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Topic 35 Thu Dec 03, 1992
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 21:45 EST
Sub: Riftwar: Betrayal at Krondor
Betrayal at Krondor, the forthcoming Dynamix game based on Raymond E. Feist's
Riftwar saga.
386 message(s) total.
************
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 1 Thu Dec 03, 1992
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 21:47 EST
I just read about Betrayal at Krondor which is based on Feist's Riftwar
saga and which features rotoscoped animation, 3D motion, and even had
Dynamix colaborate with Feist to write the plot. Sounds great. When can
we expect to see this game? Spring '93?, Summer?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 2 Fri Dec 04, 1992
P.OLIPHANT [Peteroid] at 01:57 EST
Soulcutter,
Where did you read about it?
== PETEROID ==
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 3 Fri Dec 04, 1992
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 23:59 EST
The Winter '92 copy of InterAction. Since approximately 100% of the
games reviewed in this magazine are made by Sierra or Dynamix, this
magazine is probably promo magazine written by someone at Sierra. It
gave a good review of this riftwar program, but didn't give a release
date (or quarter, or year)..
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 4 Sat Dec 05, 1992
J.OKAMURA1 [Kami] at 05:02 EST
Soulcutter,
You didn't actually BUY a copy of Interaction, did you? Sierra gives it away
for free if you send in a warranty card for one of its games. Interaction is
written and published by and for the good folks at Sierra, so IMO, BUYING this
mag is like buying the Origin (or any other game company's) product catalog.
I've seen it on the magazine rack at Fry's, and still can't understand why
anyone who knows the low-down on this mag (product literature?) would pay for
it. Might as well read the backs of the game boxes - that's all you get
anyway.
My 2 cents worth,
Kami
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 5 Sat Dec 05, 1992
TOMAS [Tom Zelinski] at 12:09 EST
FYI, I wrote a note to Ray Feist (a GEnie user) that this topic exists.
Knowing him and his obvious interest in the project, he'll probably be
visiting here once things get going...
-- Tom Z.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 6 Sat Dec 05, 1992
R.ALLEN47 [R_Addison] at 20:25 EST
There is also a blurb about this on the jacket of "The King's Buccaneer.
We'll have to see how it comes out. As the origin of Midkemia involves a FRPG
campaign, I'd say it has a good shot.
RA
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 7 Sat Dec 05, 1992
TOMAS [Tom Zelinski] at 22:11 EST
I heard from Ray Feist. He'll be stopping by in due time. FYI.
-- Tom
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 8 Sat Dec 05, 1992
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 22:20 EST
Message 1 of this topic has me drooling and wiping my chin at the very
prospect of a game based on this realm. <grin>
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 9 Sun Dec 06, 1992
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 02:41 EST
FYI, I just got it in the mail...don't remember ordering it so it must
have been one of those many Sierra/Dynamix warranty cards I have sent in.
Does anyone have an ordered list of all the Riftwar books? I read the
first three or four up through "Darkness at Sethanon" but lost track
after that since I only shop a few times a year...
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 10 Sun Dec 06, 1992
J.THOMAS69 [Jeff Thomas] at 13:13 EST
Anyone knows what KIND of engine this game will use???
First-person, like Eye of the Beholder, or overhead view like
Ultima 7 or what???
I'm reading King's Buccaneer now and also noticed that blurb for
Betrayal...
Jeff T.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 11 Sun Dec 06, 1992
COREY [Corey Cole] at 17:02 EST
I've played just a bit of a Beta test version of Betrayal at Krondor. It uses
3-space technology similar to a flight sim or Ultima Underworld, but is (at
least the part I saw) in an outdoor wilderness setting.
Krondor features a really interesting technique that I haven't seen in any
other game, at least not quite in this way -- certain events trigger "story
segments", in which some of the characters will converse and/or there will be
a narrative segment developing the story. This really made me feel as though
I were reading a new Raymond Feist book.
-- Corey Cole
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 12 Sun Dec 06, 1992
R.ALLEN47 [R_Addison] at 20:03 EST
Soulcutter,
I believe the order is:
Magician (in two volumes for the U.S. paper edition)
Silverthorn
Darkness at Sethanon
Prince of the Blood
The King's Buccaneer
These are all mostly from the Midkemia side.
Then from the other (Kelewan) side of the rift:
Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire
(all with Janny Wurts)
I'm looking forward to the game. I remember fondly many nights spent
exploring the caves under Maharta (on Novindus), and a nasty little episode
involving a journey to the City on the Serpent River.
RA
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 13 Mon Dec 07, 1992
J.THOMAS69 [Jeff Thomas] at 18:32 EST
Well, I just got the Interaction magazine myself, and this looks
like a must-have game. I'm wondering though, as to the time-frame
that the Riftwar story will take place in relation to the books.
Furthermore, I wonder if we'll meet up with some of the characters
from the books such as Pug or Tomas.
Most of all, I'm wondering when the blazes this game is going to
come out...
Jeff T.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 14 Wed Dec 09, 1992
C.YANG6 [Jason Yang] at 01:48 EST
On page 16 of the InterAction magazine, it says:
"all the tools and programming are done and the
design team is just finishing data entry...
It should be out in early 1993."
I CAN'T WAIT!
Jason
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 15 Wed Dec 09, 1992
MPGAMES-ASST at 17:33 EST
The way my luck is going with game due dates lately, early in 1993,
no doubt translates to fall of 1993, <sigh>. Taking into consideration
that the article in InterAction Magazine is written by Sierra supporters
and/or employees, it still looks darn good! One thing they seldom
disappoint me in, are the high quality graphics and sound, now with
the author himself involved, I'm expecting great things..:).
Amber
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 16 Fri Feb 05, 1993
M.WYMAN1 [COMANCHE] at 20:54 EST
The latest CGW has an article on Betrayal at Krondor. Pics look pretty good.
I like the idea of wallking around the outdoors. Just finished the book
Darkness at Sethanon so I am in the MOOD for this game. Too bad it won't be
out for another 6 months due to the CGW previeing jinx :) Comanche
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 17 Tue Feb 09, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 19:46 EST
HI, Gang. I was in my local software store today (Software, Etc.) in Hunt
Valley, Maryland. They had a new sign on the wall saying that Betrayal at
Krondor was due out this month (Feb. '93). They're USUALLY pretty good with
their information.
Has anyone else heard or seen anything?
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 18 Thu Feb 11, 1993
J.VILLARREA1 [Youngbuck] at 00:23 EST
If you shop through the GEnie mall, like a friend of mine did, you would know
that it is slated to come out this month.
No specific date, just a Feb. release. We wait by the mailbox in
anticipation.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 19 Thu Mar 11, 1993
W.HUMFLEET1 [Wayne] at 00:01 EST
Called Sierra Today to find out the Status of my order for BAK. They said the
Game would not be released till late April or mid May. It's not even complete
yet. All I can say s you need 2 meg or more to play VGA graphics and HD
drives. They didn;t have the size of the Hard Drive space required yet. Hope
this comes out soon I can't wait from all the reviews, it looks great.
Wayne
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 20 Mon Apr 12, 1993
C.SMITH29 [Greybeard] at 21:17 EDT
Sheesh... I can see this one is really going to burn up the software wworld.
No interest out there?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 21 Mon Apr 12, 1993
T.WILSON39 at 23:08 EDT
Greybeard,
Well at least now I know I am not the only on looking for news in
this topic. Anyone have any information about this game in regard
to release date and hardware requirements? From everything I've
seen and read it looks like this could be a good one even though it
probably won't run very well on my 386-33. (Yes, I am getting a bad
case of hardware envy.)
Toad
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 22 Tue Apr 13, 1993
PAS.JPD at 18:26 EDT
Me too, Toad. Hey Doug! Next time you're talking to the folks over at
Dynamix, ask them if they have any intentions towards releasing this game on
the Sega CD, SNES CD, or 3DO. Since my tired old 386/33 isn't a viable gaming
platform anymore... -PAS
PS Wish these damn machines would get paid off as quickly as they became
obsolete!
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 23 Tue Apr 13, 1993
E.R.ANDERSON [Eric!] at 19:25 EDT
Is this game out yet? Should I buy this instead of Space Quest?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 24 Wed Apr 14, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 13:24 EDT
All,
Betrayal At Krondor should be one of the biggest CRPG releases of the year. I
got to play it for a whole day last week and the only thing I wanted to know
at the end of the day, was if I could take it home and continue playing. I
didn't even complete Chapter 1!
At this time, we have no plans to release BAK on anyhting other than IBM disk
format. I was running it on a 386/40 and it was very playable. Almost anything
is better on a 486 and this would be no exception, but it is not like a flight
sim in that you almost HAVE to have a 486.
BAK should be released in this second quarter.
Doug Johnson Sierra/Dynamix Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 25 Tue Apr 20, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 23:54 EDT
HI,
Doug, Can you tell us which sound cards will be supported?
I cast a vote for Gravi Ultrasound!
THANKS
***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 26 Wed Apr 21, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 13:58 EDT
B.WILLIAMS44 StarHawk,
At this time, to the best of my knowledge, Betrayal At Krondor will support
the same sound cards we are currently supporting, specifically, Soundblaster,
Adlib, General Midi, Roland MT-32, and the high-speed 32- bit internal PC
speaker.
Doug Johnson Sierra/Dynamix Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 27 Tue Apr 27, 1993
D.ALVERSON2 [D. Alverson] at 22:30 EDT
Is sierra going to support the PAS-16 since sierra
is selling it iwth a CD-ROM package.
Also it would be nice to be able to pick the software
in the PAS-16, CD bundle. Give people 4 software points
older software worth 1-point newer worth 2-points.
That way people might get the software they don't already have.
Also what about an idea on software companies getting together
and selling CD-Rom Cheap and only put out CD Versions
of games playable only from CD. This might solve
Software companies problem with copied(Pirated) software.
Of couse this would mean an effort between software
companies, but it would be worth it for the fact of not being
able to play a program unless one had an orignal.
This is just an idea to get the CD Software going better.
Also just thing of the money saved on diskettes since more
recent games take 8-10 Disks each and 1 CD would replace them
,and you could make the boxes smaller(more copies could
be kept in the same inventory space).
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 28 Wed Apr 28, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 01:17 EDT
Doug,
Well it doesn't hurt to hope, I for one say it is a great card if used in
its native mode with wavetable digital sound (32 voices is noting to sneeze
at) but I am begging, and beginning to think perhaps I bought a rock. I
thought tthat gravis gave out development kits free to any company that wanted
one and the list they posted included your people and all the other big
companies, the only game I have foung with gravis ultrasound mode driver ids
Star Control2 and it's great. Question if they use a common driver like say
SBdig.adv and your product uses the sanme how much trouble id ti it.. to make
it work with your product? Or can you? Thanks...Sad and forlorned...
***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 29 Wed Apr 28, 1993
P.OLIPHANT [Peteroid] at 01:39 EDT
D. ALVERSON2,
The number one problem (at least now) with putting out titles which are CD-ROM
only is that not everybody HAS a CD-ROM drive! In fact, while 486 systems are
currently selling at a rate of one every 3.6 seconds (that's about 24,000 a
day), the total CD-ROM population is approaching 1 million. Which means that
there as many 486 systems sold every 1.3 months as the total number of CD-ROM
drives in homes! And note that this does NOT include already installed 486
sytems, or ANY 386 systems!
Other problems also exist. A CD-ROM drive is currently slower than a hard
drive when it comes to ACCESSING data. A hard drive is a LOT faster at FINDING
the data, too.
All this being said, a number of companies ARE producing CD-ROM only titles.
Most notably (and released QUITE recently) is the 7TH GUEST. It was developed
by TRILOBYTE and is distributed through VIRGIN.
