PCPP Game Guide 2

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Shadows over Riva FAQ v1.08 by Stefan Schatzl ---------------- COPYRIGHT NOTICE ---------------- This article (and the contents of the Riva Support Pages) is Copyright 1997 by Stefan Schatzl unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved. You are granted the following rights: I. To make copies of this work in original form, so long as (a) the copies are exact and complete; (b) the copies include the copyright notice and these paragraphs in their entirety; (c) the copies give obvious credit to the author, Stefan Schatzl (d) the copies are in electronic form. II. To distribute this work, or copies made under the provisions above, so long as (a) this is the original work and not a derivative form; (b) you do not charge a fee for copying or for distribution; (c) you ensure that the distributed form includes the copyright notice, this paragraph, the disclaimer of warranty in their entirety and credit to the author; (d) the distributed form is not in an electronic magazine or within computer software (prior explicit permission may be obtained from Stefan Schatzl); (e) the distributed form is the NEWEST version of the article to the best of the knowledge of the distributor; (f) the distributed form is electronic. You may not distribute this work by any non-electronic media, including but not limited to books, newsletters, magazines, manuals, catalogs, and speech. You may not distribute this work in electronic magazines or within computer software without prior written explicit permission. These rights are temporary and revocable upon written, oral, or other notice by Stefan Schatzl. This copyright notice shall be governed by the laws of the Bundesland Oberoesterreich, Austria. If you would like additional rights beyond those granted above, write to the author at "pulaski@magnet.at" on the Internet. (0) Comments on this release (v1.08) Some certain guy was harassing me all the time that he couldn't rest. So I added a new section, "Location of all sleeping places in the game". In my opinion, you can rest almost everywhere, but what the heck... I also reopened the small savegame editor section which was temporarily shut down. BTW: If you experience problems downloading from the Support Pages, include in an email the exact error message to forward it to my new webspace provider. Table of Contents (0) Comments on this release (v1.08) (1) Introduction (1-1) What purpose serves this FAQ, anyway? (1-2) Who is the maintainer of the FAQ? (1-3) Contributors to this FAQ (*1-4) Where can I find the FAQ? (1-5) Is there a mailing list available? (1-6) Links for direct access (2) What is "Realms of Arkania 3: Shadows over Riva"? (3) Technical stuff (3-1) Requirements (3-2) Screen resolution (3-3) Riva demands its CD in the CD-ROM, I'm running Win95, what I am doing wrong?? (3-4) I don't hear any music! (4) How do I contact Sir-Tech or Attic? (5) Game start, general play info (5-1) A good starting party (5-1a) Start from scratch (sf) (5-1b) Import veteran party (5-2) General equipment which is important (he,rz,rb,sf) (5-3) The battle screen (rb) (5-3a) How do I defeat monsters which I cannot reach? (5-4) How can I reveal parts of the map where the party has not been yet? (5-5) I already solved X, Y, and Z. What next? (5-6) How to get much money fast without cheating (5-6) Where is ... (5-6a) ... Tarik (the informer)? (5-6b) ... the rat-catcher? (+5-7) Location of all (relatively) sleeping places in the game (6) Missions in the game (6-1) General tips (6-2) Main plot (6-2-1) The graveyard (6-2-1a) Where is the entrance the secret lab? (6-2-1b) How can I open the entrance to the lab? (6-2-1c) Is there a way to get into the Feylamia grave? (6-2-1d) How do I kill off the Hestoth (demons)? (as) (6-2-1e) How can I open the feylamia coffin? (as) (6-2-2) The sewers (6-2-2a) Nothing happens, what should I do? (6-2-2b) How do I get into the *OLD* sewers? (6-2-3) Guild membership and Adrian Seehoff (6-2-3a) Where is Adrian Seehoff? (6-2-3b) The party makes too much noise and I lost him. (6-2-3c) Help! I'm standing in front of the bridge and I lost him. (6-2-4) The Holberker mission, mage tower (6-2-5a) The dogs fight the party instead of running away! (6-2-5b) I can't open the door to the tower! (6-2-5c) The party keeps falling into the swamp! (6-2-5d) The painting asks me for its name! (6-2-5e) What's the word for the four doors at level 4? (6-2-5) The pirate ship (6-2-5a) How do I get on board the ship? (ga) (6-2-5b) Shall I join the pirates? (6-2-5c) After some time, the ship mate sends troops! (6-2-5d) I don't know the solutions the the riddles! (td) (6-2-5e) How do I open the chest of the mage? (6-2-6) Mandaras apartment (6-2-6a) Leah is just gone! (6-2-6b) How can I find the lamp? (6-2-6c) I can't find her apartment! (as) (6-2-7) Castle Riva (6-2-7a) The cook is not in the kitchen! (6-2-7b) Sun has risen and the guards are coming! (6-2-7c) Where are the wizards?? (6-2-8) The sunken ship (6-2-8a) Where are the rebellious necker (seamen)? (6-2-8b) How can I open the door (in the