Amiga Collections: MegaDisc/MegaDisc 32 (1993-02)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).zip/MegaDisc 32 (1993-02)(MegaDisc Digital Publishing)(AU)(Disk 2 of 2).adf/Games/RPGs_&_Fate/RPGs_&_Fate

Text File | 1993-02-11 | 20KB | 370 lines

              FATE - THE GATES OF DAWN


                  by Gus Wrethman


   Ed: Here's a good overview of Role-Playing Games, moving on to a deep
  review of Fate. A must for the RPGer, it seems - Gus should know!


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   Preface - What I look for in an RPG (or Ramblings of an RPG Recluse)

   By now, I suppose you've all read some of the reviews I've done on various
  RPGs (role playing adventures) on previous Megadiscs. I suppose they are
  all pretty much the same really, with some minor cosmetic differences.
  Some are real good (Dungeon Master, Bard I or III, Bane of the Cosmic
  Forge) some are not too bad (Dragon Wars, Bard II, Might and Magic II) and
  some are total GARBAGE (Might and Magic III and Legend of Faerghail stand
  out here)! They all share a similar storyline and use similar ideas and
  tactics. So, since they are all essentially the same, what makes some
  better than others?

   Those of you who are into these sorts of games are probably wondering why
  I have not included any of the SSI AD&D titles (Strategic Simulations
  Incorporated - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons for the uninitiated).
  Personally I think they are all total garbage (with maybe Eye of the
  Beholder I being the exception to the rule). Now before all you devotees
  of SSI AD&D games start penning poison letters to me, let me explain why.

   Until recently, all of the SSI AD&D series have been ported directly from
  the IBM (read; HOPELESS graphics, non-existent sound and total lack of
  interface/user friendliness). Lately though, the general standard of IBM
  games has improved (read; better graphics, some sounds and a half usable
  interface) thus so has the general standard of these IBM ports. So the
  graphics are now acceptable, the interface is more like what we are used to
  and the sound is OK. Eye of the Beholder I and II are good examples of
  these improvements. As for Curse of the Azure Bonds and its kind, these
  improvements have NOT been forthcoming, so I personally keep well away from
  them because of their primitiveness. (Also 'cause I don't like the
  combat!) I like the good old 3D/first person perspective, whether real
  time or not.

   For those of you who have not yet tasted the joys of RPGing, don't be
  swayed by the glowing reports on Eye of the Beholder II or (especially)
  Might and Magic III. Eye II, looks good, sounds OK, "feels" good, but it
  lacks one thing. GAMEPLAY! There are too many dead ends, too many
  nonsensical puzzles (why would you kill a little old lady or some nice
  happy Holy men and women? Why would you carry around a cursed sword?)
  Maps are hard to make because the game uses no grid reference. (You start
  in the middle of your nice new graph paper, only to find out a bit later
  that the section you are in is the top left corner, rip-cut-paste aaaargh!)
  I think Eye II is stupid and it remains the only unfinished game of its
  type in my collection. It is typical of the "save it-and try it-and if it
  doesn't work-reload it-and retry it" mentality. No good at all.

   Might and Magic III is another one to steer clear of. It is bug ridden,
  has childish graphics, poor sound, is poorly pieced together and has many
  unsolvable puzzles (maybe they realized this and that's why all the answers
  to these dumb puzzles are revealed in the latter parts of the game).

    For me a great RPG needs several things.

    1. It needs good graphics and sound/effects.
    2. It must have a good interface.
    3. It must be uncluttered (unnecessary rules/restrictions).
    4. It must have playability.
    5. It must "create an atmosphere" (you feel like you are there).
    6. It must have an ongoing, developing storyline.
    7. It must NOT be too linear.
    8. It must be in the "3D first person perspective". (Rule out SSI)
    9. It must be hard disk installable (Sorry you floppy guys, but
       face facts, you NEED a hard disk in 1993!).

   I have played many RPGs that have most of the above, but only a few have
  them all, and one of these is FATE - The Gates of Dawn.

    ** PLEASE NOTE **

   Though the original release of Fate had a serious bug, this problem is now
  fixed, so any of the earlier faulty copies should be returned to the point
  of purchase for replacement.

   Fate - The Gates of Dawn is published by ReLine software (German).  Some
  of you may remember with distaste The Legend of Faerghail by the same
  company, but don't be turned off by this. Although the game looks similar,
  all of the bugs and the numerous annoying to downright bad things are gone.