== PETEROID ==
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 30 Sat May 01, 1993
D.BORUCK [DENNYB] at 08:43 EDT
P.OLIPHANT
Peteroid:
I think that many people will go out and buy CDROMS due to 7th Guest. It truly
shows what a CDROM can be used for. Maybe now game publishers will design
games for the CDROM's capabilities and not just add voices to existing games
(ala Sierra) or put out shovelware (ala Origin). This game is really a work of
art.
DennyB
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 31 Sat May 01, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 13:10 EDT
I saw on Compuserve that Sierra/Dynamix has a PLAYABLE demo of Krondor in
their library. Wouldn't it be great if it were on this service, also? I
haven't downloaded it yet (too expensive).
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 32 Sat May 01, 1993
AGNARI at 14:06 EDT
Larry the Sierra rep has uploaded a demo of Betrayal at Krondor in Lib 18
and as soon as it's cleared by the SysOp who is checking it will be available.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 33 Sat May 01, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 16:33 EDT
Larry and All,
The BAKDEMO I uploaded was improperly packaged. The file had to be
extracted to a 1.44 disk and then installed to the HD. Additionally, the
install program contained the improper parameters for making the boot
disk. I have asked the Sysop here to delete the file and I will upload
it as soon as we get the install script fixed. This will be early next
week. Thank you for your patience.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 34 Mon May 03, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 20:57 EDT
Hey, thanks a lot. Wow, 'Ask and ye shall receive' really works.
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 35 Tue May 04, 1993
D.FRANCIS3 [Warlock] at 20:04 EDT
Hello All:
Lets have the the demo :) I've been reading the 1st two books in the Riftwar
saga and am curious as to how the game will play. The screen shot in the CGW
ad showed promise. I have extra pennies to spend since I took Strike
Commander back; I'd like to spend them on something that will run on my
machine.
'til next time,
Warlock, personally trained by Milamber :)
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 36 Tue May 04, 1993
AGNARI at 20:26 EDT
Sorry there were problems with the first upload, so the Rep had to re-upload
the file and I believe Dondo is currently working on getting the Demo
released.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 37 Wed May 05, 1993
AGNARI at 20:57 EDT
The demo is now available in library 18, as file 6046.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 38 Thu May 06, 1993
D.FRANCIS3 [Warlock] at 18:33 EDT
Hello All:
My thanks to Sierra/Dynamix for providing the demo; this game is one I think I
will enjoy. I like the way comabt is handled and the stills of dungeons and
outdoors were nicely done. I also like the puzzles, not too hard, not too
easy. I did see some things that would be better if adjusted or perhaps just
need explaining. For example:
1 - Does it cost the character a combat turn when he looks in
inventory to switch weapons or give a weapon to another
character? I would go into the inventory and when I exited
the highlighted square was under another character.
2 - Do you have to select a magic spell to cast each time even if
you are going to use the same spell? Is there a way to just
cast without clicking on the magic icon and selecting a spell
from the list. Also I like the way spell categories are split
and how you select categories; simple but nice.
3 - The combat figures need to be preseented in a bit more clarity.
I like the size of the characters but it seems you should be able
to see the faces and clothing details a little better then you
can now.
4 - The tumbler letters on the puzzle box are a bit hard to read.
In particular the letter E was giving me a hard time. Maybe a
brighter color or better drop shadow would help.
5 - Last and least the screen seemed a bit dark to me.
On the positive side I loved the big guy throwing rocks at me and how one of
his partners turned and ran after we ganged up on him. The weapons looked
good; do we get to use flails? Flails would look nice flying through the air
:) The annimations and scanned images fit in well with the rest of the game.
I only wish you gave us more to test out in the demo as it would keep me
content until the game comes out. :)
'til next time,
Warlock
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 39 Thu May 06, 1993
D.ALVERSON2 [D. Alverson] at 22:37 EDT
You may have missed my point.
What i meant was if software CO's would sell Cd-Rom
Software at the same price as Disk Versions, and would sell
a decent CD-rom drive(faster type 300-350 speed) CHEAP,
more people could afford to buy CD-rom software and drives.
And if more people had CD-ROM equiped systems software
Co's could sell more CD software thus lower the price
of CD software. Then software co's could make a pgm
run off cd-only(for copy protection purposes).
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 40 Sun May 09, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 12:20 EDT
just out of curiosity... Why do all your posts look like a Walt Whitman poem?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 41 Sun May 09, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 15:23 EDT
D.FRANCIS3
Warlock,
Thanks so much for the comments on the Krondor demo! I passed them on to
the Krondor design team via e-mail (actually, the entire message intact).
As part of a new game familiarity routine, I spent an entire day "playing"
an early dongle version of the game. I hardly explored anything. There was
so much there to see and do. There are over 200,000 words of text to read
in the game as certain parts of the story are explored. Although there is
a fixed story with fixed characters, the player has an incredible amount
of control over what is done. There are none of the "you should have done
this way back at the beginning, so start over" puzzles, which is essential
in a game of this size and scope. I was impressed to say the least.
On to your questions:
1-Inventory movements have a cost in the demo, but not in the game.
2-The magic is layed out with a certain logic of spell groupings. Just
presenting a text list would distract from the atmosphere created by
using the symbols. There is no quicker way to use magic in the game.
3-Personally, I thought the figures were quite detailed for the resolu-
tion being used, 320x200x256. I think that to get more detail it would
require jumping a resolution, slowing the same detail level presented
by a factor of 4. Increasing the detail (number of items calculated)
would further slow down the game.
4-The difficulty in reading the characters may be due to either the font
used or to #5. Is it something you could get used to? Remember, you will
probably spend several hundred hours getting through this game. 200k of
text is the equivalent of a 450 page novel.
5-Larry, the "not-so-famous journalist/technician" from our department,
says, "The dark graphics are part of the mood. This is a game that should
be played in the dark." (The journalist reference is to the articles he
has written for INterAction magazine).
6-I know it wasn't numbered, but it WAS a question. No, sorry, flails will
not be available in the game. I agree, they would look cool.
As I understand it, and I could very well be wrong, Betrayal At Krondor, is
a work BASED on Raymond E. Feist's RiftWar Saga, not a recreation of one of
his existing novels. Because of that, the game is in essence his latest
novel, albeit an electronic one. Much more than just another fantasy game.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 42 Sun May 09, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 22:22 EDT
I downloaded the demo yesterday (Saturday). It was DEFINITELY worth
downloading! I've really been curious how it would look and play. At least
now I have a good idea.
Combat was a real thrill! It took me about 5 tries before I defeated the
enemies with my guys still intact! I definitely think the right decision was
made to make combat turn based---rather than real time. Providing it's
relatively serious bug-free, I think this will be THE RPG standard for a long
time!!
Now, the obvious question------WHEN WILL IT BE AVAILABLE!!!
I've heard rumors that it will be out later this month (around 5/24). Is that
a realistic timeframe; or has it been pushed back?
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 43 Mon May 10, 1993
T.MASSIMI [Dino/Johnny] at 00:54 EDT
Can anyone tell me what the expected system requirements will be. Also how
long did it take to download the demo. Thanks.
Dino
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 44 Mon May 10, 1993
B.GATOT [Gatot] at 02:48 EDT
T.Massimi:
It took me 1 hour and 38 minutes to download the demo! But if a demo is worth
that kind of download time, this is it! But then again I live in California,
so the phone charges shouldn't be that big. If you live in East Coast, that's
another matter!
Doug,
This one seems great too! I don't pay too much attention to this Betrayal of
Krondor game because I usually am not really interested in that kind of game
(I am more of a flight sim type), but the demo sold me! Great combat!!!
I think the great effort that produces this demo would pay off. It really
makes me (and I am sure many other) wants to buy the game.
When it's going to be out anyway?? I hope it isn't going to be around the same
time as the AOE.
-B.Gatot-
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 45 Mon May 10, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 13:04 EDT
All,
My current release schedule shows that Betrayal At Krondor will be
released at the end of this month (May) or the beginning of June.
Yes, that is the expected time frame for the release of Aces Over
Europe as well, at least within a couple of weeks.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 46 Mon May 10, 1993
D.FRANCIS3 [Warlock] at 19:40 EDT
Hello Doug:
Thanks for the comments about the game. Providing a quality demo is one way
to insure I'll be at the computer store to purchase it on day one. :) After
using the demo this weekend I have become used to the magic system and feel it
will work well since the combat is turn based. I was happy to hear that
inventory access would not cost a turn and the character detail/game speed is
a match I can live with. Dark graphics; well dungeons are dark and combat is
darker so no problem. I would like to see the font changed or adjusted if
there will be a lot to read in the game. Perhaps the font is hard to read on
the chests only? Everywhere else the font seems to do fine. Too bad about
the flails maybe they can be worked into the sequel as I'm sure there will be
demand for one.
I have returned two flight sim games in the last two months and have put EOB
III on hold to wait for this one as I think I will get much satisfaction out
of it. I'll have space on my drive as soon as I remove Darklands. It was
good when it came out but too many bugs and too much time to fix it; took the
fun out of it. I'd like to have Krondor soon but don't send it out buggy. :)
'til next time,
Warlock, reading Silverthorn now, good stuff by Raymond Feist.
P.S. Any comments from Mr. Feist on the game?
Warlock
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 47 Tue May 11, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 12:43 EDT
D.FRANCIS3
Warlock,
I was told that the manual for the game contains a write-up by Mr.
Feist about the Feist/Dynamix collaboration. Other than that, I have
no comments of his to pass on.
The font in the text screens is much easier to read than the chests.
The chests are, after all, a puzzle, so they are supposed to be
difficult.
So much of the way this game is portrayed is to create the mood for
the story. The dark screens, the magic system, the movement
routines, the text fonts, all coptribute to creating the "feeling"
that makes this game so unique.
> I have returned two flight sims...
That's what we like to hear, at least so long as they are not
Dynamix flight sims...<big grin>!
I have been itchy to play Krondor since I first looked at it, but
like you, it is more desireable to have a problem free program than
an on-time one (within reason).
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 48 Tue May 11, 1993
B.MELANCON1 [Andorian] at 18:23 EDT
Doug,
For someone who has never read any previous novels from that saga, will it be
difficult to "get into" the game? Will the manual be..shall I say...heavy? <g>
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 49 Tue May 11, 1993
M.STORTZ1 [Torville] at 18:30 EDT
Doug,
Great demo! Effective, too... now BAK is on my "must" list.
I take it that the terrain scrolls by in real-time, ala Wolfenstein and
Ultima Underworld, and not step-generate/step- generate, ala Links?
Please have the developers compress or encrypt the data files... you can
read the answers to the riddles in it, and more. I realize that this was just
the demo and that the game may well be different; just checking.
/// Torville ///
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 50 Wed May 12, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 14:45 EDT
B.MELANCON1
Andorian,
The manual will give background history on all the characters you
will encounter in the game. It will also contain an overview of the
Riftwar Saga as a whole. The manual is of the size that if it were
any larger it would have to be spiral bound rather than stapled.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 51 Wed May 12, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 14:47 EDT
M.STORTZ1
Torville,
BAK is written in 3-space, the same language used for our flight
simulators. Movement through the world is continous (ala Wolf3D) as
opposed to being in discreet steps (ala Yserbius).
Thanks for the comments about the data files. I'm sure that they
will be different, but I'm passing your message to the design team
anyways.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 52 Wed May 12, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 22:13 EDT
How does the character generation system work?
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 53 Wed May 12, 1993
D.HOLMES14 [David] at 22:32 EDT
The demo of BAK was pretty good, although there are a few aspects of the game
which could be improved upon. I don't really like the concept of the
"animated novel." I know that this game is based on novels, so this would be
a logical transition to the computer, but the sequences would be so much
better if they were movie clips instead. It seems like a waste to have all of
the actors dress up only to perform a couple simple movements. But, perhaps
in a future game, right? :) (The text _is_ a little hard to read, and its
distance from the picture is distracting.) I'm disappointed to see no CD-ROM
version is planned.