sunken ship)? (6-2-8c) The water elementals are hard to beat! (6-2-8d) Uh-oh. The chest is empty. (6-2-9) The magic ant hill (6-2-9a) The battle with your alter egos (th,as) (6-2-9b) How can I construct the flute? (6-3) Sub-quests (6-3-1) Stipen's final exam (6-3-1a) "... and are hanging with mourning / sorrow all year" (6-3-1b) "... there is a picture of ... " (6-3-1c) "... a man (Lomar) was struck to death ..." (6-3-1d) "... I'm standing here on wet feet ..." (6-3-2e) Where is the ring? (6-3-2) Lomar's magic boots (6-3-3a) Where is Lomar? (6-3-3b) What shall I do? (6-3-3) The dwarven mine (6-3-3a) Where is the mine? (6-3-3b) Shall I jump down the shaft? (6-3-3c) Where is the book? (6-3-3d) What word wants the magic mouth know? (ga) (6-3-4) The watchtower (mini-mini) quest (as) (6-3-4a) How do I get in the watchtower? (as) (7) The NPC's (7-1) Thorgrim (he, rb) (7-2) Mandara (7-3) Eleana ("Leah") (7-4) Stipen (he) (7-5) Yann (7-6) Zorka (*8) Savegame editors (+8-1) DSAMOD (+8-2) UGE-module for Riva (+8-3) RivaHeil (+8-4) Riva Cut'n'Paster (9) The Soapbox section (9-1) Shall I buy Daggerfall or Shadows over Riva? (9-2) Shadows over Riva sucks, because ... (9-2-1) ... the game uses the StarTrail engine. (9-2-2) ... it is a "pixelfest" and technically outdated. (9-2-3) ... you are used to play Diablo or Ultima Underworld. (9-3) Why's the graphic so lousy (as) (0-1) Comments on this mini-update to 1.07a (0-2) Comments on this release (v1.07) (0-3) Comments on this release (1.05) (0-4) Comments on this release (1.01) (0-5) Comments on this release (1.00) (0-6) Comments on this release (0.99) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) Introduction (1-1) What purpose serves this FAQ, anyway? This FAQ answers frequently asked questions about the game "Realms of Arkania 3: Shadows over Riva" (short: SoR) from Attic (english translation: Sir-Tech) which appear on the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg. (1-2) Who is the maintainer of the FAQ? The main author is Stefan Schatzl (email: pulaski@magnet.at) and if you have any suggestions, comments or additions please email me. Due to the fact that I'm no English native speaker, there can be several spelling, grammar or word order mistakes. If you find any, you can also send me a mail. (1-3) Contributors to this FAQ Main author Stefan Schatzl email : pulaski@magnet.at homepage: http://members.magnet.at/pulaski/index.html Contributors H. Eckert (he) email : ripley@nostromo.in-berlin.de W. Materna (wm) email : materna@informatik.hu-berlin.de Christian Janiesch (cj) email : janiesch@uni-oldenburg.de Raik Zillmann (rz) email : Zillmann@metronet.de Reinhard Brehmer (rb) email : Reinhard.Brehmer@t-online.de Adrian Stuetz (as) email : a9203444@unet.univie.ac.at homepage: http://unet.univie.ac.at/~a9203444/ "Thain" (th) email : weclark@inls.com Dale Garou (ga) email : garou@ten.net Mr. Dunlap (td) email : TDunlap104@aol.com Suzanne Fleischauer (sf) email : fleisch@erols.com Please note that all submissions to the FAQ become the property of the author (Stefan Schatzl) and that they may or may not be acknowledged. By submitting to the FAQ, you grant permission for use of your submission in any future publications of the FAQ in any media. The author reserves the right to omit information from a submission or delete the submission entirely. (*1-4) Where can I find the FAQ? The FAQ will be regularly updated about once a week and then it will be uploaded to my homepage, where you can find it under the link in the table of contents under "The Riva Support Pages". Additionally, a pointer to the FAQ will be posted on comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg instead of posting the whole FAQ in order to reduce traffic. You can also find the FAQ in GamesDomain (look under FAQs/Shadows over Riva) and in GameSpot. But they may be a bit outdated. I also registered my FAQ in many search engines (about 30 I think) under the keyword "Riva" and "Shadows over Riva". There may also be other sites where you can find this FAQ, but only the Riva Support Pages (my site) has always the most up-to-date version of the FAQ. (1-5) Is there a mailing list available? If you want to receive the newest update of the FAQ automatically, I set up the mailing list "RivaMail". To subscribe or to unsubscribe, go the "RivaMail" section of my Support Pages. (1-6) Links for direct access Shadows over Riva Support Pages http://members.magnet.at/pulaski/riva/riva.htm Shadows over Riva FAQ (text version) http://members.magnet.at/pulaski/riva/rivae.txt Shadows over Riva Weapons Chart http://members.magnet.at/pulaski/riva/rvweapon.htm RivaMail mailing list http://members.magnet.at/pulaski/riva/rivamail.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2) What is "Realms of Arkania 3: Shadows over Riva"? SoR is classical fantasy CRPG with focus on story-development, setting and atmosphere. You control up to six heroes plus one NPC which occasionally follow you instead of only one hero in degenerated "RPGs" and is comparable to the Wizardry or Might & Magic games, but in SoR there are not so much battles with monsters. Your task is to investigate the harbour city of Riva where more and more people won't fight the orcs. The main part of the game plays in the very well designed city, but you can also leave the city to discover the surrounding area. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (3) Technical stuff (3-1) Requirements SoR needs at least a 486, 8 megs RAM (free base mem: 450 KB), 60 megs hard disk space (for swapping additional 15 MB), a VGA graphics card and CD-ROM. This is is the absolute minimum configuration, but the recommened configuration is additionally a Pentium 90, 16 MB RAM, a mouse, VESA graphics and a cache to speed up the game swapping system (200-500 KB is enough). The game runs under Windows 95 (full-screen) stable. (3-2) Screen resolution The game itself runs under normal VGA (320x200), but the intro and the cut-scenes can be run unter VESA (640x400). (3-3) Riva demands its CD in the CD-ROM, I'm running Win95, what I am doing wrong?? Make sure that the DOS box has access to the CD-ROM. So start a DOS box, type in the drive letter of your CD-ROM, and when you get no error message, DOS has access to this drive). If you get an error message ("Drive not found" or similar), you have to edit your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT which are located in C:\. If there are not these two files, create new ones. First load CONFIG.SYS in the notepad and add following line: DEVICEHIGH=drive:\path\model_specific_DOS_CDROM_driver.sys [options] Replace the "drive:\path" with the location of the DOS CDROM-Driver and "model_... .sys" with the name of the DOS CDROM-driver (eg Mitsumi-CDROM's MTMCDAI.SYS). If the driver needs command line arguments do not forget to include them. Save the file and open (or create) with the notepad and load AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you create AUTOEXEC.BAT note that you'll have to put in the first line "@echo off" (without quotes). Then add the following line: LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /d:drivername Replace "drivername" with the internal name of the driver (look up for it in the docs for the DOS CD-ROM drive). For example, for most Mitsumi CD-ROMs the name would be "MTMIDE01" (again, no quotes). Save AUTOEXEC.BAT and reboot your computer. Riva will now run properly. (3-4) I don't hear any music! Shadows over Riva only supports CD-audio music, there's no FM synthesis (Adlib, Sound Blaster) or MIDI support. There are two solutions: - connect your sound card with an audio cable with the CD-ROM drive. - If the sound card doesn't allow this or you don't have a sound card, plug in the CD-ROM a head phone or a connection cable with your HiFi-tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (4) How do I contact Sir-Tech or Attic? Attic BBS : (Germany) 07431/54326 14400 Baud 8n1 phone: (Germany) 07431/54323 monday - friday 1000-1800 MEZ WWW : http://www.attic.de Sir-Tech phone: (315) 393-6633 WWW : http://sir-tech.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (5) Game start, general play info (5-1) A good starting party (5-1a) Start from scratch (sf) The final dungeon and the mage tower require much endurance from the party, so forget weak character classes like acrobats or jesters. A rogue is easily outmatched by a dwarf. So don't use this character class. (5-1b) Import veteran party Generally, if you import a veteran party from Star Trail or Blade of Destiny the game gets somewhat easier, because of the accumalated experience and items (yes, no items will be taken away). (5-2) General equipment which is important (he,rz,rb,sf) key ring put all keys in the ring and you save lots of inventory space sleeping bag increases regeneration hook'n'rope for general purpose, eg getting out of a pit lamp, torch no need to cast the light spell or use the staff magic shovel for digging... crowbar for breaking in... healing potions each hero should have one or two of them in his/her inventory whirlweeds ... or use these herbs to regenerate, they're cheaper and lighter alchemy set make your own potions herbs see manual or online-help (RivaHelp), many things can be made with them whetstone no need to go to the smithy anymore, do the sharpening of your weapons yourself. (5-3) The battle screen (rb) Some tips here: - have always a second weapon in your inventory in case your readied one breaks - concentrate your weapons on one monster, encircle and kill it - mages should avoid hand-to-hand combat, they're weak. - one hero should only be endangered by one monster, if there is a second monster next to him, he cannot defend itself versus the second one. - the enemy mages and archers are the most dangerous ones. - don't let the computer fight for you, he is a bad tactician and sends the mages into HTH combat after they spent all their astral energy. - armor is good, but don't forget that the heroes get encumbered. - if possible, save before combat. (5-3a) How do I defeat monsters which I cannot reach? There are some guys and monsters (Water Dragon, Demon, Toranor) which the party cannot reach in HTH combat. What to do? Use either heavy