   The game originally retailed for $79.00, but now it is down to under
  $50.00. I suppose this is due to bad sales, it sure isn't due to a bad
  game. Maybe the initial release bug gave the game a bad name?

   Let's have a look at what we get. A well presented package, containing
  two disks, two manuals (one background and rules, one the spellbook) and a
  small coloured map. Hmm, not much, but....

   The game is hard disk installable and the hard disk install program
  provided is a breeze to use, which is just as well, because the disks are
  in a protected format and no manual file copying is possible. The disks
  are actually compressed and the resulting de-compressed game is nearly 4
  megs!  Unfortunately, the screen is NTSC but since we all have a one meg
  Agnus now a PAL screen is possible.

   The game can be played from floppies and cleverly uses a "detect how much
  memory we have got and load as much as possible to start with" method. For
  floppy users with lots of extra RAM, be prepared for a bit of a wait,
  loading times can exceed 10 minutes on a 3 meg A-500! This is offset by
  minimal disk loading/swapping during gameplay. Fate is compatible with
  68030 accelerators too, only 30 seconds to load. 1.3 or 2.0x is also OK.

   *NOTE WB2.1 users*
  Fate does not like the 2.1 setpatch command, in fact it won't run, so I
  suggest using an older setpatch while playing Fate.  Even though the disks
  are copy protected, password protection is also used and many references
  are made to the manual, so keep it handy.

   The story goes something like this; the main character, Winwood (you),
  owns a record shop on 5th Street. He falls asleep, has some bad dreams,
  and wakes up in another world in another time. He has been kidnapped by
  Thardan (he's the bad guy of the story), for purposes unknown.  Winwood
  wakes in a room looking distinctly foreign and begins to explore this
  strange new place. He witnesses a brutal murder and after a sleepless
  night encounters a man who says he can help. This man, provides Winwood
  with some details of his kidnapping and points him in the right direction.
  "Find Thardan and only then may you return home", says your new found
  friend and so the game proper starts.........

   You are alone in the wilderness, no weapons, not much in the way of
  clothes or money and generally lost. (The manual provides a few clues as
  to what to do initially.) Here is where you get the first taste of the
  atmosphere of the game, birds are singing the sky is blue and your
  footsteps can be heard crunching through the long grass. You make your way
  to the ruined inn, the scene of the murders and find a few rudimentary
  supplies. After much exploring and trekking you find the city of Larvin,
  after many encounters both friendly and unfriendly, on the way. You will
  meet the first of many hundreds (maybe even thousands) of NPCs (non-player
  characters) and recruit them to join you on your adventure.

    The game screen is divided into four main parts

    1. The character portraits, five across the top, two down the left
       hand side.
    2. The "view window". (The scene as you would see it).
    3. A scrolling message section at the bottom.
    4. A clever point and click menu section on the right.

   Each party member can be accessed by clicking on his/her portrait and the
  various menus and sub menus now affect the highlighted character.  It is
  simplicity itself to swap weapons, armour, potions etc. between party
  members. Who can wear/use what, is not a problem as each item can be
  examined and the game tells you who can or can't use whatever.

   There are the usual assortment of Giants, Gladiators, Thieves,
  Adventurers, Warriors, Witches, Warlocks, Archmages, Fairies and many
  others to recruit. There is NO character generation in Fate. Recruiting
  is done by visiting pubs, or by means of friendly encounters with the
  citizens of this world. You converse with the citizens (no typing needed,
  all point and click stuff) and try to convince them to join. Many
  approaches are possible and in fact many different approaches are needed,
  to convince the various NPCs to join. You can joke with them, tell fibs,
  brag, adulate, curse, bribe, give alms, amongst others. Certain NPCs react
  in certain ways. This part of the game is an art form in itself. There is
  space for seven players in each party. Yep, I said "each" party, four
  parties are possible, in fact needed, a total of 28 men under your control.
  The parties must interact with each other (one party stands on a pressure
  plate, while the other party throws a switch). Obviously, you only control
  one party at a time, but whilst you control one, for the others life goes
  on. Although they don't move, nor can they be attacked directly, they get
  thirsty and hungry and tired, just like all adventurers do.

   Another example of this "party interaction" is.....  Say, a weak party is
  outside (in the wilderness) exploring, and they see a whole bunch of bad
  guys just waiting to pounce on them, swap to your "tough guy" team, walk
  down to where the woos party is and kill the threatening monsters for them.
  Keep the volume pumped up, so you can hear teleports and approaching
  monsters. All experience is shared between parties and level increases are
  rewarded with additional skills and spells and believe me, there are plenty
  of skills and even more spells, 200 in fact.

