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1994-10-21
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9KB
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210 lines
P.O. Box 245
Ogdensburg Business Center, Suite 2E
Ogdensburg, New York 13669
For Immediate Release
Contact: Shari T. Mitchell, Public Relations Manager (315)
393-6451 extension 16
Realms of Arkania - Star Trail Released
"Sir-tech is back with a role-player's dream come true:
great graphics and true FRPG feel. It's been awhile since
FRPG fans had anything this
good to look forward to." PC Gamer, November 1994
Ogdensburg, New York - October 28, 1994 - Sir-tech Software,
Inc. announced today the release of Realms of Arkania - Star
Trail. Star Trail, the second title in the Realms of
Arkania fantasy role-playing trilogy and sequel to the
award-winning Blade of Destiny, is available to consumers
for IBM platforms.
Realms of Arkania - Star Trail was developed by Attic
Entertainment Software for the computer in close cooperation
with the original authors, Fantasy Productions in Germany.
The combined talents of Attic Entertainment, Fantasy
Productions and Sir-tech have produced a fully translated
version of Star Trail for the English market.
Since its introduction in Germany in the first-quarter of
1994, Realms of Arkania - Star Trail has garnered top
reviews and kudos from the German media including PlayTime
Magazine's PlayTime Star, PC Games Award, TV Movie
Magazine's Movie Star, ASM's August 1994 Game of the Month,
Power Play Magazine's Power Play Award and PC Joker's Hit
Award. Star Trail received additional awards from Chip
Magazine and PC Professional Magazine.
Storyline
A band of foolhardy adventurers have emerged into a land of
unrest. A land shrouded with hatred. Feuding between the
elves and dwarves and the disappearance of the Salamander
Stone have fueled the Orc's thirst for war. The Salamander
Stone, a gem of mysterious powers, must be found to restore
harmony between the elves and dwarves. For these enemies,
banding together may be their only hope against the
bloodthirsty Orcs.
Ask And You Shall Receive
After the release of Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny,
Sir-tech gathered players' compliments and criticisms from
correspondence and telephone calls. In Germany, Attic
Entertainment incorporated new feature upon new feature
until, one and one-half years later, they had created a
product the gaming public had asked for and a design that no
one in the industry could match.
"Star Trail has everything a fan could want in an RPG,
including an advanced character creation routine, an
absorbing storyline with plenty of twists and turns, and
complex combat with all the extras you could want," said
Trent Ward, PC Gamer.
Engine
Star Trail has the most advanced smooth-scrolling engine on
the market. Star Trail allows the gamer to look up, down,
forward, backward, right and left and his or her pitch and
bank changes as they turn corners. Additionally, depending
on the character leading a gamer's party, perspective
changes. A tall Thorwalian tends to see things differently
than a runty dwarf.
Diary Feature
As each day passes, Star Trail's diary automatically records
any important events. Gamers can make their own entries or
use the diary as an unusual day planner. Incorporated in
Star Trail's diary design is a powerful search feature and
print option.
Automapping
The picture players see using Star Trail''s automap feature
is literally an overhead view of the town. Star Trail's
automap allows the player to move his or her party to
another location and to zoom in or out for a better look.
Additionally, players can enter up to 100 memos about
locations on the map.
Combat
Realms of Arkania is known for its phased, isometric,
turned-based combat system. Star Trail offers gamers four
different combat options: a total computer fight showing
only the outcome, a total computer fight that allows players
to watch the action unfold, a character computer fight that
puts the computer in control of one or more characters, and
a manual combat that lets the player control everything.
Additionally, gamers have the option of allowing their
characters to fight in three alternate modes: aggressively,
carefully or normally.
Save Games
In response to gamers' requests, players are no longer
assessed a penalty for saving the game outside of a temple.
Additionally, Star Trail allows the player to enter notes
about each save for future reference.
Macros
Since characters tend to do the same things in combat and
camp, Star Trail collects certain macros that allow the
player to repeat the previous actions without selecting them
all over again.
Print Option
Realms of Arkania - Star Trail offers gamers a character
print option making character stats easy to view. Players
may print a character's statistics, skills and spell values
to a standard dot matrix printer or an ASCII file.
Packrats Welcome
Players like to keep everything they find. Star Trail has
added warehouses so players can keep their stuff without
slowing down their party. Of course, this feature has a bit
of a twist. Like other businesses in Arkania, warehouses
are susceptible to thieves.
Character Generation
Star Trail follows the same path as its predecessor, Blade
of Destiny. Players once again can create characters from a
variety of classes: Warrior, Rogue, Jester, Thorwalian,
Hunter, Dwarf, Magician, Witch, Druid, Green Elf, Silvan Elf
and Ice Elf. Star Trail also offers a band of pregenerated
characters ready and waiting for the adventure to begin.
Gamers who ventured through Blade of Destiny may also
transfer their characters into Star Trail.
The Advanced and Novice Mode options continue to allow
players the chance to customize their characters in
automatic or comprehensive modes. Additionally, the
inclusion of Positive and Negative attributes continues to
give Realms of Arkania's characters personality that no
other FRPG offers.
Skill System
Realms of Arkania -- Star Trail offers a variety of skill
classes. Combat, nature, intuition, craftsmanship, lore,
body and social skills offer characters distinctive profiles
and personalities determining a character's success in a
variety of fields. As in Blade of Destiny, the player can
choose the Novice mode so that the computer will manage
their character's individual skills or choose Advanced mode
where the player has full control and access to the
character information.
Magic System
Over 80 different spells, rituals and prayers are offered to
magic users. A character is not confined to a special
spellbook but may learn a variety of spells which makes
specialization imperative. Included in Star Trail's magic
system are wand rituals. These powerful rituals allow a
Magician or Magicienne to "charge" a wand with certain
spells. An appropriately charged wand is ready and waiting
when duty calls.
Herbs & Poisons
Traveling through Arkania's wilds, characters will likely
come across a vast array of herbs that may prove useful
during the adventure. Some herbs can be used without prior
preparations, while others require a skilled and
knowledgable character before the herb's use becomes
apparent. When mixed together, some of Arkania's herbs can
form wonderful healing agents or deadly poisons.
Realms of Arkania - Star Trail is available for CD-ROM and
holds a suggested retail price of $79.95. The 3.5" floppy
disk version of Star Trail carries a suggested retail price
of $69.95. The Star Trail Speech Pack will be offered later
this year at a suggested retail price of $19.95.
Additionally, Sir-tech will release the Realms of Arkania --
Star Trail Clue Book in conjunction with the release of the
final product. The Star Trail Clue Book will retail for
$19.95.
Realms of Arkania - Star Trail is available through
Babbage's, Best Buy, CompUSA, Computer City, Egghead
Discount Software, Electronics Boutique, Software Etc. and
other independent stores in the United States.
#30