Oh, and I don't know if I can stand 100 of those word puzzles. I'm not too
good at them, and I wish there were a greater variety of puzzles to solve.
But, I suppose I shouldn't complain. This looks like it will be a fantasic
game. It's been quite a while since I've been into a RPG, but this looks like
this might be "the one."
David
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 54 Thu May 13, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 12:20 EDT
J.THOMPSON75
Wyrkham,
There is no character generation in BAK. You take the persona of
different characters throughout the game and can influence their
development.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 55 Thu May 13, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 20:25 EDT
Well, that makes this really a 3d King's quest... It's not really a Role
playing game... Unless you have a chance to improve the preset characters
stats?
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 56 Fri May 14, 1993
P.OLIPHANT [Peteroid] at 01:03 EDT
Wyrkham,
I have always been a little reserved about the importance of character stats,
and the concept of improving them within the play of a game. I find this VERY
artificial. I mean, just because your character has done battle a number of
times before, WHY is HE now better at fighting by just doing the same actions?
I PREFER a game where fighting improves MY skills (in contrast to my
character's), and >I< carry those skills on. This is a subtle point, but an
important one.
The best way to think about this is a typical arcade/puzzle game, ala Super
Mario Bros., Miner 2049, etc. Your character doesn't get any better at solving
puzzles and performing effective action skills, YOU DO! YOU learn what the
objects do, how your controls work, what kills what monsters, etc.
In this sense I consider it compensation for bad game design that, at some
point, your character is now capable of killing a stronger opponent just
because you've played the game a lot. You should be able to kill a stronger
opponent because YOU are more experienced, NOT your character...
Another problem with character stats is that people feel cheated if they
cannot carry their improved ego <grin> to the sequel. I then ask you, what is
the guy who never played the first game suppose to do, just die? And, as
shocking as this may seem, those of us who do games for a living prefer to
havr as LARGE an audience as possible! And, if only people who finished the
first game can play the sequel, then this means an ever decreasing size of
audience for each sequel. Not good...
Sorry for the rant. I'm working on STONEKEEP, and these questions are foremost
in my mind...
== PETEROID ==
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 57 Fri May 14, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 14:15 EDT
J.THOMPSON75
Wyrkham,
If you conclude that BAK will be a 3-D King's Quest, I have
obviously misrepresented the product. In my gaming experience, I
have never seen anything quite like this one. It doesn't really fit
into the adventure category, nor is it a true CRPG. It has some
elements that make it like a simulation, but it's obviously not one
of those. It just defies comparison to any existing product.
All I can offer is "Try It, You'll Like It". We even have some Pepto
in the form of our 30-day money back guarantee. If you have even a
remote interest in computer fantasy games and fantasy novels, you
will not be returning this one.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 58 Fri May 14, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 22:38 EDT
So, Doug.
How's the release date for this one shaping up? Is next week (5/21 or so) a
realistic hope? I haven't looked forward to a game as much as this one since
DARKLANDS. I stopped at the software store every day or so and checked the
NEW RELEASES shelves. I'm sure this one will be ready to play when it's
purchased, rather than after numerous maintenance upgrages.
When's it coming?
Larry
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 59 Sat May 15, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 02:04 EDT
I think that learning how to operate a gaming system is just as
artificial a way to improve your combat or skill or magic system as skill
points or combat improvements in a character. I don't think that character
improvement is any way at all a coverup for poor programming. I personally
think that Wizardy VII is the best Role-playing game ever made on the
computer and it is loaded with experience point gains and such. I person
does not come onto the world loaded with experience and know how, and neither
should your character..
Also about forcing a player to have all the games to finish a
series.. I don't think that allowing players to port characters from other
games is unfair to players who just want to buy one of the later games. SSI
has been doing that with ALL of their AD&D games for sometime, and I have
played the series starting from the 2 or 3 game with no problems starting
off because they allow you to start off with a character equal to the task of
the game.
Part of the enjoyment in any RPG is creating a character and
nurturing through the steps of gaining power, while developing a personality
for him as well... (admittedly, a little difficult in a CRPG)... Actually I
think that setting up a (supposedly) Roleplaying game to be so linear that
using anything other than a pregenerated character completely ruins the
story, is poor programming...
ok enough ranting...
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 60 Sat May 15, 1993
D.KURNIAWAN2 [Djuara] at 04:16 EDT
RPG is a game where we're playing a role or several roles. So I think most
computer games are RPG.:) Most pen and paper RPG use stats and allow character
creating, but that doesn't mean a game that doesn't allow character creating
and have no stats can't be RPG.
A game where the player make decision as the character and the story unfold
base on the decision is RPG. A choose your adventure books where you choose a
path and turn to a page to read the a few lines then choose another path are
RPGs. Children that play Cowboys and Indians are playing original RPG before
the stats and rules books complicated the game.
With a good GM you can play without any rule books, each of you can tell
about your character and the GM will decide what will happen if your character
do something. The rule books and stats were created to resolve any
disagreement. With computer as a referee to decide what'll happen, you don't
need any stats to play.
Djuara Kurniawan
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 61 Sat May 15, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 12:03 EDT
L.SNOOTS
Larry,
If I could give you an exact date I would. There are still a few things
to be cleaned up and we are shooting for the end of the month. I will
inform you all as soon as I know that it is shipping.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 62 Sat May 15, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 20:53 EDT
It sounds like I'm going to have to get another hard drive. <g> Only 3 meg
free on a stacked 125/200+(whatever) drive.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 63 Sat May 15, 1993
P.OLIPHANT [Peteroid] at 20:53 EDT
Wyrkham,
Just a brief rebuttal:
A pre-generated character does NOT imply a linear experience. And, while it
may be true that many people who play Roleplaying games (RPG's) enjoy
nurturing a characters stat's, this particular feature tends to alienate the
beginner (and can be a nuisance to some advanced players).
I believe the USER should be interacting with the game/program environment,
and NOT his character. This is evidences by the strong trend toward first-
person perspective RPG's...
The ideal RPG, IMHO, would be one where you actually feel YOU are IN the
environment (ala Virtual Reality)! Such a (future) game would lose
believability (or suspension of dis-belief) if doing the same action did not
result in the same effect. Character stats violate this principle...
== PETEROID ==
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 64 Sun May 16, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 01:52 EDT
Like Castle Wolfenstein? You think THAT is the ultimate RPG?
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 65 Sun May 16, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 20:37 EDT
So....
No GUS support right?
***StarHawk*** Still waiting patiantly......HO HUM
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 66 Tue May 18, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 23:04 EDT
B.WILLIAMS44
StarHawk,
Sorry, no GUS support yet for any Sierra family products. When (if)
we do, it will be pretty much across the board on all of our new
releases, but of course, there will be no backward compatible
drivers. To my knowledge, there is no GUS support from any of the
major entertainment software manufacturers other than through
Windows. The market is being flooded with a glut of new soundcards
right now. Because of the instability of the marketplace, this is
not the time to start writing new drivers.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 67 Thu May 20, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 02:30 EDT
Doug,
Star Control2 supports the GUS, the company is accolade. but how they did
it is a mystery, because the drivers are not seperate from the geame. They
have a sound card seensing program built into the main game file, it can
autodetect which card you have. The only card it had trouble with was the PAS.
How they did it when everyone else grumbles about not recievinglow level codes
from Gravis is beyond me. Well it can't hurt to hope, since Star Control 2
sounded awsome compared to using SBOS driver.
Thanks anyway, P.S. Maybe yall should call
Accolade maybe they'll tell you how they di it.
***StarHawk***
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 68 Thu May 27, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 08:24 EDT
What about the SB16? Hope new games start supporting it and taking advantage
of its feature.
Any idea on when this game will be on the store shelves? I really enjoyed the
books, hope the game is as good. Some of the recent releases based on books
have been a bit disappointing in how easy they were. Plus I need a break from
Ultima games<G>.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 69 Thu May 27, 1993
D.HAN [Asst. Sysop] at 21:27 EDT
Doesn't look like the game will be supporting the SB16, as far as I can tell.
Only boards supported are the Soundblaster/Adlib, Roland, and PC Internal
Speaker, while the Soundblaster has the added benefit of playing the many
digitized sounds/speech cuts. (BTW, no dual board setups, meaning no
Soundblaster/Roland combos allowed)
Danny
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 70 Fri May 28, 1993
M.STORTZ1 [Torville] at 01:46 EDT
Doug,
This should be available soon, yes? Like within a week or two?
/// Torville ///
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 71 Fri May 28, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 22:39 EDT
M.STORTZ1
Torville,
BAK is on schedule to be released this quarter, but it is much
better to hold off a week or so to make sure there are no problems.
I am as anxious to play it as you all are, but I know it will be
worth the wait.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 72 Mon May 31, 1993
M.STORTZ1 [Torville] at 11:17 EDT
Doug,
Hokay. Say no more, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
But... =aren't= you playing this already?
/// Torville ///
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 73 Mon May 31, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 14:03 EDT
M.STORTZ1
Torville,
Actually, no, I am not playing it yet other than an 8 hr
familiarization period I had about a month or two ago on a VERY
unstable dongled version. I am waiting for the full release version
before I commence serious play.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 74 Mon May 31, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:24 EDT
So where is it? When is this supposed to be out?
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 75 Tue Jun 01, 1993
J.THOMAS69 [Jeff Thomas] at 18:32 EDT
John Cutter has been speaking to Raymond Feist about this
game over on the SFRT, and according to John, it looks like
we'll see this approx mid-June at the earliest, more than
likely though, release will be at the end of June.
Jeff T.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 76 Tue Jun 01, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:18 EDT
figures.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 77 Wed Jun 02, 1993
PAS.JPD [Jaded Gamer] at 18:09 EDT
Yeah, I finally checked out the demo. Glad I hadn't looked at it before this,
since its that much less time I have to wait for it <grin>. I'd pretty much
written off PC games, but BAK looks to be a winner.
-The Jaded Gamer
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 78 Sun Jun 13, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 21:50 EDT
Well, as I told Dan & the others, I'd get around in a little while . . .
what's six months? The holidays and buying a house contributed to my laxity
in finding this topic.
To answer some questions: there has been no other game I'm aware of that
comes close to BAK in concept. Think of it not as an Adventure Game or a
CRPG, but rather as an "interactive novel." Neal Hallford (AKA The Maniac)
wrote a story based in part on what happend in the Riftwar Saga, hence the
"Riftwar Legacy" rubric. Basically he and John Cutter said, "This would look
really neat in the game . . ." Things like, "Here we should have a giant
leap out and bite someone . . ." And then I had to get on the phone and say,
"You can't have a giant there, you dummies! It's the jockey's dressing room!
He'd be noticed!" Stuff like that. So what we ended up with was a
collaboration of concepts, how to make a good game and have it carry along the
feel of good solid story telling. So, you're not going to roll characters,
rather the writers (Neal and I) gave you the characters, but you will be able
to decide what they do, and those choices will improve their abilities to do
certain things. As far as the objection PETEROID made re: who gets the
skills, the obverse of the argument is that it's unfair to penalize kids who
have eye-hand coordination problems by making them play 10 times longer than
kids with really swift thumbs. In other words, whatever you bias, this isn't
a perfect world, so there are no perfect solutions. But a system that says,
"Here's Siegure James (after he was Squire, and before he became Baronette)
and while we're doing this little adventure, you can decide if he improves
in his fighting skill, his problem solving, his craftiness, etc. or some
combination. Sure it's artificial in many ways; it's a game. But it gives
you the ability to say, "Well, Feist sure had those characters acting stupid
in the last book--had I been in charge of that evacuation of the City of
Armengar, this is how I would have done it." So, had Darkness at Sethanon
been a game like BAK, you probably would have been able to run Guy du Bas-Tyra
and decide how to handle the evacuation.
