Since the early days of the Ultima series, dozens (even hundreds or thousands) of games have been produced based on Dungeons & Dragons-style role playing. Since the early days of “Dungeon of Doom” and “Rogue,” role playing games have had a consistent portion of the Mac games market. At this point, however, there is little dispute about the king of Macintosh role-playing games: Realmz is the winner hands down. Its continued popularity paired with constant updates and enhancements provide gamers with enough role-playing material to last a lifetime. Its flexible architecture, allowing scenarios and characters to be added or used at the player’s will, has indeed contributed to its success. Like most other popular Macintosh games, dozens of Web sites are spawned to help players find the latest information, updates, and add-ons. This article has focused on action or action/adventure games in past months, so prepare to shift gears into role-playing mode...
But first, I’d like to add a few comments to last month’s column, which dealt with the new Ambrosia Software game Escape Velocity. I mentioned at the end of the article a few sites that would whet your appetite for Avara. Well, Avara has now been released and the game itself, as well as tons of information about playing and finding opponents, can be located at the official Avara Web site: <http://www.Avara.com/>. Happy carnage!
With that administrative business out of the way, I’ll launch directly into this month’s topic: Realmz.
Major Realmz Sites
• Fantasoft <http://www.outreach.com/fantasoft/>: This site is Fantasoft’s official center for Realmz and Exile. You can download the latest version (it’s sure to hit here first) or look at upcoming scenarios and games. There are also several online hint sheets with important facts for every Realmz fan.
• Ivans Chou’s Realmz Links Page <http://enterprise.bih.harvard.edu/~ichou/what/realmz/>: Ivans Chou, the maintainer of the Realmz FAQ, has set up this Web site as an index of Realmz sites (including, of course, his FAQ). He provides brief descriptions of each site (à la Netscape’s “What’s Cool”) and even has several files to download as well. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this list, try looking at Ivans’ page to see if what you need is there.
• OGI Realmz Page <http://www.ese.ogi.edu/pub/entertainment/realmz/>: Maintained by Claude Errera, who is also responsible for the Marathon HyperArchive Northwest, this site contains a brief table of game files, updates, and pointers to online documentation. It’s a handy starting point for Realmz folks, but even better, it’s very well-maintained.
• Jim Foley’s Realmz Page <http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~foley/realmz.html>: Jim Foley is the author of several Realmz scenarios, including Castle in the Clouds and the soon-to-be-released White Dragon. His page provides the basic links to the latest software, but the most interesting aspects of his site are the updates on White Dragon development and an opportunity to submit your own scenario idea for consideration!
• The Realmz FAQs and Files Page <http://www.outreach.com/realmz/>: Bill Ferguson’s Realmz page is simple and easy to navigate, with the obligatory links to hint sheets and the Realmz Books. A section with downloadable character files is one of its most important features. However, it looks as if it isn’t quite up to date with the latest version of Realmz; if you want Realmz itself, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
Other Sites of Interest
• Realmz Sketchbook <http://emporium.turnpike.net/Z/zen/Realmz.html>: The Realmz Sketchbook is of no particular use if you’re looking for Realmz scenarios or hints, but it is nevertheless one of the most interesting and well-designed sites in this listing. Created by one of the artists who worked on Realmz, this site has a collection of character sketches that will be of interest to anyone who wants to peek behind the scenes.
• Vern’s Realmz Page <http://verdon.trillium.net/realmz.htm>: Vern’s Realmz Page has, aside from the basic links, a set of custom dungeon graphics that you can download and install. If you’ve played Realmz way too much in the past few days/weeks/months, this is a great way to give it a new look.
• Realmz Warriors <http://www.epix.net/~wj2889/realmz/>: This site is yet another set of links to other Realmz pages. Its defining characteristic is a set of downloadable characters, which may make a visit here worth your while.
European and Australian Sites
• The Unofficial European Realmz Page <http://interzone.ucc.ie/96/DOC/jwz/realmz/thomas/>: This is a simple page with links to Realmz files and scenarios as well as other good Realmz pages. Most importantly, it provides a means for European gamers to download the latest versions quickly. This site seems to be a subsidiary of <http://interzone.ucc.ie/96/DOC/jwz/realmz/>, a European site that mirrors most of the important information (hint sheets, etc.) that is available elsewhere on the Internet.
• New Zealand Realmz Page <http://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/~galf01/realmz.html>: Although not quite up to date, this Web page provides convenient Realmz links for folks in or near New Zealand. If you want to download Realmz and hate downloading from the States, check this out.
• Mick’s Realmz pages <http://members.aol.com/michstahl/>: Small and unpretentious, this site serves as a quick guide to the major Realmz files and information. It’s nicely organized and easy to navigate (and could well have been placed in the section above). Here’s the kicker, though: “Diese Seite gibt es auch in deutsch.”
Chat and Newsgroup Resources
• Usenet: As always, Usenet is a popular place to discuss your favorite games. For the purposes of Realmz discussions, the newsgroup <news:comp.sys.mac.games.adventure> is the most appropriate; if you’re looking for Realmz discussion on Usenet, this is the place to go.
• IRC #realmz: You can also check out this IRC channel for Realmz chat, though you’re likely to find yourself in an empty chat room, as this channel isn’t very populated.
Done Yet?
Here are a few RPG sites unrelated to Realmz. If you’re still hungry for RPGs and Web pages to explore, check out these sites for other Mac RPGs. Also, look in the MacGames.html file for more sites for each of these games.
• Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis <http://www.cs.uchicago.edu/~bcy1/odyssey/>: If you’re looking for a great page for another wonderful Macintosh-only RPG, look no further. This page is good-looking and well-designed, with all the information you could want about Odyssey.
• Exile and Exile II <http://members.aol.com/SpidWeb/root_page.html>: Another offering from a company associated with Fantasoft, Exile and Exile II offer alternatives for RPG fun. Look here for the scoop straight from the authors of the game.
• Ultima III Macintosh <http://www.swcp.com/~beastie/ultima3.html>: This page is the official home of information concerning the Mac port of the Ultima III, the third game in the series that launched computer RPGs to popularity. It’s a true blast from the past.
I hope you’ve enjoyed some of the Web sites above. I’d love to hear any suggestions or comments you have concerning this article, previous articles, or future topics. If you have a site I haven’t listed here, send me the URL and I’ll consider mentioning it in the next issue. Please send comments to me at <afn02635@afn.org>.
