tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post7476039762418081942..comments2024-03-28T15:25:30.216-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Challenge of the Five Realms: Summary and RatingCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-68115319520604234202023-01-21T22:58:01.356-05:002023-01-21T22:58:01.356-05:00Huh, I didn't know Marc Miller made video game...Huh, I didn't know Marc Miller made video games: It makes sense why they licensed Traveller now, if the writer was on staff! Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7314166183470292292020-07-18T14:53:26.777-04:002020-07-18T14:53:26.777-04:00I stumbled on this game in the Playclassics websit...I stumbled on this game in the Playclassics website. Old-school party-based RPG, without the headache-inducing first person view and slow screen scroll turning.<br /><br />1992 was also around the time when sound cards started enhancing the gaming experience, no more beeps and boops from your computer speaker.<br /><br />I particularly enjoyed the manual creation of your character, where you are asked several quiz questions regarding your abilities, personality and responses to situations. It reminded me of some Japanese RPG on the Super Nintendo, it's not just assigning stat points on a rolled character like many D&D-based RPGs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-78850820927632985572020-01-07T16:05:44.783-05:002020-01-07T16:05:44.783-05:00I like a good story and choices, but you have to r...I like a good story and choices, but you have to recognize that if we make these the very definition of a "CRPG" than the first real CRPG didn't appear until about 1985, and between 1985 and 1995, there were only 8 of them, mostly <i>Ultima</i> titles. <br /><br />Paul, in your case, as Reiska said, your characters are developing in some way, so I'd call it an RPG. But keep in mind that my definitions are meant only to govern COMPUTER RPGs. I wouldn't necessarily extend them to tabletop RPGs. They're different animals.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11165536483326873172020-01-07T15:41:06.660-05:002020-01-07T15:41:06.660-05:00For me, an RPG is more about choices combined with...For me, an RPG is more about choices combined with narrative. It's less about stats and gear, more about feeling and story. I'll be the first to admit that Mass Effect is barely an RPG in terms of stats and levelling, but I love the dramatic moments where you must pick between mutually exclusive options, then see that choice ripple out and affect things in 2 and 3.<br /><br />Same thing with KOTOR II; the combat is janky broken garbage, but the parts I love are when you return to the Ebon Hawk and learn what different characters think about the story so far. The first major section of the game ends on a huge info dump rather than a boss battle, which took some huge cajones and was way more interesting than spamming Power Attack for 20 rounds.<br /><br />Same thing with Planescape: Torment--barely any meaningful character upgrades, just a huge fascinating world to explore with a lot of weird characters to learn about and strange adventures to be had.<br /><br />That's not to say that I dislike levelling and character building, but if you took that stuff out of an RPG you'd still have a good game in my opinion--not so if you took out the story and just left in all the numbers.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14025511634630902101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90773824073308041352020-01-07T08:40:31.521-05:002020-01-07T08:40:31.521-05:00Getting more feats is still a kind of advancement,...Getting more feats is still a kind of advancement, though.Reiskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09444824451578560746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49958348153220875462020-01-07T08:26:27.593-05:002020-01-07T08:26:27.593-05:00My D&D group and I spent a lot of time on a D&...My D&D group and I spent a lot of time on a D&D 3.5 E6 campaign back in the day. The premise of the E6 variant is basically: play D&D 3.5 as normal. Once characters hit level 6, they don't level anymore. Everytime they accrue enough XP to go to level 7, they get an extra feat instead (basically a rather slight and very specialized power boost in one area).<br /><br />The group expectedly rose to level 6 more or less rapidly, they were there after half a year or so of regular sessions. We continued playing for a full year after that.<br /><br />Not an RPG anymore at that point?Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16594966196618648451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65062407516707587432020-01-06T20:42:46.106-05:002020-01-06T20:42:46.106-05:00Personally for me the core experience of CRPG is g...Personally for me the core experience of CRPG is growth. It can be focused on equipment, rather than character, but unless the verbs of the game become more powerful or varied during the game it does not feel like a CRPG to me.<br /><br />Conversly, the most detailed simulation of a variety of different gameplay styles will still feel like an adventure game to me, if there is no growth. Even if you have extensive character creation and whatnot, in my mind it's still an adventure game without NTGU.unimuralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06987909304909067445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34842761532484519752020-01-06T16:19:18.175-05:002020-01-06T16:19:18.175-05:00For some reason I find the name Chesotor hilarious...For some reason I find the name Chesotor hilarious. I kept getting a chuckle out of it all the way to the end.