John and I are already talking about what we might do next. Many of the
problems in the first game are behind, so they don't have to re-invent the
wheel up in Eugene. The texture-mapping is done, so is the 3-D perspective
engine, so is the bit-mapping, so are the conventions of the magic system,
combat, etc. And most of the Kingdom of the Isles is mapped already, so we
only have to drop other stuff in there. (This is all subject to Betryal at
Krondor being a smash hit, with people storming the offices of Dynamix with
torches and pitchforks demanding a sequel, price is no object, etc.)
I got to play the game for the first time in Chicago, at CES, last weekend.
It's super! I tried not to be biased, and I HATED the actor they used for
Arutha! (If you've read the books, once you see him, you'll understand why.
<G>) But I got sucked in. It's such an incredible experience I 1) went on
for 48 hours badgering . . . er, explaining in reasoned and rational terms to
John Cutter why it is absolutely imperative Dynamix port the game over to the
Mac 2) then went out and bought a Compaq 486/66i Deskpro/SVGA system so I
could play the bloody thing until they do the port. This game should be on
the color Mac, as well as on 3DO, Sega, etc.
BTW, for those who've been dying, unless something happened at the last
minute, the game should be shipping this week! Start bugging Egghead about
the 1st of July.
On balance, I was really pleased with the end result. It was so weird
playing a game in "my" world where I had no idea what was going to happen
next. It was wonderful, too.
And remember, this game will make wonderful Christmas presents, and
birthdays, and weddings, and graduation, and confirmation, and Bar Mitzvah,
and . . . funerals? Best, R.E.F.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 79 Mon Jun 14, 1993
C.SEVERN [Chadwick] at 19:38 EDT
Great to see you here, Raymond! I'll be picking up this game the instant
it hits the shelves.
Chadwick
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 80 Mon Jun 14, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:27 EDT
Hello Mr. Feist. Glad to see you here. I've read all the Riftwar books
(guess I'll need to break them out and reread them<G>). I am really looking
forward to this game. BTW, some of us aren't kids and have hand-eye
coordination problems<G>.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 81 Tue Jun 15, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 11:03 EDT
Chadwick, glad to be here. Mostly laziness and a few minor distractions,
having a baby, moving, writing a book, ect. that have keep me too busy. But
now that it's time to shill . . .er discuss the game dispassionately, I
thought I'd better get over here. <g>
Ranger, it's not just the eye-hand coordination problem, either. It's the
ancient curse of the game master/game designer, what do you do when the
character is significantly smarter or more gifted than the player? That's the
entire rational behind having a player improve in stats. In most combat
intensive RPG, that means the ability to kill more and bigger ugly-buglies.
This really shows in a game like Might & Magic where if you are patient, you
can hang at low levels for a long time, building up stats, then basically
stay ahead of the curve, frying everything that gets in your way. M&M doesn't
give you improved problem solving, however, with the exception of a robber's
ability to open locks and foil traps. Other than that, it's your brain and
the character's brawn and magic. In BAK, I think we've come to a happy
medium. YOU have to piece together the pieces of the problem and find the
nine solutions, but the characters can improve in their abilities to do
various things. So this game has a little of both.
I think most people will like it. Those who won't are those who want a more
arcade like "shoot 'em up" at one end and those who want something more "book-
like" at the other. A game can't be a book, nor a book a game, but we can
certainly build a game with certain literary qualities to it. Best, R.E.F
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 82 Tue Jun 15, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 20:45 EDT
-=-=-=- To: R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] -=-=-=-
Ray, I am thrilled to hear that the author of the book is excited about the
game. The first game-based-on-book I played was the '85 (I think, hard to
remember) botch of Zelazny's Amber series. (blech) I am willing to buy this
thing sight unseen (assuming Hard Drives International delivers my 200- meg
hard drive tomorrow, as they say they will.)
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 83 Wed Jun 16, 1993
E.R.ANDERSON at 01:12 EDT
I think this was a good project to do. It got me to go out and buy the Riftwar
books once I heard about the game coming out (I wanted to be familiar with the
game. and I'm always on the lookout for a new series to read). I enjoyed the
books very much. I had read FairyTale by you years ago but I didn't know you
wrote these books as well.
The combat system has my excited for the game, too. Please, bug The sierra
network to get this game online! It would be great if we could do such things.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 84 Wed Jun 16, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 11:15 EDT
John Cutter and I have talked about the potential for a Riftwar Legacy area
of the Sierra Network. It's possible. It would require a special front end
for the graphic's drivers I think, and some not so trivial programming. If
the game is a smash success, we'll see. Remember, the game makes a wonderful
gift! <G>
William, I bit back my enthusiasm until I actually sat down to play it. I
didn't want to be disappointed and had my cynical rejoinders ready: "I write
books, not games," "Hey, they're money's green," "What did you expect, it's
only a game," etc. Instead I was gone the first three minutes after I saw
down to start the game. Played for hours and didn't finish the 1st Chapter.
Nine chapters in the game. It should take weeks. <g> And while there are
things I don't like (and things John Cutter doesn't like) I'll live with them
because they're relatively trivial and they won't impact future game design.
With the first one, you learn. And, who knows, if the game is wildly
successful and we do a series of Riftwar Legacy games, maybe in 10 years we
can rewrite it to do the "author's preferred edition." <G> Worked with
MAGICIAN.
No, as far as FRP style computer games go, this is, from what I've seen, the
best out yet; I'm pleased to be associated with it. Best, R.E.F.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 85 Wed Jun 16, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 19:16 EDT
roger that Mr. Feist. I've dug out my copies of the five Riftwar books and
will have them reread by the time I get the game (next week maybe<G>?). After
playing Ringworld and Gateway, I'm looking for something a bit more
challenging and interesting. later.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 86 Thu Jun 17, 1993
LIBRARIAN [R_Addison] at 20:06 EDT
Five? How are you counting?
RA
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 87 Thu Jun 17, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 21:00 EDT
1, 2, 3, 4, 5<G>. Like anyone else. List Follows:
Magician Apprentice
Magician Master
Silverthorn
A Darkness at Sethanon
Prince of the Blood (oops, this is actually after the Riftwar is over, but it
does say a continuation of the Riftwar Saga on the back cover, so I counted it
as 5).
Also, Daughter of the Empire enjoys the setting of the other side of the Rift,
if memory serves me correctly.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 88 Fri Jun 18, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 12:31 EDT
Officially, it goes like this: MAGICIAN (split into two books in paperback
only Apprentice/Magician) SILVERHTORN A DARKNESS AT SETHANON
Those are the three novels in THE RIFTWAR SAGA.
DAUGHTER OF THE EMPIRE, SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE, MISTRESS OF THE EMPIRE,
comprise THE EMPIRE TRILOGY.
PRINCE OF THE BLOOD, which is a stand alone book in MIDKEMIA
THE KING'S BUCCANNER, which is the transition novel between the RIFTWAR SAGA
and the new series, (working title) THE SERPENTWAR SAGA.
The new book will be called SHADOW OF A DARK QUEEN.
Anyway, got news that the game is golden! It's at duplicating even as we
speak and will be shipping to the stores on Monday! Break out the bubbly!
It's a game!
Best, R.E.F.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 89 Fri Jun 18, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 18:32 EDT
Looks like I need to raid Waldenbooks again<G>.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 90 Fri Jun 18, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 21:46 EDT
-=-=-=- To: R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] -=-=-=-
> and the new series, (working title) THE SERPENTWAR SAGA.
> The new book will be called SHADOW OF A DARK QUEEN.
<drool, drool>
-=-=-=- To: C.HODGES8 [Ranger] -=-=-=-
> Also, Daughter of the Empire enjoys the setting of the other side of the
> Rift, if memory serves me correctly.
Don't forget SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE, MISTRESS OF THE EMPIRE, and (for that
matter) THE KING'S BUCCANNEER. (Though that one takes place in Midkemia.)
-=-=-=- To: R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] -=-=-=-
> And while there are things I don't like (and things John Cutter
> doesn't like) I'll live with them because they're relatively trivial
Hell, I'm a programmer as well as a gamer. I know more about those kinds of
things than I want to know.
> No, as far as FRP style computer games go, this is, from what I've
> seen, the best out yet; I'm pleased to be associated with it.
We'll see. <g> I do have a new 210-meg hard drive that is just yearning to
have Krondor.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 91 Fri Jun 18, 1993
LIBRARIAN [R_Addison] at 23:20 EDT
The SerpentWar Saga!?
Just when you thought it was safe to visit Novindus...
Don't suppose you need beta testers for those, do you? You'd hate to ship all
those books out, only to find they lock up the reader's brain if he jumps from
page 101 to page 103, now wouldn't you?
I definitely volunteer for the Beta test team. <g,d,r>
RA
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 92 Sat Jun 19, 1993
J.BRANCH3 at 11:56 EDT
Mr Feist,
Serpentwar Saga?!?! I've enjoyed all the previous Riftwar Saga related
books. If this series is anything like the quality stories, t5hen count me in
as a "contributer." Now for something more important---Can you give us a
projected, tenative timeframe we can begin pestering our local bookstores
about copies. Or in other words, do you have an idea oabout the publication
date? <Waiting with baited breath.>
Jerry
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 93 Sat Jun 19, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 12:58 EDT
Jerry, you can begin pestering your local bookstores for SHADOW OF A DARK
QUEEN in May.
Until then, you can play Betrayal at Krondor. <g>
Best, R.E.F.
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 94 Sun Jun 20, 1993
R.ELA [Ale'r] at 10:58 EDT
Now that this one is on its way for IBM, how about the Amiga version?
Ale'r
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 95 Sun Jun 20, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 13:28 EDT
Ale'r, don't hold your breath. I'm having a difficult time convincing them
to go to other platforms, and the color Mac is the fastest growing segment of
the computer market right now. With all the Amigas in Europe, however, that's
a logical choice, too.
We'll see . . .
I got the game yesterday! Shipped down to me Fed Ex by Jerry Luttrell.
Without a box, unfortunately, but what the heck; I saw the box at Chicago.
I knew there was a reason I HATED DOS. Too me 20 minutes to get the right
sort of "boot disk" so I could run it. From my innocent (read Mac-head) point
of view it's pretty dumb when I've got 210 megs of hard drive and 12 megs of
RAM that I have to boot from a floppy so the game will have enough "room" to
load. Talk about brain dead system designs. Macs and Amigas (I'm pretty
sure) have had dynamic memory for eight years now. Geesh.
Anyway, the game plays great! So far I've only been wipped out twice and I've
finished Chapter 1! It may put a serious crimp in my writing time. <g>
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 96 Sun Jun 20, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 14:23 EDT
Maybe one of the designers will be kind enough to post just what the system
requirements are going to be for this. What about the game and DOS 6.0 with
dblspace?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 97 Sun Jun 20, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 19:22 EDT
C.HODGES8
Ranger,
I'm not a designer, but the requirements for the game are:
604,160 bytes (590k) free conventional memory
18 mb hard drive space to install (15mb+ to store game)
The game will run on a compressed drive, but you will only get an
overall compression ratio of 1.3:1. The save game files are
approximately 375k in size and compress at about 2.8:1.
The major problem with using Doublespace is getting enough conventional
memory to run the game. Some machines use the Upper Memory Areas for
shadow ram/rom and in some case, a front-end menu system. In cases where
your configuration is not already set up to provide enough memory, you
can use the automatic boot disk maker to make a boot disk which may
solve the problem. The automatic boot disk maker can create boot disks
for most standard MS-DOS installations. It is even often time successful
with non-MS-DOS configurations such as DR-DOS, Stacker or Superstor. You
can also call Sierra Technical Support at 209-683-8989 for assistance, or
contact me here in public or via private email. I will be glad to help.
Even though it may take you a bit "work" to get the game up and running
(re: enough memory), it is well worth it as this game is the most
engaging and entertaining fantasy game I've ever played. At a minimum of
100 hours of gameplay, it is also one of the best values in
entertainment software available.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 98 Sun Jun 20, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:53 EDT
As long as it doesn't do anything funny with memory, like VOODOO<G>, then I'm
okay. I have a harddrive card that's not compressed that I load most stuff
onto, I use dblspace for my old 40meg drive<G>. But I have discovered that
once you use it, MS-DOS 6 always puts the driver for dblspace into memory when
you start. As long as I can use Emm386 and load everything high, I get plenty
of memory.
