tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post8426504032372282149..comments2024-03-28T20:51:01.807-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: The Return of Werdna: Abandon All HopeCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72238476922899538642022-06-30T11:56:53.360-04:002022-06-30T11:56:53.360-04:00As I heard it, TOEE was mismanaged on Troika's...As I heard it, TOEE was mismanaged on Troika's end and pushed out early by Atari. Atari extended the schedule specifically to give Troika time to fix bugs, but Tim Cain had promised various features (e.g., character origins) thart weren't yet fully implemented. The devs were adding features when they should have been polishing, and there you have it. The game cratered and Atari canceled an adaptation of Ravenloft that was in early development at another studio.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-8254307787994311252022-06-15T13:31:30.047-04:002022-06-15T13:31:30.047-04:00The way you describe the explore/map/die loop real...The way you describe the explore/map/die loop really reminds me of games nowadays that use meta-progression as a main mechanic, like having some form of xp and/or skills carry over to the next run of the game after you inevitably die. It's just your map, but that's a huge part of the game and like you said, it's not like your losing xp or anything. Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14331313770481410555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-34172907359771232422022-06-10T21:57:03.507-04:002022-06-10T21:57:03.507-04:00Ah fair, the one with graphic glitches so bad my D...Ah fair, the one with graphic glitches so bad my Dad had to return it to the store as his characters wouldn't render in. <br /><br />That is cool, did it...matter that it was in Greyhawk, or was it mostly self-contained to Homette and the temple?Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54772269978631213992022-06-10T12:51:28.278-04:002022-06-10T12:51:28.278-04:00Yeah, paper mapping is very much a hold-over from ...Yeah, paper mapping is very much a hold-over from the early tabletop RPGs that the Wizardry series is particular imitated. Game sessions were rarely narrative, since your knight in plate mail could be insta-killed by a small child with a butter knife who got a lucky role; mostly what you did was descend through the various of a dungeon, killing monsters avoiding traps, and carefully mapping so you could find your way back to the surface. Wizardry feels more like early D&D than just about any other classic CRPG series, and the careful hand-mapping is part of that whole experience.100FloorsOfFrightshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07625564667909827929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10477667495014957832022-06-09T00:57:35.366-04:002022-06-09T00:57:35.366-04:00Chet, there's one more thing, more advice than...Chet, there's one more thing, more advice than anything, and maybe it's already been covered. But because the game is SO difficult, I'll mention it anyway (rot-13 style): Ba nal yriry, jura lbh svefg yriry hc ng n cragntenz, FNIR VZZRQVNGRYL. That might be sorta common sense, but (rot13) vg'f fbzrgvzrf rnfl gb sbetrg qhr gb gur jrveq fnir zrpunavp bs erfcnjavat nyy gur rarzvrf. Vg'f fnsre gb fnir nsgre lbh'er n yriry uvture. Nal cerivbhf rarzvrf lbh'ir snprq ner abj rira rnfvre gb qrsrng, naq lbh pna erghea gb gur cragntenz nalgvzr lbh jnag. Lbh bayl yriry hc bapr cre cragntenz gubhtu, fb bayl qb vg gur svefg gvzr. V guvax gur bayl gvzrf gb fnir gur tnzr, cre yriry, vf jura lbh svefg yriry hc ng gur cragntenz, naq evtug orsber gur rkvg gb gur uvture sybbe. V fhccbfr lbh pbhyq nyfb fnir ng gur irel ortvaavat bs gur arkg sybbe, ohg qba'g birejevgr nal fnirf, whfg va pnfr. Whfg pbcl gurz gb nabgure sbyqre be fbzrguvat.judd9https://www.blogger.com/profile/05775399294060687430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-79150419248959234572022-06-08T22:22:22.377-04:002022-06-08T22:22:22.377-04:00I was too young to have witnessed the age of paper...I was too young to have witnessed the age of paper mapping. Born in 88, and the first games I played were point and click adventures. I only got into RPGs later.<br /><br />When I did get into RPGs, graphics were advanced enough that mapping isn't necessary at all. Even early 90s games like World of Xeen could easily be played without looking atthe minimap, and the later Might and Magic games? Yeah, totally. Free movement rather than grid based, and 3D graphics advanced enough to give every area some recognizable landmarks.<br /><br />I never felt the need to look at the map in games like M&M 6-9, <br /> Wizardry 8, Morrowind, Gothic, Wizards and Warriors, etc. I have a pretty good sense of direction so I can easily navigate these games by looking at the surroundings and learning the lay of the land.<br /><br />When I tried playing older dungeon crawlers, the difficulty of navigating just by looking at what's on the screen initially put me off. All hallways having the same texture, if they even have a texture at all, combined with step based movement... you'll get lost easily without a map to reference, because there are no landmarks to navigate by.