tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post7844642533496314812..comments2024-03-29T02:34:55.592-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: The Dark Queen of Krynn: Summary and RatingCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64776815841670190042021-10-19T15:29:43.776-04:002021-10-19T15:29:43.776-04:00I've been meaning to post this for a while, bu...I've been meaning to post this for a while, but as a C64 player, I finally had the opportunity to play and beat this (and Death Knights) a few months ago.<br /><br />I enjoyed the game, but I can see why some of the reviews were harsh when it came out. All the reloads would have been unbearable on those computers.<br />It also left me with no desire to even try Pools of Darkness.Ethernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-74826181317629742122021-10-17T20:46:11.096-04:002021-10-17T20:46:11.096-04:00> The Gold Box goes out neither with a bang nor...> The Gold Box goes out neither with a bang nor a whimper, but with something in between: a solid, well-crafted, challenging entry that nonetheless fails to break any significant ground.<br /><br />I was struck between the similarity of your statement above to your comments of several other Big Series of CRPGs. For example, <a href="https://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2012/06/wizardry-v-final-rating.html" rel="nofollow">your conclusion at the end of Wizardry V, eight years prior</a>: that after Wizardry I, "Wizardry offered essentially the same graphics and gameplay experience for four more entries and seven more years." And regarding the <a href="https://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2019/06/game-331-danger-in-drindisti-1982.html" rel="nofollow">Dunjonquest series</a>: that if its developers "had continued to develop this system, the Dunjonquest line would be better-remembered and better-regarded today. Instead, the company took what was arguably the best IP in CRPG-dom and spent the next six years handicapping it... If the company had spent those years on sequels, improving the engine, rather than simplistic expansions, it could have eclipsed Wizardry and Ultima."<br /><br />Those similarities make the contrast with Ultima -- the other Big Series, which overhauled its gameplay with practically each new release -- even more stark. I wonder what it was that Garriot and Origin had, that the people behind these other Big Series lacked...<br />AlphabeticalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91582312250671499522021-03-02T07:19:25.204-05:002021-03-02T07:19:25.204-05:00Probably confusion with Menzoberranzan which came ...Probably confusion with Menzoberranzan which came out between the two actual Ravenloft games and used the same engine.Ken Brubakernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65243138445859587662021-03-02T00:53:36.411-05:002021-03-02T00:53:36.411-05:00No, that can't be it. That's not SSI, and ...No, that can't be it. That's not SSI, and it's a year later than I said. I guess it's just two. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-31445104902259135482021-03-02T00:51:45.248-05:002021-03-02T00:51:45.248-05:00Something called Iron & Blood: Warriors of Rav...Something called <i>Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft</i> (1996).CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-30469348089763688282021-03-01T21:57:37.195-05:002021-03-01T21:57:37.195-05:003 Ravenloft games? Curse of Strahd, Stone Prophet...3 Ravenloft games? Curse of Strahd, Stone Prophet, and ???N3tXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03210286960912947693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-49197032873963729362020-11-10T20:09:41.743-05:002020-11-10T20:09:41.743-05:00I think I'll always love the Gold Box series a...I think I'll always love the Gold Box series and will always want more, funnily enough. There hasn't been anything quite like it since. <br /><br />I've been trying out some hacked UA modules lately but like with a lot of fan made stuff a lack of an editor leads to typos and mood changes that just take me out of it. When your primarily a text based game this is a big problem. Scott Gagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00096908333138074926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-5562090256537579732020-11-09T14:35:09.627-05:002020-11-09T14:35:09.627-05:00More than that - If you hire heroes and thaumaturg...More than that - If you hire heroes and thaumaturges at the start of the game, and then off them in the slums, you get their (magical) gear.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9254226411186393392020-11-09T13:13:40.641-05:002020-11-09T13:13:40.641-05:00Real Time with Pause is a middle ground of waste a...Real Time with Pause is a middle ground of waste and frustration between the poles of Turn Based and Real Time Combat. Having said that, I can understand its appeal. Turn Based combat can lack the visceral side of battle. Pathfinder kingmaker gives you the option of RTWP or Turn Based. I find myself flipping back and forth between the two. JJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-19511867994481473702020-11-09T13:09:27.382-05:002020-11-09T13:09:27.382-05:00There are some motivations for "evil" pl...There are some motivations for "evil" play in Pool of Radiance. For example, the magic user in the Nomad camp has the only Bracers AC 2 in the game. The only way to get them is to be hostile to the nomads. There are a few other examples. Some quests are easier with an "evil" frame of mind. For example, you could just buy the heir to Bivant, rather than liberating all slaves in the Buccaneer camp. Of course, you could roleplay massacring all buccaneers as an "evil" action. It comes down to the player's own frame of mind. My point is that there are evil choices avaliable. You can even attack the Government House in Phlan. No other Gold Box offered that kind of choice. Unrealistic, maybe, but this is why Pool of Radiance rates high. My problem with