A) "The coolest share-ware game ever!" (just kidding :-)
A) Realmz is a fantasy role playing game, where you can generate characters of various classes (fighters, magic users, thieves...) and wander around in this world trying to complete quests and kill monsters, while
accumulating wealth, experience, and various other items (weaponry,
armor...)
(Added:) It is a top down "Ultima" style RPG. Your party of up to six
characters take turns attacking when in combat, and you can control
what weapon or spell each character attacks with. Unlike Ultima, this
game has "zoom in's" from the landscape to battle map.
Q) Where do I get Realmz?
A) If you have membership at America Online or CompuServe you can be the first in your neighborhood get it. If not, wait patiently a few days while
some nice person uploads it to sumex-aim.stanford.edu and you can anonymously FTP it from there or any good mirror thereof.
Q) What are the system requirement's for Realmz?
A) The author states: 2 Meg RAM, 13 in. Monitor capable of 256 colors and 6 Meg of hard drive space. Let me add that it's not the 13 inches that's
important but the ability to display 640X480 pixels. I am able to
play quite well on a Powerbook Duo 270c, whose monitor is only 8.4
inches. And the more memory you have the happier the program will be.
I also think that a machine with a 68020 or better is also required.
Please note: Version 1.5.1 requires 2000K but performance is maximized
at 3000K.
Also IMPORTANT: Author also states there are problems running Realmz
on AV Macs. Some players have found the game "runnable" with the
system extensions off. For AV Mac owners, downloading Realmz may,
itself, be a game of chance.
Suggestions for players who own AV Macs (not bad for everyone else too)
Try to turn off any extensions you don't need (all of them if you can),
disable screen savers, turn on "fast trade" option in preference menu
(this will avoid a commonly reported bug) or use the shift key to trade
items.
Q) Why should I register? Do I have to pay for additional scenarios of I
register?
A) There are advantages to registering. Be aware that Realmz is a fully functional package even if you don't register, _BUT_ here's what do get when you register and what you don't get if you don't register:
You can create characters up to 12th level of experience.
When you save a game, the character files in the character folders are
also updated so that when you play an new scenario, you can create a
party of characters that retain all their material possessions from
previous adventures
You can install and play new scenarios.
You no longer have to see that annoying registration screen.
You will be supporting Tim Phillips and encouraging the continued
bug squashing and new scenario development and new feature development that Realmz is known for.
~ You will no longer be riddled with guilt as you are enjoying yourself
playing this great game while knowing that the hard-working author is
continuing to squash bugs and work on new scenarios and features and
not getting a penny from you.
When new scenarios do come out, you will be expected to pay a nominal
fee ($5-$20) per scenario depending on the complexity of the scenario.
Q) Sometimes when I play, the screen gets all messed up and I can't see the
character's attributes. What can I do?
A) There's a new feature in the same menu as the preferences that will allow
you to force a refresh screen. This will clear up any funny blocks,
strange screens, etc... from the play screen.
Q) How can I consult the manual or spell list while playing Reamlz?
A) You can send Realmz to the background by selecting the "Hide Reamlz" in the Application menu. This will allow you to open another application.
Q) How can I print out the spells database without half of it getting cut off?
A) Try changing your Page Setup from Portrait to Landscape (thanks to Marc
Nimchuk, Univ. of Alberta). And you'll probably have to select scale
by 85% in order to fit it on a standard 8 1/2 x 11 letter page. The
whole thing printed out takes something like 27 pages.
Q) Who is the author and what's his e-mail address?
A) The man responsible for this wonderful piece of programming is Tim P.
Phillips (not to be confused with some other Tim Phillips):
(e-mail address has been deleted because Tim is tired of getting mail
asking stuff like "When's the next patch/scenario coming out?"
~ Technical questions can to go Fantasoft@compuserve.com
Q) Is there a way to save more than 5 games?
A) Yes, but this isn't proven to be safe: You can save 5 games, after you
finish playing, you can copy the "save games" folder to another folder
or diskette and then save 5 more games over them. If you want to
restore one of the previous games, then you copy the current saved
game folder to yet another directory or diskette and then overwrite it
with a previous copy. The comments in the load/save dialog box will
not change when you do this, so it may cause some confusion.
~With version 1.6.1 of Realmz, you can save 10 games, not 5.