projectile weapons (heavy crossbow, long bow) or magic at full power (magic level 12+) to kill them ASAP. (5-4) How can I reveal parts of the map where the party has not been yet? You just need to cast "Penetrate" and then the automap pops up where you have to click on the spot where the automap should reveal the terrain in a certain (circle) radius. This spell is handy, if you want to pass encounters which you cannot pass by, but you don't want to battle the monsters or you are too weak at this point. However, if you do not battle all monsters, you won't get a full score. Another application would be finding secret doors and illusionary walls. (5-5) I already solved X, Y, and Z. What next? Walk the city and your already explored area, meet Tarik or the ratcatcher or simply rest for a couple days. (5-6) How to get much money fast without cheating Just go into a tavern and then let your guys dance or play cards. How do I do this? Use the menu option "use skill" in the taverns. (5-6) Where is ... (5-6a) ... Tarik (the informer)? If he doesn't approaches you, and if he won't be in his tavern, visit him at his house just south of the tavern "Harbor Maid". (5-6b) ... the rat-catcher? He lives in the small hut just north of the bridge. (+5-7) Location of all (relatively) sleeping places in the game Although you can rest nearly everwhere outside the city (click on the "Rest"-Icon), I'll include some good resting places. Riva * visit an inn and a tavern and book a room * Ordo the holberker Secret Cloud City * only in houses with a wooden ground * you can't rest in the temple of the naughty vixens from outer space Dwarven Mine * rogue lair * In bed with an orc or two... Mage tower * the corridors where "you can feel the wind blow" (6) Missions in the game (6-1) General tips - After completing the sub-quests you often can find magical items. - If you enter the magic ant hill, there is no return possibility than defeating the villain of the whole game. - Two quests have a secured play area, that means that you can't leave the quest location until you finished the quest. - In some dungeons there are rooms where the party can safely rest, drink and eat. You only have to find these rooms. (6-2) Main plot (6-2-1) The graveyard (6-2-1a) Where is the entrance the secret lab? When the party enters the graveyard, they are standing in front of three graves. The middle one is the entrance. (6-2-1b) How can I open the entrance to the lab? Visit the temple of Firun first and then, before the entrance, think logically. What do I need to dig up a grave? (6-2-1c) Is there a way to get into the Feylamia grave? There is a key in the lab which opens a passage to the grave. (6-2-1d) How do I kill off the Hestoth (demons)? (as) Just use some magic or magic weapons with +1 or better. (6-2-1e) How can I open the feylamia coffin? (as) There's no way of opening the coffin. It's just a polygon object with some amulets on it. BTW: Mandara IS NOT in this coffin, she's just in her apartment. Enjoy the rest of the game instead! (6-2-2) The sewers (6-2-2a) Nothing happens, what should I do? Visit the rat catcher first. (6-2-2b) How do I get into the *OLD* sewers? Look for a secret passage or, after a certain event, you can access the old sewers via the temples. (6-2-3) Guild membership and Adrian Seehoff (6-2-3a) Where is Adrian Seehoff? He lives near the Travia temple (game start). It is advisable to save before you talk to him. (6-2-3b) The party makes too much noise and I lost him. Use the splitting feature and divide the party up. (6-2-3c) Help! I'm standing in front of the bridge and I lost him. This only occurs on slow computers. Look up in the logbook. (6-2-4) The Holberker mission, mage tower You *need* to kill the mage, or, after some time, the black mage will continue to hijack dogs and you've to do the quest again. (6-2-5a) The dogs fight the party instead of running away! Is the door left open? If not, mission failed because you have to kill all of them instead of just two or three. (6-2-5b) I can't open the door to the tower! (grin) This door is specificly designed for people like beggars, trespassers, burglars, salesmen and similar scum. NO option opens the door, you can choose between the method of being punished, hehe. Look for an illusionary wall (actually, it's a hedge). (6-2-5c) The party keeps falling into the swamp! The PC's are simply overloaded, reduce the weight by distributing items among other PCs or getting rid of items by dropping, selling or putting them into chests (eg graveyard). (6-2-5d) The painting asks me for its name! It is DARABROB (read it backwards); black mage and creator of the borbarad worm. (6-2-5e) What's the word for the four doors at level 4? It is SEMALF (read it backwards), but beware: heavy fights behind these doors await you. (6-2-5) The pirate ship There are at least two magic items hidden in one of the chests lying around. (6-2-5a) How do I get on board the ship? (ga) Visit Gorm, the grocer, who lives in the square south and down the ramp from the market. After some time, some guy will contact you... (6-2-5b) Shall I join the