /><br />Although it all depends if you think these games fall in the same category as Ultima IV!<br /><br />(On a side note Quest of Glory did have gems such as typing "pick nose", "Success! You now have an open nose")Tknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18350350713670678702011-09-26T10:05:59.873-04:002011-09-26T10:05:59.873-04:00I think they were trying to make something like th...I think they were trying to make something like this in Fallout 1&2. You could input a keyword or ask a NPC something "other" than the normal conversations. I didn't find anything useful though, so it could be just something they left out. Must install Fallout and ask everybody NAME! HEALT! JOB! <br /><br />I must skip the rest of ultima posts, so I can enjoy them fullest.Chosen Onehttp://www.facebook.com/Linnalanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-756679957675731182011-07-16T15:59:08.385-04:002011-07-16T15:59:08.385-04:00Furthermore, the way in which you communicate with...Furthermore, the way in which you communicate with NPCs is completely unique: you type the keywords you want to talk about. (Aside from Ultimas IV-VI, I know no other game that has this interface.<br /><br />Wiz 7 has a similar way of communicating with NPCs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-52205681921335633942011-07-02T02:58:36.681-04:002011-07-02T02:58:36.681-04:00*blink blink* Man, your blog gets the restringing ...*blink blink* Man, your blog gets the restringing spam. Mine just gets porn, pirated stuff and counterfeit stuff.Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10285633607592376052011-07-02T00:31:00.526-04:002011-07-02T00:31:00.526-04:00Well, that's easily the most surreal comment I...Well, that's easily the most surreal comment I've had on this blog.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-3802723968062803952011-07-01T21:11:37.294-04:002011-07-01T21:11:37.294-04:00Duh, that's when the killin' started it al...Duh, that's when the killin' started it all and such. You never met them goblins down by duh square knot in duh bollows. Maybe you should wait uh bit for duh priest. He likes all those with shiny eyes. They sparkle better when duh nite began...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-17008479234311408642011-06-25T01:34:41.792-04:002011-06-25T01:34:41.792-04:00Conceding that yes, sometimes the writing style le...Conceding that yes, sometimes the writing style leaves much to be desired, I think what made NWN's conversations stand out to me is more due to the NPCs' reactions than to the PC's dialogue options. <br /><br />I can always (and usually do) make up my own lines in my mind, but to actually see an NPC react accordingly to the style of answer you'd have given is what clicks for me.Macnolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17001019572827062067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16950336424058029752011-06-24T23:01:12.971-04:002011-06-24T23:01:12.971-04:00I see what you're saying, but I just don't...I see what you're saying, but I just don't feel the same way. Even if the dialog options are obvious, having them actually lets you role-play the various encounters. Some games obviously do them better than others, but I always appreciate having them at all.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72530089762189802011-06-22T07:59:36.038-04:002011-06-22T07:59:36.038-04:00Great review, even greater comment!
One comment o...Great review, even greater comment!<br /><br />One comment on dialogue options:<br />I am currently trying to finish Baldur's Gate 1 ( totally my 4th attempt over the years, apparently i hate this game ) <br />and i find most of dialogues extremely shallow.<br /><br />In Ultimas IV,V etc. there was no "promise" of dialogue options that really mattered.<br /><br />In BG1 however there is a delusion of dialogues having a great impact and shaping out the game.<br /><br />Unfortunately what i really see is:<br />- "NPC says something"<br />---Player Dialogue Options---<br />A - I am evil and/or rude and i will ignore/fight you.<br />B - I am good and/or weak and i will submit to your requests. <br />C - I am an xp hunter and i'll take any silly quest you give me.<br /><br />I really hate that.<br />I personally prefer no dialogue options to really shallow/simplistic ones.<br /><br />Fortunately in other games (Planescape:Torment) the dialogue options are much better.stakonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17983551050051118130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-86944912121716803392010-11-14T06:08:40.530-05:002010-11-14T06:08:40.530-05:00Do more of this.
Few people can write. Fewer sti...Do more of this. <br /><br />Few people can write. Fewer still can write a good joke. Rarest of all are those who see a good joke as just the beginning of all that follows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com