it has always been the clunky interface. It was streamlined in later games. JJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-53321820635756406132020-11-09T09:54:51.965-05:002020-11-09T09:54:51.965-05:00Your final comment on replaying Gold Box over and ...Your final comment on replaying Gold Box over and over is very close to where I ended up in the CRPG world. I have played games from many other franchises, but Gold Box always remained the favorite. I suppose I shall always be playing them in order and back round again. There is some replay value, especially if you create new parties for each game. <br /><br />On the whole I agree with you. Pool of Radiance is probably the best. It does have the feel of an old module. The Graveyard especially had a "Tomb of Horrors" feel about it. <br /><br />I prefer the Pool series too. Like you I never read any of the Dragonlance novels. Forgotten Realms was just an extension of Greyhawk, in my mind. Just as serviceable as it was generic. Pathfinder is the first game to have an interesting world, in terms of geography, society, religion, and even in races and classes. <br /><br />I disagree with you about Secret of the Silver Blades, but that is just preference. It was actually the first Gold Box game I finished, so there is a sentimental attachment. <br /><br />I actually liked Dark Queen for giving us a new continent to explore. A pity it was so empty! I suspect that Dragonlance, with it's emphasis on Good vs Evil, gave you less options in role-playing, although it had superior race and class options.<br />Still I agree that only Pool of Radiance had the blank slate at the start of the game. All the rest have you committed at the start to a course of action. <br /><br />I am grateful for the Gold Box series, both in terms of quality and quantity. These games always worked on my computer with no loading or memory issues. Back in the day, that was important. I am grateful for your review of the series. It's been a lot of fun! Often when I introduce people to your blog, I start with the entry on the Kobold fight in Pool of Radiance.JJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79658483423138147872020-11-07T18:33:45.067-05:002020-11-07T18:33:45.067-05:00@mr. pavone: Yeah, I've seen that . . . it'...@mr. pavone: Yeah, I've seen that . . . it's second hand, and a need to make magic-users weaker to balance them against fighters isn't the same as hating magic. I've played AD&D since back in the day, and magic-users aren't strong to start with . . . but they get stronger, and they often get so using spells and magic items Gary Gygax is directly responsible for putting in the game. I don't see the hate. A different idea of how "balance" should work, perhaps, but hate? Hard to believe despite Tim Kask's words, especially given that we know Gygax more for Mordenkainen and Bigby than for Yrag the fighter.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54406807751184984832020-11-07T11:00:04.995-05:002020-11-07T11:00:04.995-05:00I was impressed by the recent Dungeon of Naheulbeu...I was impressed by the recent Dungeon of Naheulbeurk in terms of tactical excellence, even though they XCOM "two-impulses" turn.Narwhal, the Wargaming Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808952600298482923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7080741772093534222020-11-07T05:26:07.367-05:002020-11-07T05:26:07.367-05:00Stronghold was one of my favorite games as a kid. ...Stronghold was one of my favorite games as a kid. It is entirely possible to beat the game in a few hours on the 'Lawful' setting, maybe an hour or two more on 'Chaotic' or 'Neutral'.<br /><br />'Lawful' bases your promotions on the state of your empire. Expand and build, promotions follow. Not hard. 'Chaotic' is solely based on razing monster strongholds. More difficult, since you need a somewhat-decent economy to support excess high-level warriors. 'Neutral' demands both goals, if I'm remembering correctly.<br /><br />Definitely worth a try just to see how AD&D could be adapted to what is basically SimCity with monsters, but it's not a RPG at all.Raifieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08478524519453417677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-7360658793996462172020-11-06T21:24:11.011-05:002020-11-06T21:24:11.011-05:00I'm sure many of the readers already subscribe...I'm sure many of the readers already subscribe to both blogs, but today's new "Digital Antiquarian" post about what happened to SSI following the expiry of their D&D phase is an interesting companion piece to yours concluding their use of the Gold Box engine. https://www.filfre.net/2020/11/opening-the-gold-box-part-7-back-to-the-roots/Rowan Lipkovitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08691096685515251681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-63766586151594982522020-11-05T17:12:35.724-05:002020-11-05T17:12:35.724-05:00Four years ago, I was eager and optimistic and tho...Four years ago, I was eager and optimistic and thought my preferred candidate would win anyway. Since then, I've just been sad. Even if Biden wins, I'll be sad that it was so close. I think "the left" clearly has better policies, but I at least understand why people might disagree about that. What I don't understand is looking at Trump and seeing anything but a venial, thuggish idiot. And a criminal besides.<br /><br />I could understand some urge to vote for him in 2016, if you were disgusted with the entire political process and you were looking to throw a wrench in the machine just to see what happened. But after four years of this, particularly his bungled response to COVID-19, that nearly 50% of this country still supports him makes me want to do nothing but cry.<br /><br />So no, I didn't write anything this year. I probably shouldn't have even written this. It's disingenuous for me to say something on my blog and then not invite replies, but I don't want replies, and if I get any, I'll probably nuke the entire thread. Not because I'm stifling your free speech, but because this is my blog, and people like you (hypothetical respondents, not you, Rangerous) just make me inconsolably sad.