pirates? Bad idea, but try it... (make a savegame before accepting it) ;) (6-2-5c) After some time, the ship mate sends troops! On what quest are you, killing of all pirates and looting the whole ship? Nope, the objective is to ESCAPE WITHIN ONE GAME HOUR. So be quick. Hide, if some lonely seaman is walking around and do not enter the community room, there are no important items or clues. (6-2-5d) I don't know the solutions the the riddles! (td) read it backwards 1. ESON 2. EGNOPS or SUGNUF 3. YRIAF AES (6-2-5e) How do I open the chest of the mage? Either find the correct item or cast FORAMOR to open it. (6-2-6) Mandaras apartment (6-2-6a) Leah is just gone! Trust her, she'll arrive at time. (6-2-6b) How can I find the lamp? First, you have to find a ring and then find some wall with a painting. Enter the painting ONLY with the ring equipped or the character will be trapped forever in it (in the real RPG called "Gefesselte Seele", english: bended/trapped soul). Well, there is the lamp. After you leave the room, Mandara goes mad and wants to kill the party, but Leah re-appears and kills the feylamia successfully with the lamp just before Mandara completes her snack. (6-2-6c) I can't find her apartment! (as) It is in the NE corner of the *OLD* sewer system, where the guild has its headquarters. You also have Leah in your party in order to see the entrance. (6-2-7) Castle Riva (6-2-7a) The cook is not in the kitchen! If he is not in the kitchen, he will be in his room (top of the map, the room in the middle). (6-2-7b) Sun has risen and the guards are coming! In order to have maximume time, enter the castle when the sun sets. (6-2-7c) Where are the wizards?? Just search the castle, it's not so big as a Daggerfall spaghetti dungeon, and therefore no real problem. (6-2-8) The sunken ship (6-2-8a) Where are the rebellious necker (seamen)? They drunk too much and have hidden themselves in a ruin. Just destroy all bottles or drink all bottles out ;) (6-2-8b) How can I open the door (in the sunken ship)? Use your mind and think of the LEAD boots which all party members are wearing. Is that enough? (6-2-8c) The water elementals are hard to beat! Give one of your mages Lomar's boots, some astral potions to fill up astral energy and run for the chest. Blocking elementals are easily destroyed by casting "Ignifaxius". Water elementals also don't like magic weapons... (6-2-8d) Uh-oh. The chest is empty. Return to the king. (6-2-9) The magic ant hill Avoid combat if possible, use Transversalis (teleport spell) in combination with the Penetrate spell (reveals map) to get beyond these illusions or battles (it's possible that you'll miss game points and therefore won't achieve full game score at the end of the game). Save your astral energy, you'll need it. Take all odd things and examine it, if they are of any use for the party. (6-2-9a) The battle with your alter egos (th,as) There are several solutions, it is your choice what you do. Strategies for fighting: - battle the spellcasters with your fighters and vice versa. - split the party up and go one by one down. Using the teleport spell: Go down the shaft, but DO NOT MOVE FURTHER! Then cast the Penetrate spell to reveal the mirror chamber on the automap. What next? Cast the teleport spell as far as possible away from the shaft (where you are now standing). Voila, no battle with the alter egos and you can rush to the worm queen. However, it is possible that you miss some game points and you won't get full score after completing the game. Invisibility (th): Make your guys (spellcasters and elves) invisible and pass without a fight the mirror chamber! But there's one drawback: all PC's who cannot make themselves invisible will be attacked by their mirror images. The Darkness trick (as): They are MIRROR IMAGES, so WITHOUT LIGHT there is no reflection. You have to discard all your torches, split you mage off ( his staff acts like a torch), now there hould be complete darkness, just go through the room, the mage can follow, after he casts the darkness spell, so the whole party can rejoin afterwards to fight the queen. (6-2-9b) How can I construct the flute? You need a reed, a sting and claws. (6-3) Sub-quests These quests are only side-quests which can be performed at almost any time during the main plot. Your reward is either dungeon loot or some kind of magic item (and game score). (6-3-1) Stipen's final exam (note: as I do not own the english version, these excerpts from the riddles are transcripts, but you'll surely find the key words) (6-3-1a) "... and are hanging with mourning / sorrow all year" Look for two weeping willows (trees) standing at the coast. (6-3-1b) "... there is a picture of ... " Look at the walls of Riva for a picture of a dragon near a gate (use the look up/down keys). (6-3-1c) "... a man (Lomar) was struck to death ..." This riddle has some connections with Lomar's quest. If you know where Lomar is, you have solved the riddle. (6-3-1d) "... I'm standing here on wet feet ..." Ok. Here are some clues: The object you're looking for is not a tree but is still made out of wood. If you still