   Each character can be equipped with two weapons (or one weapon and a
  shield), armour, gloves, boots and a helmet. They carry items, potions,
  money, gems, jewels, diamonds, bows, wands, rations and water bottles.  All
  items (except money) have weight and of course at least one big strong
  giant or knight or gladiator is needed in each party to carry around all
  the goodies.

   Everything in this game is HUGE, not big, but HUGE. Weapons, hundreds and
  hundreds, not just your AD&D Longsword, then Longsword +1, then Longsword
  +2 (boring!) but different weapons, with different attributes, armour,
  gloves, helmets, bows and shields galore. Monsters, there must be hundreds
  of different ones (and yes, they actually LOOK different too) all with
  different weaknesses and strengths. There are 15 non mage and 17 mage
  classes of NPCs to recruit. The characters get old, (their portraits
  change), get sick, poisoned, diseased, overburdened, hungry and all the
  dramas of real life.

   So, on with the game. You've found Larvin (one of the 4 cities and 5
  smaller villages) and recruited a few NPCs, so what to do now? Well, the
  storyline unfolds as you go. Each time you speak to an NPC, he may give
  you an additional piece of information to point you in the right direction.
  Better still, if you are a RPG novice, the game steers you in the right
  direction by offering suggestions if you are not following the desired
  course of action. Suddenly, someone mentions a dungeon and gives a clue to
  the whereabouts of one of its entrances. "A wall banging we will go."
  (For the uninitiated "wall banging" is a technique usually necessary in
  RPGs to determine the location of secret or invisible doors. Later on in
  the game this becomes redundant as a "See Secret Door" spell becomes
  available.

   As you explore the city, night begins to fall and previously well lit
  areas become havens for thugs and murderers. (There are varying stages of
  daylight in Fate, ranging from bright sunlight to almost total darkness,
  all adding to the atmosphere.) The sound effects are constantly changing,
  from birds chirping in the sun, to the ominous and eerie sounds of the
  night. It even rains.

   You seek refuge at a friendly Inn, but are disappointed to find that the
  purse strings won't stretch to afford a fine suite. You can "camp" at any
  time in any place to restore hit points and magic points, but if you do
  this too often, or don't occasionally reward your parties with a good
  session at one of the pubs, they can become disgruntled and actually
  desert. You can't be attacked while camping.

   So, after a good night's sleep, a quick trip to the bank (don't carry too
  much cash around, the robbers'll get you) to withdraw cash for supplies,
  you continue your search for the dungeon entrance, (hopefully) mapping as
  you go. The Cities and Dungeons are all a HUGE 54x54 grid (starting from
  1E-1N, NOT 0E-0N). An Enchanter is a necessity early in the game, as they
  have the needed spells for dungeon exploration. There are shops, inns,
  pubs, guilds, stations, smiths, healers, banks and even churches (to zap
  your sins), all just waiting to be discovered. For those who find mapping
  a chore, worry not, as a "Show Map" spell is part of the Enchanters
  repetoire.

   During all this exploration, further details of your initial quest come
  out. If you find the cityscape a bit boring, you can send one of your
  other parties into the wilderness for a bit of a look around. There is a
  smaller city, a fountain of youth, a well with a dead man (get him as early
  on as you can) numerous scattered weapons and several other important
  places to visit, including a couple of railway stations (both closed).
  Another quest unfolds, regarding a baddie called Miris Athran, telling you
  how he closed the Cavetrain down and how Athran has to be killed before the
  cavetrain can be restarted and your path to the rest of the world opened.

   When you finally find one of the dungeon entrances prepare for a long
  journey. The dungeons are seven levels deep, all 54x54. Believe me,
  that's a lot of dungeon to explore. The walls are grey and drab but the
  interesting shapes and puzzles and increasing toughness of the monsters,
  never lets boredom get a hold. They are for the most not interconnected,
  but the various parts are connected by teleports and stairs. The
  programmers have even provided "Escape Stairs" to make getting out simpler.
  After many things have been done, you can even teleport down to the lower
  levels, thus making long repetitive boring trips a thing of the past.

   Each dungeon has a different appearance (another welcome touch) and
  different monsters. In fact each city has different monsters (with the
  exception of Laronnes). Out in the wilderness, both time (you have a clock
  at all times) and location play a part in what type of monsters you will
  meet. The wilderness also has varying appearances, with dense forests,
  scattered brush, lakes, swamps, mountains deserts and others. The horizon
  even accurately reflects the type of land in the distance (mountains,
  clear, sea or whatever.