Thx for the info Doug.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 99 Sun Jun 20, 1993
J.BRANCH3 at 21:52 EDT
Hmmmmmmm.......
Maybe someone should take Raymond's copy of BAK from him if its going to
delay his Serpentwar Saga. I mean, I'm disappointed that it'll be almost a
year away before they reach print. If BAK will delay that futher.....? <G> :D
Jerry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 100 Mon Jun 21, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 02:38 EDT
Actually, if you make a boot disk and use dosshell to delete the hidden file
called dblspace.bin off of the Bootdisk it won't load dblspace But you won't
have access to the compressed drive...
R.E.F, Thank you for explaining that the characters do actually increase in
skills I had gotten the impression that they are static.. I actually did enjoy
the demo and like the Idea behind it...
I was just curious about what you think this new genre (interactive fiction)
will be able to do in the next 20-30 years. Will we be playing games in our
English classes in the near future? And, do you think that as computer games
become more popular, traditional pen-and-paper games will be replaced?
If this game were a novel, how long would it be?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 101 Mon Jun 21, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 13:08 EDT
Wyrkham, in the next 20-30 years? Hell, we'll be having sex with 3-D virtual
hookers, for all I know? I can't begin to guess where it's going to be in 2-3
years, let alone ten times that much.
As far as playing games in our English classes, I doubt it. Because what it
isn't is a novel. It's something else, and we can call it an interactive
novel, but that doesn't mean it displaces the function of a good novel. Kids
in the 8th Grade will still be reading Silas Marner or David Copperfield in
the 21st Century, I'm certain. Which is good.
Pen and paper games have ONE advantage over computer games. They are cheap.
Sure, you can go bugf**K as Harlan Ellison says and buy ever damn AD&D book
and supplement out there to the tune of $25,000, but you really don't need to.
You can do FRP paper and pencil stuff at home with paper, pencil,
conventional dice and coins to toss. The rest is simply making things easier.
And paper & pencil stuff is usually far more portable, though with laptops,
that's less of an issue. But the biggie is that paper and pencil games are
social. You rarely get friends gathered around the computer having a good
time the way you do around the kitchen table. What's happend in the FRP market
since I was in college is that it's fragmented into the RPG market, with
fantasy only one segement. Super heros, detectives, Indian Jones knock-offs,
etc. have made it tough to get a major segment of gamers any more.
The same thing is happening in computers. DOS means AT's & XT's and 286's
through 486's (and soon the Plentium). You can't write for an AT and take
advantage of the 286-486. If you write for the 286-486, you're probably stuck
at VGA, if you go SVGA, you lose a lot of 286's. And the Color Mac is the
fastest selling computer in the world. And in two to three years, both Macs
and DOS machines as we know them will be old technology as the PowerPC's hit
the market. What's a game company to do? I think the company that sticks to
"DOS only" is going to die on the vine. It's one of the reasons I'm on
Dynamix's case to get this game ported over to the Mac and the Amiga, 'cause I
want PowerPC users looking for Feist's games on their machines. <g> Purely
self-serving, of course, but you're either on the front edge of things or
you're playing catch-up. Microprose was one of the first companies to learn
that you just can't port something over for the Mac and have it sell, because
the Mac owners expect better graphics than the average DOS owners. So now
they're cleaning up their products. Look at the graphics on Civilization on
the DOS machine and on the color Mac to see the dramatic difference. PowerPC
users will want even more.
No, this business is going to change so fast no one will know what's next.
Remember, that of all the things SF writers predicted about the future back in
the 1950's and 1960's, personal computers weren't one of them. <g> Best,
R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 102 Mon Jun 21, 1993
C.SMITH29 [Greybeard] at 22:12 EDT
So when will this one be in the stores/mail order houses?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 103 Tue Jun 22, 1993
R.GRIDLEY [Rick] at 06:25 EDT
re DOS/Mac/Amiga's and games.... a little thing called 3DO may be the best bet
to pull all computer gamers under one superior graphics engine.
At least I hope.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 104 Tue Jun 22, 1993
R.ELA [Ale'r] at 07:29 EDT
Scorpia Games RT
>R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 13:28 EDT
>Ale'r, don't hold your breath. I'm having a difficult time
>convincing them to go to other platforms, and the color Mac is the
>fastest growing segment of the computer market right now. With all the
>Amigas in Europe, however, that's a logical choice, too.
>
>We'll see . . .
Please keep trying. It's sort of a chicken and egg situation. People buy a
clone because it has so much software, even though other platforms (Amigas and
Macs) are superior platforms. What the Amiga needs most is good software of
ALL types, and your game looks like on of the best to come around in a long
time.
>I knew there was a reason I HATED DOS. Too me 20 minutes to get
>the right sort of "boot disk" so I could run it. From my innocent
>(read Mac-head) point of view it's pretty dumb when I've got 210
>megs of hard drive and 12 megs of RAM that I have to boot from a
>floppy so the game will have enough "room" to load. Talk about brain
>dead system designs.
I think even the cloners would agree that there is very little to like about
DOS. I use one at work, and it is a constant source of frustration. It is
about time to dump some of the backwards compatibility in favor of improved
capability.
> Macs and Amigas (I'm pretty sure) have had dynamic memory for eight
>years now. Geesh.
You are correct. In the Amiga, memory is memory. If you run out, you just
add more. ;^)
Ale'r
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 105 Tue Jun 22, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 14:15 EDT
All,
Betrayal At Krondor (MSDOS) is shipping today to all locations.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 106 Tue Jun 22, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 16:37 EDT
Greybeard, your local store should have the game by Thursday to Monday,
depending on where it is, etc. The mail order houses should have the game
today or tomorrow, and be able to ship ASAP, assuming they don't fart around
updating their computer data bases.
Rick, from a game intensive POV, I think 3DO will be great. What I saw at CES
looked impressive, but those demos were being driven by Mac Quadras, as the
hardware for 3DO still isn't ready to go. The BIG problem will be the price.
If they insist on keeping that $700 per machin price tag, they're dead. I
don't care how good the games look. Problem 1) VCRs, CDs, and Laser Disc
Machines, all of which were expensive when they first came out, and had the
prices fall dramatically in the first three years, were machines that tweekers
lusted after (Read: males, 25-34 with money). That's not the game machine
market. While dad might buy a $695 machine for himself if it was a great disc
player or tape machine, he's going to insist on junior settling for a $79.95
Gameboy. 2) And there won't even be a demand from junior unless those games
are killers. If they just port over existing VGA graphics from DOS games, or
port over Nintendo quality stuff, nada.
They've got to push hard the tweeker aspect to get dad to buy the things, and
put out KILLER software to make the kids want it.
But I agree that somewhere down the road a great interactive CD-ROM format
will be the answer in the game industry.
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 107 Wed Jun 23, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 00:42 EDT
I have an amiga and an ibm and I actually like dos a little better than the
amiga because the ibm has better software. Plus, dos programs for some reason
are a little bit more standardized than amiga programs and for file management
dos is much better.... But the Amiga is a far, far better game machine...
Problem is, there aren't any games out for it... If I have a choice, I would
by the ibm version if it came out for the ibm first (rather than by a port,
I've never seen a good port) but if it was designed around the amiga, I would
by it for that..)
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 108 Wed Jun 23, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 12:15 EDT
Wyrkham, I had heard the Amiga was eccentric in some ways, but DOS has better
file management? The DOS shell makes getting around a little easier, but I
find straight DOS a royal pain; I can't remember half the time what sub-
directory I'm in, and the CD command is usually the thing that proves how
lousy a typists I am. My biggest problem on the Mac is a very cluttered
looking desk top, but a control-F and type in the name of the file I'm looking
for and it takes me straight there, no matter which volume or drive--I have
two hard drivers a 105 and a 300, a Syquest removable, and a floppy drive, so
it gets busy out there. Thinking of adding a CD-ROM later this year.
Anyway, enough of this DOS bashing! <g> Once the Mac OS for DR DOS is out,
everyone can switch! <g>
I will be so glad when some of you are playing this game and someone can tell
me how the heck to finish Chapter 3! Let me tell you, it's embarrasing for
the author of the books to get stuck in a game based on his own world.
So far, one is a good chapter to move around a lot and learn how the
mechanics of the game work, while two is a pretty straightfoward quest sort of
task, but 3. There are six more after this one, too.
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 109 Wed Jun 23, 1993
DENNYA [Space Spud] at 19:18 EDT
Raymond,
Got the game. WOW. Most impressive.
As for Wyrkham's comment, how anyone can think a computer that has 8 character
file names and doesn't allow nested drawers in its GUI is better at file
management than one with 32-character file names and uses a Mac- folder like
GUI concept is just mindboggling. :-)
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 110 Wed Jun 23, 1993
J.THOMPSON75 [wyrkham] at 19:26 EDT
I actually like the amiga's gui but it doesn't do enough. YOu still have to
use amiga dos for a lot of things and I HATE Amigados... anyway... REF, I
thought you WROTE the GAME... how could you be stuck?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 111 Thu Jun 24, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 00:22 EDT
Hello Mr. Fiest
Sorry about the name I tried yto spell it right, OH..Well Just dropping a
line to say I love your Books and if the game is as good as them I will buy
it. Thanks And bug Dynamix to add a patch for Native Ultrasound Card.
***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 112 Thu Jun 24, 1993
DENNYA [Space Spud] at 10:55 EDT
Raymond,
Ack. Not only do I have this game, but also this extremely large hardback book
with your name on it that's grabbed my attention hard. So much for sleep and a
social life -- I hope you're happy. <grin>
wykham,
I don't want to draw the Amiga debate out (I'll make this my last message),
but might I suggest you update your Amiga to Workbench 2.1? You won't need to
use AmigaDOS -- the Workbench is much more capable. Running Workbench 1.3 is
sort of like running Windows 2.0... Ugh.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 113 Thu Jun 24, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 12:52 EDT
Space Spud, glad you're enjoying it.
Wyrkham, I didn't write the game, I wrote some dialogue for it, but 90% of
the work on the text goes to Neil Hallford, and the game design was by Neil
and John Cutter. And it's been long enough since I read the text, I forgot
some of it. <g>
StarHawk, bug them yourself. They're a very responsive company, but I'm on
their case all the time (mostly about porting this over to the Mac. <g>).
Seriously, they do want to hear from you. If you call their tech support line
or if you post a message on-line here, they can tell you what they're doing
about various sound drivers. I know they're making a sound patch as part of
the general upgrade patch because my Media Vision board isn't getting
digitized speech. Seems they have a problem with Ad Lib board emulation.
Anyway, whatever they're going to do with patches will be uploaded here as
well as available directly from Dynamix.
So, let me know what you think of this game. Pretty nifty, huh?
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 114 Thu Jun 24, 1993
OLORIN at 21:20 EDT
Psst, Ale'r. Even on the Amiga, memory isn't memory. Remember the difference
between Chip Memory and Fast Memory?
--Dave
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 115 Thu Jun 24, 1993
PAS.JPD [Jaded Gamer] at 21:46 EDT
So has this been spotted at any stores yet? I asked my brother to get it for
me for my birthday, which is today, but I won't see him until Saturday, which
means, if I know him, he'll be shopping for it on Friday (the 25th).
-The Jaded Gamer
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 116 Thu Jun 24, 1993
D.SODEN1 at 22:05 EDT
I've had this game on order for 4 months now. I'd better get it
in the next day or two or they'll probably take me away in a strait jacket :)
I don't understand why games arrive on store shelves before direct orders
are shipped. GIVE ME MY GAME, SIERRA!!!