do not know it now, just walk along the coast and you'll walk in it. (6-3-2e) Where is the ring? Look for a pile of wood near the magic college. (6-3-2) Lomar's magic boots (6-3-3a) Where is Lomar? Lomar is near the dwarven mine behind a stone footprint. (6-3-3b) What shall I do? Just kill him with your best fighter. (6-3-3) The dwarven mine Caution: there are many, many orcs. During a battle it is possible that they will get reinforcements, but there are lots of goodies lying around. (6-3-3a) Where is the mine? It is in a small valley near Lomar's footprint. (6-3-3b) Shall I jump down the shaft? Yes, there are some items lying around. (6-3-3c) Where is the book? On the way to the magic mouth look at the walls and you'll see some dwarven runes which make up a word. Tell it the mouth and then press a hidden button near the wall and a small passage opens. Enter it. (6-3-3d) What word wants the magic mouth know? (ga) Look at runes on the walls and you'll know it. When you stand in front of a rune, simply hit the space bar to read it. You'll need a PC with skilled in ancient languages or tongues. If you can't read the runes or only want to rush to the magic mouth, here is the answer (read it backwards): NOISSIMER. (6-3-4) The watchtower (mini-mini) quest (as) (6-3-4a) How do I get in the watchtower? (as) You actually can NEVER enter it, but be there at midnight and this whole mini-mini quest will be nearly finished. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (7) The NPC's (7-1) Thorgrim (he, rb) He is a dwarf lusting for adventure and waits for you near the market hall. If he leaves the party, he always returns to his house. The dwarf leaves the party after its members are accused for a certain murder. (7-2) Mandara Well, she is an elf who lives in the sewers. The party will find her when they are looking for the "sewers monster" and she will join them. However, when you meet the guild for the very first time, Mandara will reveal her true nature and flees afterwards (in her apartment?). Shortly before she is destroyed by Leah, she will suck almost all blood from the party members (the anti-vampire-pills do not help much). (7-3) Eleana ("Leah") She is the right hand of the guild master, appears some times disguised as a beggar and will join the party for a short time. (7-4) Stipen (he) He is the mage student at the local magic college and wants the party to solve his final exam. When you encounter monsters with him, terminate all monsters ASAP because after he has no more AE, he will run to the monsters to battle them (and surely die). (7-5) Yann He works on the pirate ship under the service of a tyrannic cook and wants to leave the ship with the party. Yann is also as much inexperienced as Stipen, so load him so much up that he cannot move in the battle. (7-6) Zorka She is the daughter of the necker king and gives some tips during the underwater quest. Like Yann and Stipen it is better to protect her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (*8) Savegame editors After weeks of testing and begging for an English savegame, I can now finally say that the German savegames are IDENTICAL to the English ones. So the only barrier is the German language, but in the times of the internet... You can find all listed tools on the Riva Support Pages. Oh, a hex editor is always handy too, but do not forget to make backups! (+8-1) DSAMOD German Riva editor. (+8-2) UGE-module for Riva UGE (Universal Game Editor) module for SoR, you'll need the editor itself too (about 1 meg to download from a slooooww site). Not my choice. Bad interface. (+8-3) RivaHeil Tiny and handy utility just to heal your party from me. Oh, I just noticed that I uploaded the old, self-destructing version. I just fixed it. What it does? It just restores all life energy and astral energy of all party members except the NPC. Copy it into the \GAMES directory and pass the name on the savegame on the command line. Current version: 0.01 (+8-4) Riva Cut'n'Paster This tool cuts a PC or a NPC out from the savegame for sending it to me to build up the "Hall of Heroes" where all people can download them to build up a good party at startup. Another purpose is to temporarily duplicate the character in the savegame, stripping him or her all items and then restoring the overwritten one. Then you can go selling the items. Please see my Riva Support Pages for an example of how to use it. Current version: 0.