tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post8109552119037531835..comments2024-03-28T07:54:57.566-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: Game 366: Abandoned Places: A Time for Heroes (1992)CRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-40578094051787697912021-09-09T12:26:36.518-04:002021-09-09T12:26:36.518-04:00Rorschach, Mark was referring to the fall of Const...Rorschach, Mark was referring to the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, which essentially ended the eastern Roman Empire. CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-9190857220939169622021-09-08T22:59:05.317-04:002021-09-08T22:59:05.317-04:00450 not 1450450 not 1450Rorschachnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-42593718279847418872020-06-16T06:05:17.013-04:002020-06-16T06:05:17.013-04:00The game included a separate booklet from the manu...The game included a separate booklet from the manual, the "Chronicles of Kalinthya", it explained the backstory and it is also used as a copy protection in the final portion of the game.Albert Carrerashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17193090555168891065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-56853156374880766292020-05-27T10:55:53.467-04:002020-05-27T10:55:53.467-04:00Digger was one of the first games to have such iss...Digger was one of the first games to have such issues. It was unplayable on a 80386 without using moslo or other slowing methods. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84685557496762298292020-05-24T17:04:29.301-04:002020-05-24T17:04:29.301-04:00Yeah, MOSLO was what I was thinking of! I couldn&#...Yeah, MOSLO was what I was thinking of! I couldn't remember the name.Iffy Bonzooliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519858732154180575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1363237594232398062020-05-24T10:03:37.018-04:002020-05-24T10:03:37.018-04:00Pretty sure when they re-released Wing Commander 2...Pretty sure when they re-released Wing Commander 2 at a budget price in the pentium era they packaged mo'slo with it :) I seem to remember not switching it on and slamming straight into an asteroid as soon as I took off in one mission.<br />Borothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16435272207832231072020-05-24T09:14:44.320-04:002020-05-24T09:14:44.320-04:00I used Mo'Slo to chew up CPU cycles, which see...I used Mo'Slo to chew up CPU cycles, which seems to have been first released all the way back in 1990!<br /><br />On the flip side, when you are playing games via emulator, turning up the speed makes a lot of games a more palatable experience.Tristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-59196260802671783272020-05-23T15:34:32.205-04:002020-05-23T15:34:32.205-04:00Well East Rome fell something around 1450Well East Rome fell something around 1450Marc Sthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08732120014575394311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-24837534812326338742020-05-23T08:27:27.354-04:002020-05-23T08:27:27.354-04:00No, most people who insist that you have to grind ...No, most people who insist that you have to grind massively in all jRPGs specifically talk about "walking in circles to fight constant battles" and "you get flattened if you just follow the plot, because you'll never have the levels".<br /><br />Most of these same people will follow it with "jRPG combat is boring because all you do is mash the "attack" option continuously, and all the other tactics are worthless". <br /><br />This translates to "I couldn't be bothered to put any effort into learning the system, so I tediously overleveled myself to where I didn't have to engage with it, then criticize the game because it's too easy".<br /><br />There are, of course, games where excessive grinding is critical - the first Dragon Quest game being the iconic example. These are generally games with poor reputations, or else the grinding is generally accepted as a blemish on the product (as with Secret of Mana's need to grind up the level on the final spell to beat the final boss). Gnomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920812227941556716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-40341425720586010192020-05-23T08:02:33.614-04:002020-05-23T08:02:33.614-04:00I think a lot of reputation of JRPGs being grindy ...I think a lot of reputation of JRPGs being grindy just comes from their random encounters, which are typically very frequent and lacking in variety. It doesn't really make much of a difference whether you have to fight the same three slimes over and over again on purpose, or it just happens "haturally" over the course of your exploration.VKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-23644793225019904252020-05-23T03:51:01.058-04:002020-05-23T03:51:01.058-04:00Indeed. That greenish screen in the intro looks qu...Indeed. That greenish screen in the intro looks quite lovelyshankaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194425920878224732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26315368884771397342020-05-23T03:48:20.227-04:002020-05-23T03:48:20.227-04:00Sorry for the spam, I just got into a rabbit hole ...Sorry for the spam, I just got into a rabbit hole of reading on the matter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asynchronous_circuit#Asynchronous_CPUshankaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194425920878224732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41515049946884514452020-05-23T03:46:36.153-04:002020-05-23T03:46:36.153-04:00BTW, all systems that we've seen or will see u...BTW, all systems that we've seen or will see used in this blog have clocks of some kind to use. Rule of thumb, if it has any chip that says it runs at X hertz, it has.