<br /><br />From the early 90s onwards, maps mostly become unnecessary for me. But in 80s games, they're pretty much a necessity. JarlFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08139422412722665286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82382774872903371262022-06-08T21:26:52.540-04:002022-06-08T21:26:52.540-04:00The black text on dark red paper (which I, too, cl...The black text on dark red paper (which I, too, clearly remember from my early-Mac copy of Wizardry I) was itself a second, more literal form of "copy protection"—making sure that the copy machines of the era couldn't effectively duplicate the "secret code books".Delvin Anarishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03350343562075300893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-35729428959978545012022-06-08T15:17:33.308-04:002022-06-08T15:17:33.308-04:00For this game a large part of the gating of game p...For this game a large part of the gating of game progress is creating the maps. I went back and replayed the entire game to get to the ultimate ending about 10 years after my first play through. I reused my old maps and it didn’t take long at all. If you know where stuff is you can pick up everything the puzzle pieces that drop from encounters pretty fast. A lot of the challenge is how they make the game difficult to map. Also teleporting in Wizardy requires precise maps. There are games where you can memorize the maps. This is not one of them — you would find it easier to memorize most 3D maps than this. I can’t think of a game with a more complicated map. Jon Lundynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-41575552182144416102022-06-07T23:14:06.298-04:002022-06-07T23:14:06.298-04:00Don't forget Chet's horrible luck with Jap...Don't forget Chet's horrible luck with Japanese games and the fact that he still hasn't gotten to any of the Megami Tensei titles.Kearudanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64616345607386711432022-06-07T20:58:24.522-04:002022-06-07T20:58:24.522-04:00@Canageek:. Temple of Elemental Evil. Which is......@Canageek:. Temple of Elemental Evil. Which is... Ok. Some of the Fan Mods fix a few issues but it's really kinda dull overall. The missing link between Gold Box and Solasta. Captain Rufushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00296697477771399357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-50024490109298740592022-06-07T20:52:06.481-04:002022-06-07T20:52:06.481-04:00I didn't know how much overlap between TTRPGer...I didn't know how much overlap between TTRPGers and CRPGS there was; With the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance references, sure, everyone will get those, since there were the Gold Box games and Baldur's Gate, but were there any computer games set in Greyhawk?Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-32238190812697218542022-06-07T20:51:15.675-04:002022-06-07T20:51:15.675-04:00I guess some things never change: Chet maps in Exc...I guess some things never change: Chet maps in Excel, Google sends out notification emails BEFORE running the spam filter, and people find a way to mention Shin Megami Tensei on Chet's blog XDCanageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39184282383776399012022-06-07T20:34:35.122-04:002022-06-07T20:34:35.122-04:00He doesn't move if you're in camp. I'v...He doesn't move if you're in camp. I've made a habit of camping when I pause to map.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11858338950380565002022-06-07T20:33:51.911-04:002022-06-07T20:33:51.911-04:00I looked at this. I appreciate it. I'll just m...I looked at this. I appreciate it. I'll just make sure to save in a new slot on every level.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-601540026001667322022-06-07T19:31:42.359-04:002022-06-07T19:31:42.359-04:00I do rather like the flavour texts added here in W...I do rather like the flavour texts added here in W4 - they tend to be written from Werdna's insane evil internal monologue. <br /><br />This and the other unique elements of the game, summoning up your hordes, playing the bad guy, climbing out of your tomb. It all kept me with the game through the nastier difficulty spikes.Delfaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09124490668865067793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75646051059121274052022-06-07T19:27:48.889-04:002022-06-07T19:27:48.889-04:00The level 4 one is the one where:
You can rotate ...The level 4 one is the one where: <br />You can rotate walls around and lock yourself into a room?<br /><br />Yea that one was a bit annoying.<br /><br />If I remember rightly, last time Chet looked ahead at that map and felt confident in his decision to quit. Delfaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09124490668865067793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-57553351837280760062022-06-07T19:21:08.565-04:002022-06-07T19:21:08.565-04:00Since Wiz IV is (at least partly) populated by par...Since Wiz IV is (at least partly) populated by parties imported from player discs, spelling errors and kooky references all.<br /><br />I think I'd prefer a consistent tone in my game design (like Chet I'm not a fan of goofy), but I do like the novelty and uniqueness of the idea tooDelfaynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09124490668865067793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-10054636776927833732022-06-07T04:48:15.885-04:002022-06-07T04:48:15.885-04:00IceyX, I remember Team17 using black-text-on-black...IceyX, I remember Team17 using black-text-on-black-paper copy protection codes for its last few Amiga games. That was great fun, he says with sarcasm.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-82472833046662689112022-06-06T23:20:13.137-04:002022-06-06T23:20:13.137-04:00Another thing people did was to just play so much,...Another thing people did was to just play so much, you'd just memorize all the hallways for each level as you went along. This was only practical before there were just too many games available.<br /><br />Another problem with that is if you're expected to either (1) teleport to the last explored spaces in a space-filling map, or (2) the walls of the map spell out something, then you probably won't notice either. Chester already probably thinks one or both is likely enough that he's not going to even think about that anyway.<br />Jeearrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233320295907517418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-61656674171555759442022-06-06T23:12:04.091-04:002022-06-06T23:12:04.091-04:00Huh, interesting. Did you play the standalone ver...Huh, interesting. Did you play the standalone version, or the Ultimate Wizardry Archives one?<br />Jeearrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233320295907517418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-51926260167709845102022-06-06T22:47:25.270-04:002022-06-06T22:47:25.270-04:00Some of both, perhaps. But in the original version...Some of both, perhaps. But in the original versions of D&D and AD&D, the players were supposed to make the maps of the dungeons themselves based on the DM's descriptions, and the DM was encouraged to put things in the dungeons to confuse the maps the players were making. I never played this way and I didn't know anyone else who did, but it could be the origin of the Wizardry-style mapping and confusion.Kurisuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00132568197501054206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85253417946414444502022-06-06T19:39:09.591-04:002022-06-06T19:39:09.591-04:00I wonder if manual mapping was an intentional feat...I wonder if manual mapping was an intentional feature or if it was merely the consequence of not having the resources to include an automap?shoTgunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13952311524354196543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75277336864075081362022-06-06T16:21:43.115-04:002022-06-06T16:21:43.115-04:00Lbh pna qebc bar bs gur jrncbaf naq tb onpx naq cv...Lbh pna qebc bar bs gur jrncbaf naq tb onpx naq cvpx nabgure hc. V qvq gung gb rkcyber gung frg bs raqvatf. Vs V erpnyy gur ernyyl pevgvpny cbvag vf gb fbyir gur tngrf bs uryy orsber ragrevat gur phor. V’z cerggl fher gur tnzr jnezf lbh nobhg gung. Jon Lundynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-83900054990670718152022-06-06T16:14:53.916-04:002022-06-06T16:14:53.916-04:00I quite enjoy mapping, I think when done with a ga...I quite enjoy mapping, I think when done with a game that's designed for mapping it does help with the pacing.<br /><br />There are two side effects I quite like, the first is that once you've finished the game you're left with the maps, it's a personal thing but they feel like a certificate of success and it can be nice just to look back at them. The second thing is that you're much more likely to take notice of what the game's saying by writing it down. Every small comment has you looking through your notes to see where you've seen "Mount Gygax" mentioned elsewhere and it allows a plot to from from relatively small number of obscure messages. <br /><br />I guess I'm lazy enough that if the game offers me the option of just following a marker and not really getting involved in the story I'll take that option.Trystannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1900164493412377572022-06-06T16:08:47.063-04:002022-06-06T16:08:47.063-04:00On IBM (specifically), Wizardry 2 was an improveme...On IBM (specifically), Wizardry 2 was an improvement over early-version Wizardry 1, which both looks significantly worse than later-version Wizardry 1, and differs significantly in gameplay. Almost all references to IBM Wizardry 1 are to the later version ... which is what Chester actually played.<br /><br />(I should get out my earlier-version disks and see if I can get them to work on a modern computer.)<br /><br />Come to think of it, all Wizardries other than 8 have different versions on IBM. It only makes a gameplay difference (as far as I know) with 1 and 7; I've played multiple versions of all of IBM Wizardry 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 beginning-to-end and I don't recall seeing any difference, other than banishing the copy protection which is awful in 4, 5, and especially 6.<br />Jeearrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233320295907517418noreply@blogger.com