   So, the main object of the initial part of the game is to get the
  cavetrain running. This sub-game is only a small fraction of the overall
  game, but in fact is so big, as to dwarf the entire game of, say, Eye II.
  I would have been well satisfied if this initial "sub-game" was the entire
  game itself, it would've been value for money, but as I said, it is only
  maybe 5-10% of the whole.

   How does the fighting work? Well, after an unfriendly encounter, you have
  lots of choices. You can Run, Hide, Pray, Mock and many others or just
  plain old fight. Each player has a turn, the order depends on individual
  speed, dexterity and other factors. It is not REAL TIME combat, so no need
  to panic, you can carefully plan out each attack. The monsters get a go
  when their speed/dexterity is less than the individual players (which is
  hardly ever when you first start out). The individual or groups of
  monsters are depicted in the view window as well as by small icons and you
  direct your attacks or spells at these icons. The number of monsters in
  the view window reflects how many of each monster remains. Any booty is
  automatically collected and experience is shared between all parties (so
  you can build your weak guys up by fighting initially with your tough
  guys).The magic system is a breeze. One merely clicks on the type of
  spell, then the spell itself and the computer does the rest.

   As the players gain experience, level increases are automatic but you must
  find the Guilds to learn new spells and advance through the classes until
  you become a Master. You also gain permission to increase an ability per
  advancement. Each guild can increase a different ability.

   Later on in the game you meet pirates, rescue a kidnapped fairy, run
  errands for a gnome, buy a ship and sail around the HUGE ocean, explore the
  islands (don't forget to look for treasure) all in search of the seven
  pieces of the Moonwand, which is needed before your final confrontation
  with Thardan.

   All games of this kind must be "linear" to a degree, by their very nature.
  By linear, I mean having to solve and complete one puzzle before being
  allowed to proceed to the next. This is the nature of the beast, but FATE
  is about as un-linear as it can be. There are many many avenues that can
  be taken before you reach the inevitable crunch, so it is as open as it can
  be. By the way, DON'T try the save it-and try it-and if it fails-reload it
  and re-try it approach. Fate will treat you harshly if you try this and
  indeed it is possible to get yourself in a no way out situation if you try
  it too often.

   Finally...

   A word of warning, if you are impatient, forget this game, I have been
  playing it for 350 hours so far and I think I'm about half to two thirds
  through. In fact, the graph paper I've used to date, has cost me more than
  the game itself. To those who say, "what is the object of the game?", I
  say "The object of the game, is the game itself, rather than some intrinsic
  objective". "I wouldn't have the patience" some say. Does one need
  patience to enjoy a good book, a bottle of fine wine, or a woman (or man as
  the case may be)? Do you start to read a book just so you can read the
  last page?  This game will give novice and hardened adventurers alike, many
  hundreds of hours of enjoyment and unlike most games of this genre, can be
  replayed, as you will find different people and discover new things the
  next time round. This game has several previous RPG scoffer friends of
  mine, enthralled and I suspect it may do the same for you. It has a lot to
  offer. I rate it......

    GRAPHICS    - 7½
    SOUND FX    - 8
    MUSIC       - 9
    INTERFACE   - 8
    STORYLINE   - 9
    PLAYABLITY  - 9
    ATMOSPHERE  - 9
    LASTABILITY - 9¾
    ENDING      - ??


    ** FOOTNOTE **

   I normally don't write a review on a game until I've completed it, because
  I fail to see how you can be constructively critical of a game until you
  know everything about it. In FATE's case, I started playing it in August
  92 and it is now 350 hours of actual gameplay later and I still haven't
  finished. In fact, I think I might be stuck (GASP!) so any correspondence
  is welcome. I am also willing to help anybody in need of it.  (SAE
  please).

    Lastly, a couple of tips.

    1. The starting location is 11E-311N Yes THREE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN
    2. The wilderness is 1-400, S-N and 1-650 W-E.
    3. If you map the wilderness, use the little squares on the graph
       paper (or spend 80 bucks on graph paper like me).
    4. INNES (an NPC) is a VITAL PART of the game!!!!!!
    5. DON'T drop anything important, you can't get it back.

                        © Gus Wrethman  1/1/93

                          31 Anderson St.
                          Mortdale, 2223.
                          Sydney, Australia.



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