<br />Async. computing is a different beast altogether and quite interesting imho. Probably people that work on embedded systems can tell bettershankaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194425920878224732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84124349692441435732020-05-23T03:36:19.740-04:002020-05-23T03:36:19.740-04:00The problems you're experiencing may also be o...The problems you're experiencing may also be of another matter and not for the game to blame. <br />Because of the way dosbox runs instructions and its cycles don't really correspond to real machines of the era cycles.<br />Maybe someone has a 486/Pentium around that should be overkill for this game and see if it also does this in real HW?shankaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194425920878224732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-32747465301836101082020-05-23T03:32:40.453-04:002020-05-23T03:32:40.453-04:00Mostly all common systems have clocks in one way o...Mostly all common systems have clocks in one way or another, and usually more than one sync. type available for the programmer.<br />Around this era up to the early 90's, the most common game loops where:<br />- No sync. easier to program, no need to account for half-states if the game wasn't able to process some action in the allocated time<br />- Use the monitor sync. IIRC it started around 50-60Hz matching PAL/NTSC, of course higher freqs. were common later<br />- Use the PC speaker timer. Quite reliable, IIRC it gives you a freq. of 18.2Hz? also I think you were able to change this frequency via int calls<br />- Sync. with the sound cardshankaohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06194425920878224732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-16250753617437715062020-05-23T01:36:57.911-04:002020-05-23T01:36:57.911-04:00Speaking of hungarian games, can we also look forw...Speaking of hungarian games, can we also look forward to Perihelion: The Prophecy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-12300379290199923802020-05-22T22:06:34.748-04:002020-05-22T22:06:34.748-04:00I should have used the proper name for the 8254......I should have used the proper name for the 8254... it is the programmable interval *timer*, I was sloppy when I called it a 'clock'. That device is responsible for the timing of nearly all MS-DOS based software. Today the 8254 timer still runs at the same speed it did on the original PC... 1,193,181 Hz.<br /><br />It wasn't until the IBM PC/AT that the battery backed 'CMOS Real-Time Clock' was added. This device allowed the computer to keep track of the date and time when the computer was off. Games did NOT use this. The real time clock's job was to set the software clock's initial time when the computer was first turned on. Ticks from the 8254 were used to update the software clock while the system was running.Trapgatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-60977717611533071472020-05-22T21:29:42.048-04:002020-05-22T21:29:42.048-04:00The IBM PC came standard with a realtime clock, bu...The IBM PC came standard with a realtime clock, but there were still platforms in use in the late '80s and early '90s where you couldn't rely on the presence of a clock. Game consoles didn't have them until the 6th generation (PS2, GameCube, XBox), and the C64 had a "jiffy clock" based on hardware refresh rates.<br /><br />I agree that by 1992 it's poor engineering for a PC/Amiga game not to adjust for clock rate, but it's not totally boneheaded.stepped pyramidsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11031405317949329862020-05-22T21:17:51.766-04:002020-05-22T21:17:51.766-04:00Dragon Quest/Warrior is the most popular example o...Dragon Quest/Warrior is the most popular example of JRPG required grinding, but like others have said, I haven't experienced that with the majority of JRPGs I've played. Another popular one, Phantasy Star (at least the first two) also comes to mind for necessary grinding.