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (9) The Soapbox section (9-1) Shall I buy Daggerfall or Shadows over Riva? My personal opinion about this decision is that you can't compare DF and SoR, because the first one is a one PC realtime combat RPG and the other is turnbased and the party consists of 6 PC + 1 NPC. The best thing is that you should buy BOTH. (9-2) Shadows over Riva sucks, because ... (9-2-1) ... the game uses the StarTrail engine. This is NOT true, because I will list here some advancements of the Riva game engine: - you can look up and down. - non-orthogonal walls possible (eg sewers) - free-standing polygon objects possible (eg tables in the dwarven mine) - ground and ceiling are no more flat (eg ant hill, dwarven mine, ...) - 3D window can be full-screen - good item distributor - more options for manually-controlled and computer-controlled battle - better automap (especially in the dungeons) BTW: There will be a sequel to Riva. (9-2-2) ... it is a "pixelfest" and technically outdated. Sir-Tech needed about ONE YEAR to translate the game from german into english and the design and production of the german version took itself TWO YEARS. So, are games which were released 1994 all outdated? So, if you like M&M or Wizardry, are these games also outdated? (9-2-3) ... you are used to play Diablo or Ultima Underworld. ... then just go back to your DOOM, Quake, Hexen, Heretic, Outlaws "baller-wumm-wumm-without-brains" games. (I played Diablo for a while, but the end level disappointed me A LOT, and Quake is for me too monotone in graphics, because all things are either brownish, greenish or blackish in color and the levels are very unfair without cheat mode). (9-3) Why's the graphic so lousy (as) Note: Taken from an usenet article by Adrian Stuetz, but slightly edited to correct grammar and vocabulary. The comments in brackets with the "(Stefan)" are written by the FAQ maintainer. As stated in an earlier message, I solved the whole game when it came out in Europe. Although this game took 2 years to be made (and I hope not because of the cutscenes like someone mentioned), it was made as the conclusion of the Star Trail trilogy. at first there were no real plans to actually make it, but then, it was sponsored by Funware (a German low price software company (Stefan)) as a LOW COST game. It cost about 20 $ in Europe everywhere, so it seemed they used the story which was already worked out, used the same engine and only modified it in some minor ways, always knowing it would be a low budget game. Now I got to know that the game costs YOU 50 $ (so full-price), well that IS unsatisfactory and therefore your complains are very understandable, but this is caused by your software dealers and should not have too much to do with Attic (game company which actually made Riva (Stefan)) at all. (I am not working for any game company, its only my conclusions and info I got). Well, someone mentioned that this RPG system based on the original "Das Schwarze Auge" (english: "The Black Eye"; first, an AD&D pen&paper RPG clone, but after some years changed into an unique role playing game (Stefan)) which was developed in Germany, is very complex and NOT easy at all to understand (what is true), and that the PRINTED manual is of no use. That's right, but at least in the German version, there was an ONLINE manual (RivaHelp, (Stefan)), which was very detailed accesible when you hit F1 inn the game and there was even a seperate executable from the DOS-prompt. So that should help all that don't know anything of the system or just dont know what a fulmen... spell is ( why in hell can they not just say fireball or magic missile!!! ), because those word DO NOT mean anything in German too!!! (You see, Adrian doesn't know much about the pen&paper DSA ("Das Schwarze Auge") (Stefan)). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (0-1) Comments on this mini-update to 1.07a Why a mini-update? Because the only thing to update is the new location of the Riva Support Pages and the announcement that the RivaMail mailing list will continue to exist, but not on smaller degree of activity because the interest in the game is steadily decreasing. So this mini-update will be more or less the last update of the FAQ, because it is more or less perfect (in my opinion). However, I will not abandon the FAQ and will be always open for further additions and contributions. If you have any questions concerning the FAQ, I'm always open to answer them and you'll hear occasionally from me in the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg. Pointer to this FAQ will be posted about once a week in the same group and de.rec.games.computer. (0-2) Comments on this release (v1.07) As you can see, I totally restructured the FAQ and included the "nice" copyright statement at the top of the FAQ to clear all things once and for all. So ALL sections are more or less modified and I didn't mark them as usual with an asterisk (*). I've added to my homepage a walkthrough for all those guys who want a step-by-step solution, although my personal walkthrough will sometimes refer to the FAQ. I decided to shut down the German version, but it will remain on my homepage without a link (you've to access it directly) and don't be surprised if the link will be invalid. The old comments are now moved to the end of FAQ and there's a new layout as you can see. (0-3) Comments on this release (1.05) Hello to all fellow Riva gamers and FAQ users, this is another release of my FAQ. I'd like to point out for these guys who didn't visit my homepage for some time and got the FAQ via usenet, I set up there a new page called "The Riva Support Pages". There you can find the FAQ (German and English versions) as usual, but I added a Riva Weapons chart made by James