<br /><br />All hail Lord Chesotor!Mayhaymnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-13379422668560974202020-01-06T15:51:11.066-05:002020-01-06T15:51:11.066-05:00From when I played this game many years ago I seem...From when I played this game many years ago I seem to recall the rule is if you successfully use a skill, there is a chance for it to improve. The chance is lower the higher the skill already is. <br /><br />That seemed to play out in my experience as my main character (a mage) with a weapon skill of 14 actually improved the one time he hit with his weapon. Of course, a weapon skill of 14 he couldn't hit the ground either the way that game implemented things. <br /><br />I wonder if there was a point where the game just had such a low chance of improvement that no one ever saw it? I know my mages never improved at all in spellcasting the entire game, but they were over 100 already in the stat. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80665129605181582852020-01-06T15:42:10.495-05:002020-01-06T15:42:10.495-05:00Yeah, attributes don't change in a lot of game...Yeah, attributes don't change in a lot of games. It's the nature of the D&D system that attributes are mostly fixed. I'm not necessarily talking about those. I'm talking about general "leveling" with whatever rewards that brings: more max hit points, more spells, higher skills, better resistances, extra attacks.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-15747698329073488092020-01-06T15:32:36.436-05:002020-01-06T15:32:36.436-05:00It's been ages since I played Baldur's Gat...It's been ages since I played Baldur's Gate 2, but I seem to remember that your character's stats hardly increased during the game. Hit and magic points increased, and resistances, but strength and intelligence etc. we're more of less fixed. I don't doubt BG is an rpg, but the lack of state increases at level ups still feels as a weak point, so I agree fully with MOZA that the numbers should go up (a very rare weak point in the case of BG2, I should add - to me it's one of the best games ever).Didiernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-51825260484163762092020-01-06T04:58:27.268-05:002020-01-06T04:58:27.268-05:00A limit of 100 days is really not an argument; the...A limit of 100 days is really not an argument; there are plenty of RPGs where the main character goes from level 1 to level 20 within just weeks of in-game time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54579317478198771722020-01-06T03:56:44.217-05:002020-01-06T03:56:44.217-05:00Isn't that basically Megatraveller 2? Sure, st...Isn't that basically Megatraveller 2? Sure, stat advancements are there in theory, but I don't remembering it happening even once during my playthrough.Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07270991090065636515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-78390544445012190622020-01-06T00:55:51.601-05:002020-01-06T00:55:51.601-05:00It would be a weird RPG. You'd probably trap m...It would be a weird RPG. You'd probably trap me in a corner where I'd have to recognize it as such, but I wouldn't like it.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-21663751218050604082020-01-05T19:23:10.448-05:002020-01-05T19:23:10.448-05:00So would you consider a simplistic Ultima 1 style ...So would you consider a simplistic Ultima 1 style game with only STR, INT and CON as its stats, but they increase with experience, as more of an RPG than a highly complex game with detailed character creation but the stats barely go up, if at all?<br /><br />The system would be classless and allow you any combination of skills. You can specialize or become a hybrid battemage etc. There are wildly different playstyles and the game's quests support different approaches based on your character: combat, magic, stealth, diplomacy, etc. But the stats and skills you pick at character creation stay the same throughout the game.<br /><br />Would it be less of an RPG than something with a much simpler system but increasing stats?<br /><br />I enjoy leveling up my characters too, but a game where you fully define your character at his or her creation and don't get to raise anything afterwards would still be a proper RPG provided that different characters actually play differently. JarlFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08139422412722665286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10143723245099766472020-01-05T18:08:20.846-05:002020-01-05T18:08:20.846-05:00I spent three months in basic training, too, and I...I spent three months in basic training, too, and I think you're downplaying how much you picked up in that short period. No, you weren't any kind of combat veteran, but on a Scale of 0-10, you probably went from 0 to 3 or 4 on a lot of skills, not to mention general physical fitness. I went from never handling either to marksmanship badges in rifles and grenades and I went from the ability to do 20 pushups in 2 minutes to more than 80.<br /><br />But "realism" is a weird requirement for RPGs anyway. I'm with MOZA. Numbers That Go Up is as key a requirement for an RPG. I've rejected plenty of games that have fixed attributes but no character development. Cot5R squeaks by because SOME of its numbers go up, but in some ways the inconsistency is worse than if the character was just fixed.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-42224118039767680822020-01-05T10:11:24.846-05:002020-01-05T10:11:24.846-05:00This game gives the player a time limit of 100 day...This game gives the player a time limit of 100 days, right? How much personal improvement can a person do in just over 3 months? Especially if they'll spend a lot of that time just walking from one place to the next. Did the prince bring a library, a retinue of personal trainers, tutors and martial arts coaches with him?<br />I've always been put off by the time scales of games. While I don't expect them to play out in real time I would expect a PC's personal development to track reasonably along the timeline of the game.<br />I spent 3 months in basic training and I can't say I went from a civilian to a combat veteran in that time. I learned only the bare minimum to be a soldier. It was over the next decade that I really honed my skills as an infantryman, truck driver, fuel handler, and instructor. Mr. Pavonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286558267156792637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6889477181683007172020-01-05T09:08:26.078-05:002020-01-05T09:08:26.078-05:00JF: "Or what about a D&D module intended ...JF: <i>"Or what about a D&D module intended for characters of a certain level, with not enough XP to give you any levelups?"