<br /><br />It's possible that it comes down to not realizing optional strategies than pressing the attack button and healing as necessary that gets through most common battles. As a kid, grinding for levels seemed the obvious option when hit with a boss we couldn't beat.Zenic Reveriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16441583549326102945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80844013371300154952020-05-22T19:38:42.160-04:002020-05-22T19:38:42.160-04:00I vehemently disagree that spamming a skill or a s...I vehemently disagree that spamming a skill or a spell to raise it is "immersion-breaking" at all - it's literally practice. It's the same exact thing you'd do in real life, practice the things you're bad at until you're no longer bad at them. It may be difficult to balance, which is a game design concern, but it's much closer to how real life works than gaining general, abstract "XP" until you suddenly pop up a level, getting better at something which you may have never actually done before, with no rational explanation.<br /><br />And JRPGs bosses "requiring grinding" is a myth. Barring rare exceptions of legitimate misdesign (or the optional "superbosses" which the genre is fond of), if you can't beat a story boss when you reach it, the most plausible explanation is that you're simply playing the game wrong somehow.MOZAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-43307224321062239542020-05-22T16:34:32.007-04:002020-05-22T16:34:32.007-04:00Even in those ancient times, 900 years would mean ...Even in those ancient times, 900 years would mean a shift of political organisation, cultures coming and going, religious practices changing, languages dying out, etc. 900 years could make the difference between Sumerian being the language spoken by everyone, and Sumerian being an ancient language only spoken by the elite priesthood. You'd definitely have some communication issues when you're resurrected after 900 years.<br /><br />And sorry for the Roman Empire to moon landing comparison, my brain derped out for a moment there and for some reason turned 900 into 1900 years. It's more like Roman Empire to William the Conqueror. Still significant enough to be a huge culture shock.JarlFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08139422412722665286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8874619149164901192020-05-22T16:16:13.173-04:002020-05-22T16:16:13.173-04:00Far fewer JRPGs require grinding than people think...Far fewer JRPGs require grinding than people think. I'm doing a blog playing through old Super Famicom RPGs that weren't released in the US (thanks for the sidebar link, Chet!). I'm on game 46 and only a small number of them have really required grinding, not counting the common situation where you have to do a little bit of grinding right at the beginning because you only have one guy to start.Kurisuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00132568197501054206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-89913265799773306422020-05-22T13:05:19.520-04:002020-05-22T13:05:19.520-04:00There was also a DOS program that would chew up CP...There was also a DOS program that would chew up CPU cycles in order to show down older games that didn't do this right. It was a TSR, so I imagine it did some kind of poor man's multitasking by setting a timer and running through a for loop for a bit. You had to figure out your duty cycle, I believe, based on your particular computer's speed and the desired speed of your game. Not dissimilar to tweaking DOSBox config cycles.<br /><br />The existence of such a program indicates that there was kind of a problem here, but a lot of software didn't account for this at all.<br /><br />This seems like almost entirely a DOS problem. Most other computers had little variance, but PC clones can vary in almost every possible way. It's pretty much why that architecture won in the marketplace, because it could be everything to everyone (with enough care and feeding).Iffy Bonzooliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07519858732154180575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-26505382983854350892020-05-22T12:26:18.215-04:002020-05-22T12:26:18.215-04:00I don't think that math is quite right. Roman ...I don't think that math is quite right. Roman Empire started just a bit BC (I think) and existed as a republic for centuries before. Also, 900 years is much less significant the farther back you go. 2000 BC to 1100 BC would be much less dramatic.Timbo Jimbonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39748435671321445422020-05-22T12:14:42.106-04:002020-05-22T12:14:42.106-04:00There is exploration to be done in Skyrim, it'...There is exploration to be done in Skyrim, it's just a lot easier because the world is smaller and much more dense, and they don't let you get lost very easily while actually following a quest. I think of it sort of like an "easy mode" of Morrowind's exploration. At least you don't have every city available for fast-travel from the beginning, which I found incredibly lame about Oblivion--a game I otherwise generally liked.<br /><br />I'll also throw in my hat and say that I've beaten both Morrowind and Oblivion without power gaming. I was just so bad at games that a strategy like that never occured to me (and alchemy and enchanting are boring.)Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14025511634630902101noreply@blogger.com