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 117 Thu Jun 24, 1993
PAS.JPD [Jaded Gamer] at 22:13 EDT
Ooops, belay that last message. I just read Mr. Feist's message re: problems
with MediaVision sound cards. <sigh> Another potential gem is swept out of
the sluice.
Since this is apparently going to be an "Amiga's are far superior to those
dreadful MS-DOS machines" topic, I'd appreciate it if the Sierra/Dynamix rep
could make a sort of general announcement when there is a fix for this game to
make it work with MediaVision sound cards. Thus those of us who aren't into
personal computer politics can safely IGN PERM this topic 'till the gist of
the topic is the game in question.
-The Exceptionally Jaded Gamer
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 118 Fri Jun 25, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 08:08 EDT
WOW!!!!!! What a Game!! This is more than a Game---it's an experience. I've
played it for about an hour and a half; and so far, I think it's the best RPG
that I've ever played.
Congratulations to the design team!! Also, no bugs, yet!!!
I have a couple of questions. When you bring up the Characters' stat screen,
and select the skills to concentrate on improving; is the skill emphasized
when the pommel is RED or BLUE?
Also, will these characters be with me throughout the game? The reason I ask
is that I'd hate to improve a skill that only 1 guy is proficient in, and have
him go off. Should I make each character proficient in every skill to prepare
for this contingency?
Again, congratulations to the DYNAMIX team on a job WELL DONE!!
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 119 Fri Jun 25, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 11:40 EDT
Jaded, the "problem" with the Media Vision card is trivial. You'll get all
the music and sound efects; the digitize speech is lost and there should be a
fix uploaded here "RSN" <g>.
Larry, red is the emphasized stat. Blue means "normal" learning curve. I'm
not sure what happens if you emphasis, if that slows down the others, but I'm
sure we'll all find out. <g>
Anyway, Larry, wish you could work up a bit more enthusiasm. <g> And on behalf
of the design team, who I know will be getting copies of this, and for myself
as well, we're gratified you're having so much fun.
Now, wait until you hit Chapter 3 and the "I've been everywhere there is to
go and I'm still not finished . . ." messages start coming in. <g>
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 120 Fri Jun 25, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 21:54 EDT
I can't believe this,
I live in Macon (well close to Macon) and Babbagges, Only got in 2
copies and they were gone before they reached the shelf, because of people
calling and reserving the game, I have to wait the hole weekend for it to come
in.
RATS!!!!!1
***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 121 Sat Jun 26, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 10:33 EDT
"Let your fingers do the walking."
The way this game is blowing off the shelves, I'd call the stores first, as
you're not the first person I've talked to whose said the same thing,
StarHawk.
And the mail order houses should have it by now, so you could probably get
Monday or Tuesday delivery from PC Warehouse or a firm like them. Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 122 Sat Jun 26, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 10:44 EDT
I'm still in Chapter 1. I've gone into the Dwarf Mine near LeMut. I'm having
a blast exploring and building up the guys in combat. They've got all the
stuff they can hold; and a decent supply of UNPOISONED rations. (hint). I've
done a lot of the mine, even found where the rock-like monster that the
dwarves want slain is hanging out.
I was planning on leaving the mine, and cashing in some of the loot I've
gotten by stopping in LeMut. Unfortunately, my automap seems to be rather
incomplete. Many of the places I've explored in the Mine have disappeared.
Using the automap and rotating around, I can only see about a screen's worth
of the map. The rest has disappeared.
Is this normal?
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 123 Sat Jun 26, 1993
D.KURNIAWAN2 [Djuara] at 13:12 EDT
I bought BAK at local EGGHEAD at Pasadena, CA. They had at least 10 copies
last Thursday. I played BAK in OS/2 2.1 DOS Full screen session with Roland
music/sound and it works perfectly. I also tried DOS Window and BAK display
was corrupted. Amiga's OS is maybe superior than MSDOS, but I think many MSDOS
machine can also use OS/2. Then Amiga will have nothing superior than IBM
compatible.:) If you have a lot of RAM and HD space, upgrade to OS/2. You'll
no longer need to bother with boot disk to play newer games. Then after you
upgrade, we'll have to start to terrorize Dynamix until they write OS/2 32-bit
games.
I really glad I bought the game, I had all Mr. Feist's books and this game
feel almost like a Riftwar book. I finished chapter one and in the beginning
of chapter two now. Had a lot of fun in the Dwarf mine, but I skipped to solve
the grey warrior part.
Larry, I think you play different set of characters in each chapter. Some
characters will leave and others will join. Those that left maybe will also
join back in later chapters. I'm going to play each chapter as a separate game
and improve the characters to solve the goal in each chapter instead of
planning for later chapter.
Djuara Kurniawan
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 124 Sat Jun 26, 1993
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 14:25 EDT
Raymond, I picked up the game when it arrived at Comp-USA in Arlington
on thursday and just wanted to compliment you on your work in this great
adventure. I finished book 1 late late late thursday night (the 9 books
should give me more playing time/value than most other RPG type games).
The interface is really well done and the only minor item I didn't like
was the fact that the overhead map of the sewers rotates when I rotate
(I would rather have map fixed and pointer rotate like on the overland
map).
I do have two questions:
1> (Strategy) - Does anyone have a good strategy for bringing magic
into play with Olym when faced with 3 or more enemies of equal
speed? One of enemy always attaches theirself to olym so that he
is unable to use magic, so he spends most of conflict blocking.
2> I must have some poison rations. How can you detect them? Should I
toss everything and only use rations purchased from Inns?
Thanks.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 125 Sat Jun 26, 1993
L.SNOOTS at 17:06 EDT
Soulcutter,
Regarding rations, whenever you find any (either from defeated enemies in the
mine, or along the road), just examine them with the right mouse button. That
will let you know if the rations are OK, or spoiled.
In combat, I've never had the MAGIC icon pop up when Olwyn's turn comes up.
The only spells I've had him cast are the LIGHT spell and the detect trapped
box spell. When I check his stats screen, and click on SPELLS, it shows a
few; I wonder why they don't seem to come up during combat.
Larry
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 126 Sat Jun 26, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 17:40 EDT
I just got the last copy from the Babbages here in Austin (actually, I think
the only reason it was still there was that someone stuck it in the wrong
section). Reasonably priced at 49.99, and the store folks were quite estatic
over the way it had sold. They only got it yesterday<G>.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 127 Sat Jun 26, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 19:56 EDT
R.FEIST2
R.E.F.,
I wasn't aware of any problems with the MediaVision ProAudio Spectrum 16
getting digitized sound. If the environment is set up correctly there
should be no problem. Have you been in contact with our Technical
Support department here at Sierra, or have you been dealing with Dynamix
directly?
In any case, I'd be glad to help sort this out. We have several PAS-16's
in Tech Support on a variety of machines and they seem to work quite
well.
First of all, there is no specific PAS-16 driver in the INSTALL so we
use the original SoundBlaster driver.
Second, your MVSOUND.SYS driver must be installed in the CONFIG.SYS file
on your boot disk.
Third, the PAS-16 should be at certain settings. We reccommend the stock
settings, i.e., leave the SoundBlaster portion of the card using address
220, DMA 1, and IRQ 5 (set manually with jumpers on the card) and set
the PAS side of the card to use DMA 3 and IRQ 7 (set by the "switches"
on the MVSOUND.SYS line). The line should look like:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:3 Q:7 J:0
I know, coming from the Mac world, this all looks unneccessarily
complicated. You're right, but it's what we have to work with. If you
need any help with this, our Tech Support staff (myself included) would
be glad to help you, as well as any of our customers who need
assistance.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 128 Sat Jun 26, 1993
M.WYMAN1 [COMANCHE] at 22:38 EDT
Ahhh..... I'm going crazy. My parents are over all weekend and I haven't had
time to get this!!!!! I had to sneak in here to write this :) Comanche
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 129 Sun Jun 27, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 00:42 EDT
Dynamix.
Does this game use the Miles drivers? A loyal GUS users wants to knoew
since I have to wait on the game.
***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 130 Sun Jun 27, 1993
W.LASKOWSKI [Grizz] at 02:00 EDT
I ordered this from Computability on Thursday, and am eagerly awaiting what
looks to be--finally--an actually _original_ game. (I'm getting so tired of
MOTSOS--and that last "s" doesn't stand for "stuff.")
Doug, I'm sure that you folks at Sierra/Dynamix realize this, but let me be
explicit: your impressive level of technical support here on GEnie makes me
all the more likely to buy your games. With the quality of computer games
deteriorating so alarmingly lately on every level, prompt, intelligent, and
courteous customer service becomes a critical factor when I decide what games
to buy.
Regards,
Grizz
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 131 Sun Jun 27, 1993
P.CHIU [Samurai Cat] at 04:08 EDT
I'm having serious problems loading riftwar. Anyone else having a bad read
disk?
I did manage to the game running but I am somewhat irritated that I can't role
up characters. Everything seems to be preset.
Too bad as the game is somewhat interesting before it crashed.
Is the rest of the game interesting?
Meow!
SC
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 132 Sun Jun 27, 1993
R.ELA [Ale'r] at 09:40 EDT
>OLORIN
>
>Psst, Ale'r. Even on the Amiga, memory isn't memory. Remember the
>difference between Chip Memory and Fast Memory?
Yeah. But unless you are doing heavy graphic development/processing, one meg
of Chip RAM is enough.
All I meant is; if you need more memory, just add more memory. Let AutoConfig
take care of the details. ----------
>PAS.JPD [Jaded Gamer]
>Since this is apparently going to be an "Amiga's are far superior to
>those dreadful MS-DOS machines" topic, ...
That isn't the point. All we Amiga users want is the same opportunity to play
this game. By all accounts, it appears to be one of the best CRPGs to appear
in a long time. ----------
Reguards, Ale'r
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 133 Sun Jun 27, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 15:14 EDT
M.LASKOWSKI
Grizz,
Thanks! I think that after you have had BAK up and running for a while
you will find that quality is still an integral part of our software.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 134 Sun Jun 27, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 15:14 EDT
P.CHIU
Samurai Cat,
If you had a disk read error on your disks, you should check your drive
for proper operation and cleanliness and/or get replacement disks. You
should delete the game and reinstall from good diskettes.
Betrayal At Krondor is not the type of CFRPG that you roll up characters
for. BAK is more of an "Interactive Computer Novel", written to be part
of The Riftwar Saga created by Raymond E. Feist.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 135 Sun Jun 27, 1993
C.SMITH29 [Greybeard] at 15:23 EDT
Can someone tell me how this puppy runs on a 386-25 machine. Graphics choppy?
I had to put away Ultima Underworld II because it did not run well on my
machine. Help! I want to purchase this but hesitate before determining if it
will run ok on my Zeos. Thanks.
Chuck
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 136 Sun Jun 27, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 16:24 EDT
Just out of curiousity, but since this is a NEW game, why doesn't it support
the SB PRO and SB 16? Why just the old Soundblaster?
So far I like it, but I do have one question on playing. I'm just in Chapter
1, and at the beginning it says I have to get this guy to Krondor. If I just
walk down the road to Krondor, will I get attacked and stuff, or do I have to
go looking for trouble?<EG>
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 137 Sun Jun 27, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 16:32 EDT
I'm running it on my 386-25 with DOS 6 and it works very good. I turned up
the detail to max and no choppiness.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 138 Sun Jun 27, 1993
P.CHIU [Samurai Cat] at 23:24 EDT
Whoa major bug report....several times during combat.. the combat screen goes
blank yet magic and HP damage gets recorded on the screen. This has happened
more than once..ANy clues as to what is causing this? I can't see the grid or
any of the characters good or bad moving around.
I have been using auto combat a lot.
Thanks
Meow!
SC
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 139 Mon Jun 28, 1993
D.SODEN1 at 01:04 EDT
Well Doug,
They don't have to take me to the loony bin, the game has arrived! (whew!)