</i><br /><br />I would say that an individual module does not qualify as an "RPG" regardless of anything, since it lacks all the game systems. At best it's a <i>part</i> of an RPG. And if you took, let's say, the whole game of 5th edition D&D, and removed the ability to get stronger with no other changes - no, I would no longer count it as an RPG personally. It would be a verbal adventure game. The Numbers That Go Up are in my mind an intrinsic requirement for RPGs, and if I imagine the simplest possible thing that qualifies as an RPG, it has nothing in it except basic decision-making and Numbers That Go Up. Not even combat is necessary in my book, nor equipment nor economy, but the NTGU have to be there.<br /><br />There's admittedly a lot of blurred lines here because RPGs are perhaps the least precisely defined genre of all games short of "action-adventure", the catch-all genre.MOZAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64299067655484978572020-01-05T08:25:21.008-05:002020-01-05T08:25:21.008-05:00Legacy(RoT) is highly recommended for how unique i...Legacy(RoT) is highly recommended for how unique it is both in theme and style. Having beaten it, I can vouch that it's a game that pretends to be harder than it actually is. The most difficult part is the very beginning, where you're thrown straight into the deep end without a clue what you're expected to do about any of the dozen problems it throws in your lap. After getting your bearings and surviving the first hour, it's surprisingly smooth sailing.MOZAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-51462709695031224342020-01-05T04:18:33.152-05:002020-01-05T04:18:33.152-05:00Legacy: Realm of Terror can be compared with the E...Legacy: Realm of Terror can be compared with the Elvira games or Waxworks: more of an adventure game with RPG elements. It has slightly more meaningful RPG system, marred by the fact what the resources, including spellcasting points, are strictly limited. Also, it plays the horror genre straight, borrowing much from Lovecraft, instead of being an homage to the horror B-movies. Which is, arguably, a strong point, compared to the HorrorSoft games.VladimIr V Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673420469663885531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18139802142941590272020-01-05T02:40:35.364-05:002020-01-05T02:40:35.364-05:00I've enjoyed reading all your postings on this...I've enjoyed reading all your postings on this game, brought back a few nostalgic memories. I thought it might score a bit higher, but as you rightly point out that while the high points are quite high, the low points are very low to cancel that out, and I can't specifically complain about any of the scores you gave.Mikrakovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02359946565373258773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50532309657082903842020-01-04T20:59:23.313-05:002020-01-04T20:59:23.313-05:00They would - arguably indeed, in my opinion, they ...They would - arguably indeed, in my opinion, they would be *more* RPGs if characters were intrinsically somewhat invariable. But RPGs or not, they are certainly not the sort of RPGs that Chet likes, and their Gimlets accordingly will tend to be less than stellar!Gerry Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078394659680797175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-38584669922905426282020-01-04T18:53:54.664-05:002020-01-04T18:53:54.664-05:00Your comment that the game barely counts as an RPG...Your comment that the game barely counts as an RPG considering most of your skills never rise up made me think.<br /><br />It is, by all means, an RPG: you get to choose your character's starting skill values, and they influence what he's good or bad at. Is leveling up really necessary for it to be a proper RPG? Shouldn't character creation be enough?<br /><br />Let's try a little thought experiment. What if Fallout 1 - by some people considered to be the best RPG ever - gave you a couple more points at char gen and then that's the char you play from start to finish?<br /><br />Or what about a D&D module intended for characters of a certain level, with not enough XP to give you any levelups? Let's say it's a dungeon crawl that lasts you 5 hours and is filled with challeging encounters and nets you a couple of magic items, but you start it at level 9 and there's not enough XP in the module to propel you to level 10. You are completely free in choosing your character's class, feats, spells etc though. <br /><br />Those would fully qualify as RPGs, wouldn't they? JarlFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08139422412722665286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-48524048912365872662020-01-04T14:34:47.511-05:002020-01-04T14:34:47.511-05:00That's not a bad review, even if it is obvious...That's not a bad review, even if it is obvious that he never finished the game. Maybe he meant to say Return of the Phantom. That isn't right either. Although either way, the code in that game must have been a Frankenstein nightmare.MorpheusKitamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16591271981112642781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64213165108453532032020-01-04T12:40:19.883-05:002020-01-04T12:40:19.883-05:00That's weird. Normally, I'd check out scre...That's weird. Normally, I'd check out screenshots from myself, but I read on three different web sites, including the generally reliable RPS . . .<br /><br />https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/06/03/bloodnet-review-retro/<br /><br />. . . that bloodnet "uses the same engine" as Cot5R. But you're right--it looks 100% different.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com