D. Buskirk and set up a tiny mailing list for automatically receiving the FAQ via email. Note the modified conditions of usage in "About this FAQ." Due its increased size of about 34K I won't post it anymore to the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg, instead I'll post a weekly pointer to my FAQ on my homepage. (0-4) Comments on this release (1.01) This is just a minor update, there is only one new Q&A added and the magic mouth question is also enhanced. I also scrambled all riddles where a certain word is wanted. Just read them BACKWARDS. So do not complain that, for example, the word "ESON" doesn't work, read it BACKWARDS (is it now clear?). (0-5) Comments on this release (1.00) First a hi to the NASA-guy and his "international team": if you didn't know, my FAQ is also assisted by an "international team" :-) ; I only do not strike it SO big out as you do. However, back to my FAQ. There was not much response to my translation, I guess all people who are using it now are very happy with it. If you read the FAQ and think "Hey, how did I come into the credits section?", don't be surprised. I am monitoring the newsgroup for Riva questions (which is MUCH work) and they're added ASAP and an update will about be posted (and uploaded to my homepage) once a week. I also added an usenet article by Adrian Stuetz where he explains why Shadows over Riva has such lousy graphics and explains some differences between the English and German release. (0-6) Comments on this release (0.99) Due to many, many requests of english-speaking persons who have problems with the english release of Shadows over Riva, I decided to translate the textual part of my german FAQ (only available in HTML) into english before someone tries to use a program to translate it (mad idea). This FAQ is its release more or less a 1:1 english transcript of the German version and does not include the latest problems which were recently posted on comp.sys.ibm.pc.rpg. But I do know that some people have problems with the printed manual; this was in the german version no problem because there is an on-line manual (RivaHelp) which can be accessed during the game via F1 and outside the game with RivaHelp.bat. Other topics that are already covered (because I hate these threads): - shall I buy Daggerfall or SoR? - SoR sucks, because of its old engine, graphics ... The solutions for the riddles of the ship's kobold (german: Klaubautermann) and the magic mouth may also be incorrect because I do not own the english version of Riva (I have the german one), so they are only translations, so the german equivalents will be included. If these solutions/hints are incorrect, please correct me. Lastly, an update to 1.00 will be quickly made after uploading the FAQ and looking in this newsgroup for problems. I only have access to the internet, email and similar services via the university, so expect the update in one or two days. 11. FAQ History v0.01 Jan 19, '97 First version, was even in English v1.00g Jan 24, '97 Translation to German, 'g' means now German version - problems with my homepage mentioned (now fixed) - now differs between main quest und sub quests - bug section v1.05g Jan 28, '97 - added battle with alter egos - the three special monsters - NPC description now more unclear v1.06g Jan 29, '97 - corrections v1.10g Feb 1, '97 - removed section with special enemys due requests - points list fixed - added "How do I start RivaHelp?" - added "Where's the cook?" - added tidbits to the battle with alter egos - corrections for Stipen's quest - further corrections v1.20g Feb 10, '97 - further additions (several) - ported whole FAQ to HTML with Frames, JavaScript v0.99e May 14, '97 complete rewrote and translation into English, 'e' means English version - some additions, is newer than the German counterpart - excluded all things which are only concern of the German version v1.00e May 23, '97 added: - corrections for english release - graveyard: demons & the feylamia coffin - watchtower sub-quest - good explanation of Adrian Stuetz who explains the the circumstances of the development of Riva - spell tricks with penetrizzel - minor corrections and additions - (another) update for the mirror chamber - "what to do next?" - where is... tarik, the rat catcher v1.01e May 29, '97 added: - "What's the word for the doors at mage tower level 4? - english solution for magic mouth riddle in the dwarven mines. - scrambled all solutions to the riddles a bit. - minor corrections and additions - further grammatical and word corrections v1.05e Jun 02, '97 added: - How do I get onboard the pirate ship? - The solution for the THIRD RIDDLE (pirate ship) added - modified terms of usage - fixed some mistranslations - better explanation of how to open the entrance of the secret lab - further minor corrections and additions, look for them. - mentions new update of my homepage, creation of a mailing list v1.06e Jun 07, '97 - restructered FAQ - minor additions v1.07 Jun 18 '97 - technical guidances - how to get money without cheating - some additions in other questions v1.07a Jul 07 '97 - link adjustments