I only have one complaint so far. The program redefines the mouse movement
profile.(sensitivity is too low for me) If you do a patch please make it so it
leaves the mouse driver alone or allow the player to adjust the sensitivity.
So do I understand correctly that this game is totally non linear in the
sense that I can go anywhere and do anything without messing up a latter
chapter or worrying about a time limit? This will be a fabulous exploration.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 140 Mon Jun 28, 1993
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 01:40 EDT
To whoever said Owen never has magic icon in combat, is there enemy
standing next to him? Can only cast of no enemy in any of 8 adjacent
squares. This makes combat tough when have lots of enemies since one or
two will always cover owen.
I'm up to Chapter 4 with no bugs yet. I did find one thing that I would
like to occur differently...after some chapters, you get different
characters, but not knowing which ones may leave, I had a most of the
goodies on the one who left. I realize that this is more realistic and
I could restore & swap inventory if really had to, but I'm already into
chapter 4 quite a bit. I also dont know if I will join up with that
player again or not. I also find that I have to save/restore a lot
when out in the boondocks if player gets near-death since only a temple
or a lot of healing liquid will save them, but temples aren't on map till
you find them....
One other item, in case there is a sequel, I thought Ultima Underworlds
had good map system that even allowed you to write down comments on the
map itself. That's good for me since I don't take good paper notes and
usually lose those I do take.
Thanks.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 141 Mon Jun 28, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 12:09 EDT
P.CHIU
Samurai Cat,
Belay that "major bug report". Half a dozen messages ago you were
describing installation problems and "disk read errors". The obvious
conclusion is that any problems you have running the game would be
attributed to this cause. Let's get you a replacement set of disks
and an error free install before we jump to the conclusion that
there is a problem with the game.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 142 Mon Jun 28, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 19:26 EDT
Ok, I found a bug! Actually, it's a mistake in the map on the reference
card<G>. You have Tanneurs and Eggley switched around. Eggley is to the
north, and Tanneurs is south of Eggley, not the other way around. The full
map in the game is right (and fortunately, so is the game itself).
Why is the name of the gods is food so expensive? And not available
everywhere?
One other thing I really don't like, why don't you ever see the shopkeepers
when you are buying stuff? Walking into a deserted shop and buying stuff from
some unseen person is really unrealistic. If this is supposed to duplicate a
novel, any good storyteller would surely take the time to tell you what the
shopkeepers look like, right Raymond?
Other than that one flaw, I am really enjoying this. I'm doing chapter 1 very
slowly, taking the time to see the sights. It's a lot of fun.
Ranger the Wanderer<G>
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 143 Mon Jun 28, 1993
D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] at 20:27 EDT
marking! Great game BTW.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 144 Mon Jun 28, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 21:57 EDT
Break out the bubbly, Riftwar has reached Cincinnati and I have it in my
grasping paws even as we speak.
(Figure of speak, I can't stand champaign or wine. Suds. Yeah, that's it.
Break out the suds.)
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 145 Mon Jun 28, 1993
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 22:52 EDT
Well, I'm having fun playing this (now that power is back on. Lost power for
19 hours after electrical storm). Has anyone else had a hard time with the
puzzles? So far, I have solved all the puzzle boxes I found except for two.
Those two are in the vacinity of silden (I think) and and two very long
puzzles (something like 8 and 10). The longer wante wanted name of some
island of some leader, but none of the islands on map fit in description. If
anyone knows answer, let me know via E-MAIL (I dont see a BAK-Spoilers topic
yet....).
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 146 Mon Jun 28, 1993
P.CHIU [Samurai Cat] at 22:54 EDT
Thanks Doug but I returned the game and got another and then the installation
went fine after that.
The glitch occurs every so often during combat during the first chapter that
the game freezes or the figures and/or map dissappears from the main screen.
Weird..
Now I'm running into problems in Chapt Two by the river with the ghost
maidens. The screen just blanks out.
I'm still playing it but it is annoying having to restart and reload every
time the game freezes on my machine.
Then again it could just be my machine.
Meow!
SC
PS - why is most food taken from dead guys usually poisoned? YUCK
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 147 Tue Jun 29, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 03:01 EDT
I've discovered something else that has become rather frustrating. The sword
icon used for the mouse pointer has a hard time figuring out where it is. You
point it in the middle of this large house, and it acts like its on the one
next to it. I think the game isn't sensing it's position on the screen
correctly. Makes it very hard when you have two or three bodies all close
together. You have to jockey around to be able to check them all out.
Just finished Chapter 1 - Outstanding! I'm on my way to Romney for Chapter 2,
but I just had to take a break (even the people need sleep<G>).
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 148 Tue Jun 29, 1993
J.OKAMURA1 [Kami] at 04:31 EDT
Soulcutter,
I can't say that the wordlocks are hard...it's just a matter of rearranging
the available letters into a word. Some take a bit longer, but so far, none
has taken more than 15 minutes. Just start with one letter, then see what CAN
come after it - there are a lot fewer combinations than you think!
What I need is the FINAL REST spell - before I run into too many of these darn
Nighthawks.
Kami
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 149 Tue Jun 29, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 10:57 EDT
Ranger, shopkeepers mean more overhead. There are a lot of things Dynamix
could have done if you'd wanted a 12 disk game for $129.95 <g>. Having a
different one for each shop would mean lots of additional graphics files. Or
if we had just one for every shop who looked like every other shopkeeper,
why, we'd be doing Might & Magic. <g>
The boundary problem is known, Ranger. The problem is that with 3 space, you
have some limited ability to overlay one area to click on over another. I
discovered this myself. The only answer is to move away turn slightly and
come back from a different angle. Being head on to houses helps. It's a real
bitch when you're searching bodies, too, and you have three or four bunched
together; you're advised to take the time to move around and make sure you're
not searching the same one three times. It can be a real pain in a narrow
confine, such as a canyon or dungeon hall.
I think the guys at Dynamix are going to try to improve that logic for the
next game. Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 150 Tue Jun 29, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 11:33 EDT
P.CHIU
Samurai Cat,
Use the INSTALL program to create the boot disk. There may be
something in your software load that is interfering with the game.
If you continue to experience the problem, I will want to know some
things about your machine, such as DOS version, Video Card, Sound
Card (with settings), and anything else that might help me determine
the cause of your problems.
You might also want to check your machine for the presence of
viruses.
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 151 Tue Jun 29, 1993
D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] at 19:50 EDT
I get lock ups too during combat occasionally it has happened about a dozen
times. Anyway, anyone else having problems with combat, I'm in chapter 2, and
I keep getting my butt kicked. 5 Nighthawks against my lone 3 wimpy guys. I
mean these Nighthawks move at like speed 7, so I never get any spells off.
Very frustrating.
Dan
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 152 Tue Jun 29, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 19:57 EDT
-=-=-=- To: C.HODGES8 [Ranger] -=-=-=-
> If I just walk down the road to Krondor, will I get attacked and
> stuff, or do I have to go looking for trouble?<EG>
You'll get attacked at least once. (I haven't reached Krondor yet, and have
also let myself be sidetracked along two paths.) (Later) - You'll probably
get attacked a number of times! They don't want you to get to Krondor!
(That's why it's an entire chapter, after all!)
The installation was fairly good. It took maybe ten minutes of floppy-
swapping, then (as it "processed" its various files) I went away to gorge on
pizza and read the manual. REF's introduction was masterful. Brought
goosebumps to my arms. "Yes", I thought. "This is how it really was and is!"
Not sure how long it took to install. It was finished by the time I came back
from the pizza.
This is the first game I've seen that even mentions Stacker or Smartdrv. <g>
Most other games I've seen go into a tizzy of "you run any of this stuff and
you're in trouble."
Combat is interesting. Combat will be a joy to those who don't like the real-
time combat systems of Ultima Underworlds, Eye of the Beholder, and the Quest
for Glory series. Controlling several characters in real-time combat would be
a royal pain in this combat system.
The only flaw I can see is that each individual movement is essentially made
uninterrupted. For instance, you're trying to protect your magician, right?
So your characters would do what they could to prevent opposing players from
moving in and clubbing him. This combat system doesn't allow for what I've
seen elsewhere called "opportunity fire".
I still wish the outdoors were in video-quality pictures. <g> Okay, okay,
I'll wait for CD-ROM II. Seriously, if you think this is a killer game now,
imagine its tenth-year anniversary remake. 65,000 colors, digitized movement
ala the state-of-the-art 7th Guest today, ... <g>
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 153 Tue Jun 29, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:32 EDT
To Dynamix & Ray: I thought of something else that would have been very nice
for this game. An automapping feature for the mines, caves, sewers, and
whatever else remains to be discovered underground.
At the end of Chapter 1, I attempted to map the sewers, but, alas, a
professional mapmaker I'll never be<G>. I did manage to get most of it
mapped, now I wish I had done the same for the Mac Mordain Cadal. Oh well,
I'm sure I'll get the opportunity.<G>
I like the way it lets you get the stuff from the characters not being used
from one chapter to another.
Is there a main character? Just curious.<G>
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 154 Tue Jun 29, 1993
M.WYMAN1 [COMANCHE] at 20:41 EDT
I like the game so far. However, it isn't as open ended as I would like. But
then again, no one in the CRPG field has come close to a really open ended
system......yet :) There sure are alot of mountains and hills that are not
passable. It would have been really neat to climb up the mountains and have a
look around. Movement is still 2 dimensional even though this game is done in
3 space. Mark
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 155 Tue Jun 29, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 21:02 EDT
Well, I hate to say this Ray, but Strike Commander from Origin was 40megs, was
only on 8 diskettes (1 more than BAK), and was still only 49.99 in most of the
places here in Austin. BAK is only 15 megs, and on 7 diskettes. I'd say
Dynamix needs to look into better compression routines.
I'm getting real frustrated with this Lord Lyton. He asked for 6 suits of
armor, I got him six suits of stanard armor and he still won't take it. Does
he want swords too? sheesh
I've discovered you can't just walk straight down to Krondor (at least until
you get a Hochoo's Haven spell<G>.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 156 Tue Jun 29, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 22:19 EDT
-=-=-=- To: D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] -=-=-=-
> I get lock ups too during combat occasionally it has happened about a
I don't get (well, not yet) lockups during combat, and I have a fairly weird
system: Gateway system with replacement no-name 486SX 25Mhz motherboard with
20 megabytes of memory...
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 157 Tue Jun 29, 1993
B.WILLIAMS44 [StarHawk] at 22:20 EDT
Excuse me,
I haven't bought the game yet but would like to know if it uses MILEs
ADV drivers for sound and music ,or not.
Thanks ***StarHawk***
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 158 Tue Jun 29, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 22:55 EDT
-=-=-=- To: C.HODGES8 [Ranger] -=-=-=-
> only on 8 diskettes (1 more than BAK), and was still only 49.99 in most
> of the places here in Austin. BAK is only 15 megs, and on 7 diskettes.
Price is rarely based on number of diskettes required to produce the game. It
has some impact, of course, but it isn't the ultimate determing factor.
Dynamix has no need to fear opposing installation compression algorithms. I
very much appreciate what they did with Krondor (compared to other games I've
recently installed.) I'd very much rather install a 15-minute 7-disk Krondor
to a 45-minute 3-disk Rules of Engagement 2.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 159 Wed Jun 30, 1993
E.R.ANDERSON [ - Ergo -] at 01:25 EDT
Um.. am I the only one that has the program Automap? Hit the map icon and it
will show you the map of the sewer or dungeon or whatever. Are we playing
different games or did I not understand your question?
Re: Openendedness. Well.. it IS a novel. You have to follow the plot ;)
Ugh.. Nightslayers! Am I missing a lot of magic items or opportunitys to get
good skills? These combats in Chapter II are REALLY tough! I only have 3 guys
against 5 and six people. E'gads!
Also.. what is the best way to make money? What does having a red dot on a
skill do?