<br />CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-19262151867598436452020-11-04T09:17:53.747-05:002020-11-04T09:17:53.747-05:00Hopefully I didn't come across as taking sides...Hopefully I didn't come across as taking sides in the ongoing legal dispute, especially given that specific details are not known. While we've gotten some info from Weis & Hickman's side from the legal filing, one can safely assume that provides a biased view of the case given that it was produced by their attorneys.<br /><br />We do know that WotC repeatedly requested changes around things deemed "culturally sensitive". Reading between the lines of the filing, it seems that the authors in response repeatedly made slight changes that didn't really address the spirit of WotC's concerns. As a result, WotC decided to shelve the project in such a way that WotC's lawyers thought would not trigger penalty clauses in the original contract; I'd assume that WotC did this because they felt Weis & Hickman were acting in bad faith, but again, who knows? That action is what triggered the lawsuit. The most likely outcome is that this is settled out of court and we'll never find out what actually happened.<br /><br />Back to the matter at hand, whether the "cultural issues" were related to race (portraying an entire race as thieves (kender) or unintelligent (gully dwarves)), cultural appropriation (plainsmen and/or Kagonesti elves), gender issues (love potion) or something else, I guess my main point is that Dragonlance has always very much been a product with 80's sensibilities where for whatever sociological reasons we (speaking as an American) didn't think to deeply about these things at that time. As such, I'm sure this single throwaway line of dialogue in DQoK probably was forgotten as soon as the programmer typed it in but stands out pretty strongly when viewed in 2020.Vonotarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64516389981625359492020-11-04T06:14:02.294-05:002020-11-04T06:14:02.294-05:00Haven't read the books, but the settings is re...Haven't read the books, but the settings is really original and well written in my opinion. Pretty Grimdark obviously, I would like to know who thought : "what if our halfings were CANNIBALS ?!"<br /><br />Except Ur-Draxa and the Dragon City (Valley of Dust and Fire expansion) which indeed feels written by the 16 years old.Narwhal, the Wargaming Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808952600298482923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-90427628272344754472020-11-04T03:56:55.338-05:002020-11-04T03:56:55.338-05:00Perhaps ironically, knowing the Dragonlance novels...Perhaps ironically, knowing the Dragonlance novels did not make me _happy_ with Raistlin's appearance--quite the opposite actually. See, in the novels, he's explicitly not supposed to be stuck in a Lower Plane. That's something Takhisis puts about that isn't actually true.<br /><br />Similarly, making Lord Soth into a would-be conqueror in Death Knights of Krynn produces the primary reaction, after reading the novels, of "wtf?" and I still don't know how they even envisioned Kitiara getting from her last appearance in the novels (spoiler: she was really most sincerely dead, possibly to reappear as undead but no longer a living power broker) to "Lenore."Kishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11456086726407491007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-66004010037668086702020-11-03T22:42:02.492-05:002020-11-03T22:42:02.492-05:00But what cannot be viewed as commentary on real-wo...But what cannot be viewed as commentary on real-world races, if one chooses to so view it?Gerry Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078394659680797175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-22624266857489292902020-11-03T19:40:15.882-05:002020-11-03T19:40:15.882-05:00Sorry for the confusion, in regards to a replay, I...Sorry for the confusion, in regards to a replay, I meant for myself!<br /><br />I'd assumed you were already very well versed in it ;-)Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09555164129781347046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-25563984630543293412020-11-03T18:53:24.134-05:002020-11-03T18:53:24.134-05:00Never had the reported "dead man walking"...Never had the reported "dead man walking" scenario on Menzoberranzan, but the game has multiple bad design decisions, including having to finish the game with only 3 people in the party if you hadn't asked previously a seemingly weak NPC to join<br /><br />As for Shattered Lands, it is my favorite SSI game (maybe even my favorite D&D game), although Wake of the Ravager had the potential to be better if it wasn't so buggyPedro Q.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03572150497835442981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-67541736777993644052020-11-03T17:37:22.635-05:002020-11-03T17:37:22.635-05:00My understanding is that the issue wasn't over...My understanding is that the issue wasn't over any specific part of the book, but was part of WoTC's desire to avoid anything that could be viewed as commentary on real-world races. <br /><br />There's enough of that baked into the DL setting that simply dropping it is not an unreasonable option.Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73338005807719336862020-11-03T17:01:19.202-05:002020-11-03T17:01:19.202-05:00The problem scene involves a 'love potion'...The problem scene involves a 'love potion' afaikTristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34885171201018969802020-11-03T16:54:04.025-05:002020-11-03T16:54:04.025-05:00Pathfinder kingmaker has a turn based modification...Pathfinder kingmaker has a turn based modification which makes the game far more playable. TOEE is good, when it works. Shattered Lands is the closest to a successor to the Gold Box Franchise. JJnoreply@blogger.com