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 160 Wed Jun 30, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 01:50 EDT
Well William, you missed the important part of the post, SC had 40 MEGS in
those 8 diskettes<G>. Including some awesome scenery and voice.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 161 Wed Jun 30, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 02:03 EDT
It doesn't ever show the whole cave or sewer system, once you have explored
it, does it? Mine doesn't. It shows about what my light source would show if
I were looking in all four directions. It doesn't keep track of where I have
been, only where I am. Not real helpful. It's not an automap, anyway, that
is just the overhead view of what you are seeing thru the vision window.
The red dots lets you increase the rate at which the skill level that the
sword represents increases. Sort of directs the characters attention to it, I
guess. Its in the manual on page 24.
I did a lot of fighting in Chapter I to beef my guys up. Fortunately, Chapter
II let me keep two of them<G>.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 162 Wed Jun 30, 1993
D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] at 02:43 EDT
Ranger- We must have different games, mine shows a lot of the map you have to
zoom in out but you can get almost the whole thing. Also it does keep track of
everything, I went into the sewers, came out and went back in and the map was
intact. I think i went through chapter 1 too quick as i made no side trips
and now in chapter 2 I'm getting my butt kicked.
Where do you get more spells?
Also can someone post what they did in chapter1?
Dan
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 163 Wed Jun 30, 1993
J.OKAMURA1 [Kami] at 05:20 EDT
Ranger,
I'm having the same trouble with Lord Lyton. I brought him his 6 suits of
standard armor, but James still says he doesn't have all six. Now, you can't
load one character with 6 suits - it just won't fit! Swords didn't seem to
make a difference either. I finally gave up, and went on to Chapter 3.
What's going on in Sethanon? I can't even get near the place with all the
shades popping up.
Raymond's right - Chapter 3 is definitely a "what do I do next" chapter! It's
not like the previous chapters. I like that spyglass - does it ever run out?
Works just like the Eyes of Ishap spell on full power.
One last thing - the manual says that you should use Final Rest on Nighthawks
and Black Slayers, but after I kill the last Nighthawk, there doesn't seem to
be a way to cast Final Rest. Is it supposed to be cast during battle?
Sometimes (well, actually, most of the times) those guys surround poor Owyn,
so he can't cast spells. I have to rely on Gorath to chop them up with his
Griefmaker.
Kami
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 164 Wed Jun 30, 1993
R.FEIST2 [Raymond E.] at 09:47 EDT
One thing about the armor . . . he doesn't want it below a certain quality.
Those numbers in the corner tell you about the condition of everything when
you look at inventory. If a Sword of The Most Incredible Thingie Ever To Be
Made By Anyone (+100 points of damage) is only 15%, you're only getting 15
points of damage a hit until you get the sword fixed. Lytton doesn't one old
beat up armor.
Kami, I had the same problem with Final Rest, and I consider this a design
flaw: if you fry them quickly enough, you don't need it. But if combat takes
over a certain number of rounds, they rise again to fight, and then boy do you
need it.
As far as the compression vs. disc number vs. price, all I can say is that
many products are done in different fashion. I know that the files containing
the graphics (in the cut scenes) are already compressed so they are
decompressed on the fly during the game and they couldn't be compressed any
more for installation. Things like that. If you've every tried to compress
GIF files, you'll know what I mean, or JPEG. They're already as tight as
they're going to get and you can't get them any tighter. The 3-space logic
stuff didn't add the extra disks, it was the pictures of the characters during
the cut scenes. If we were doing full motion video . . .whew! You'd have a
50 disk game needing 200 megs of hard driver. <g> As you said, CD-ROM time.
It looks VERY likely we'll be doing another one of these, so we'll keep as
much as we can in mind of your comments to make the next one even better.
Best, R.E.F.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 165 Wed Jun 30, 1993
SIERRA.SUP [Doug] at 11:57 EDT
D.SPEZZANO1
Dan,
DS> I get lock ups too during combat occasionally
Have you tried the troubleshooting procedures found in the manual
and on the Quick Reference Card? What was the result?
Doug Johnson
Sierra/Dynamix
Technical Support
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 166 Wed Jun 30, 1993
E.R.ANDERSON [ - Ergo -] at 17:29 EDT
Where can I find the hand of the dead guy?
Sorry I forget when the town's name is. Well, the woman has a shop in chapter
2 that's haunted and I have to return the man's hand to his corpse. Where can
I find it? I've moved all over the place but I havn't found it. Any help would
be appreciated!
(If there is another way to get past this puzzle w/o the hand you can tell me
that, too ;) )
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 167 Wed Jun 30, 1993
T.HAGEN1 [Orion Star] at 19:37 EDT
Hello all, I have been playing this game for two days now and I LOVE IT!!!! I
even try to find the puzzle chests and write down the clues and letters so
that I can at least do something when I'm on break at work. ;-)
Anyway I do have a question. In the mines south of La Mut, I have killed off
everyone and I found a book that mentions a secret area in the mines, but I
can't find it and I can't get by the digging area. Anyone know what I'm
talking about and how to get past these two areas? Yes I'm still in chapter
one building up my stats. Having a blast with the new spells just whis I had
found the spells before I bought them at the store. AHHHHHHH.
Orion Star
The Mapper
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 168 Wed Jun 30, 1993
B.MEIER [Soulcutter] at 19:39 EDT
Someone in prior append said "I really like the way they let you access
equipment from other players between chapters". Was that quote missing
a "NOT" or is someone doing something I haven't figured out how to do
yet, to access all the goodies that are left in different inventories
between chapters. For example, after Northwarden chapter magician had
dog horn and rusalki ruby. Now I have differnt party for the Betrayal
chapter and would really like to get those items if possible. Is there a
way?
It sure is hard to win in later chapters when there are only two players
in party vs six enemies. Sometimes I dont even get a turn...
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 169 Wed Jun 30, 1993
D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] at 20:03 EDT
Hey where do you get the damm seal to cross the bridge? I'm near Silden and
can't find squat. Also anyone found an effective way of fighting the river
spirts?
Dan
P.S.- Check around Sloop there is a load of treasure, I ended up buying 5
spelss in Silden with the loot!
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 170 Wed Jun 30, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:13 EDT
Your right about the armor Ray, its has to be better than 54% (I had one less
than 70 and had to repair it, it went up to 71 and he took it). Felt a bit
embarrassed when it finally worked<G>.
The hand is in Lyton, last house to the east. You have to talk to a few folks
and find some other things before the guy in the house will finally talk to
you. Oh, you have to buy it back, but I won't spoil it and tell you how
much<G>.
hmmm, I'll have to recheck this dungeon automap thingy out. I have a save
game for "in sewers", maybe I have to zoom it out. Thanks for the info.
Ok, I'll give the designers an A+ for the innovative design for the way it
plays, but to be very frank with you, the graphics are of moderate quality.
The grass all looks like a golf green, the mountains are all one solid green
wall (except for the occasional grey spot), and the trees all look like the
same. Most VGA cards will support at least 256 colors - why weren't more than
green, brown, and yellow used for the scenery? The weather never changes,
there are no animals, or people other than the bad guys, and basically the
world looks like a disastor of biblical proportions has hit.
I understand the reasons for using polygons, they zoom in better than
bitmaps, but after a couple of hours, the scenery gets very dull. If it
weren't for the occassional battle, going from town to town to solve the
puzzles would be boring. Also, the transitions between Chapters could have
been all voice, rather then a few spoken words thrown in hear and there.
Matter of fact, a lot of the repetitous things that pop up could have been
voice.
I guess the graphics in games like Strike Commander and Commanche have me
spoiled in that department.
One other question came to me as I was reading Magician: Apprentice again last
night. Why don't these guys have horses? They (in Chapter 1 and 2) are all
nobles, and yet they are walking all over. If I were a noble, I wouldn't walk
farther than I had too.
There are better graphics compression schemes than GIF and JPEG. I believe an
English company has developed one that will take a 1meg GIF file and shrink
the same picture to 10K.
I understand many of the game companies are considering going to CD-ROM only
games in the near future, some as soon as next summer. Maybe that's the way
to go.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 171 Wed Jun 30, 1993
C.HODGES8 [Ranger] at 20:29 EDT
hmm, the seals are in a barn to the west of Lyton.
When I went from Chapter 1 to 2, once it got thru the plotlines, it left me
just outside the gym where I talked to Princess anita. go to the gym and on
the ground lies Locklears stuff. Take your pick. I'm assuming that the other
chapter where the characters get changed have someplace on the screen where
you can do the same thing. If it's the palace, its probably the gym.
------------
Category 22, Topic 35
Message 172 Wed Jun 30, 1993
M.WYMAN1 [COMANCHE] at 20:47 EDT
About SC compression, they used fractal compression for the terrain if I
remember correctly. Thats why there are so few disks and so many megs.
Fractal compression is still relatively new and the results are somewhat
varied depending on what you try to compress.
I do have another suggestion for Dynamix, this has the Ultima VII feel of a
huge map but there hasn't been that much to do. You mostly click on
buildings, hear what they have to say, leave, fight, go to next town, etc
until you reach your chapter destination. In between you find treasures.
What would really be nice is to isolate the game to Krondor itself. For
example, no one can leave because of an order from above (sound familiar?).
The time scale for movement could then be one to one with reality. If it took
you an hour to walk across Krondor then it would take you an hour to walk in
real time. An hour may be to excess but you get my meaning. The city could be
broken into organizations such as temples, guilds, militia, etc. The
individuals in the city may be members of various orgs or they could be
loners. Each NPC would have attitudes towards other NPCs and orgs as well as
an attitude towards the player. Attitudes would change throughout the game
based on character actions and maybe even some random events. For example,
the thiefs guild wouldn't think too highly of your character if you were seen
with the city militia. Attitudes would also change based on various plot
twists.
There could be an ultimate goal but the means of that goal would vary based on
what type of character you became. As a thief you would view the events
differently then a temple acolyte would.
Sorry about the rambling :) Its just that my hopes for CRPGs seem like years
away from reality. Still, I like this game but it isn't revolutionary as I
had hoped. Good for a first attempt in the CRPG world though :)
Mark
By the way, I have been working on an above system for awhile now but a full
time job keeps getting in the way!
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 173 Wed Jun 30, 1993
G.B.SMITH at 23:18 EDT
I had trouble with the game hanging until I went to a boot disk. The real
culprit, however, was the "share" program which the game did not like. No
major problems now-----with bugs... DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO GET MORE GOLD...I
can't get started and afford to stay healthy long enough to get into this.
Also it is impossible to find temples when I need one bad. I also haven't
found out how to handle the groups with a "strong" magic user. There has got
to be a strategy here that I am missing. How about some of you sharing your
various strategies. I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours!
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Category 22, Topic 35
Message 174 Wed Jun 30, 1993
W.HARRIS4 [William] at 23:56 EDT
-=-=-=- To: D.SPEZZANO1 [Dan] -=-=-=-
> Where do you get more spells?
Chapter 1, you can gain one spell by talking to Marc (?) near the Abbey of
Ishap. You do have to be alert; if you're in "road" mode, you may very well
miss it.
I haven't yet finished Chapter 1. I'm having some difficulty getting to
Krondor past (what I presume is) the final assassin squad. There can't be
very many other hostile groups between me and Krondor!
Anyway, with respect to the tale of Chapter 1, I have generally taken most of
the side-trips available. I took a trip into the dwarven mines, and destroyed
their creature for them, and was rewarded. Didn't explore everything. Maybe
that waits for Chapter 2.
-=-=-=- To: C.HODGES8 [Ranger] -=-=-=-
> Well William, you missed the important part of the post, SC had 40 MEGS
> in those 8 diskettes<G>. Including some awesome scenery and voice.
Didn't disregard it, just shifted the thrust. <g> Compression algorithms can
be fine-tuned. Given that SC was installable from 8 diskettes, I find myself
rather disappointed they need 40 megabytes of hard disk space. But of course
this isn't the topic for it.
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