Champions of Krynn
I decided I'd just create a party and stop playing for today... but then of course I had to test the game out a bit and make sure my party works well, and ended up playing for an hour or so.

I plan on taking the same party through all three games in the series, and so after some research I settled on the following:

• Human Knight
• Human Fighter
• Qualinesti Fighter/Mage[white]
• Qualinesti Cleric[Shinare]/Fighter
• Kender Cleric[Majere]/Thief
• Human Mage[red]

This should give me a good mix of characters who will gain power quickly (the three humans), characters that will level up somewhat slowly but become powerhouses later on (the Qualinesti characters), and a "utility" character that should be useful in certain circumstances (the Kender). All characters will also have plenty of room to grow all the way to the end of the last game of the trilogy, since the multi-class characters have one class in which they can reach max level.

One thing I noticed straight away is how much more frequently you miss during combat, compared with Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades. Enemies also miss pretty often, so it's not necessarily harder so far, just different.

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-10-19, 13:29:

Champions of Krynn I decided I'd just create a party and stop playing for today... but then of course I had to test the game out […]
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Champions of Krynn
I decided I'd just create a party and stop playing for today... but then of course I had to test the game out a bit and make sure my party works well, and ended up playing for an hour or so.

I plan on taking the same party through all three games in the series, and so after some research I settled on the following:

• Human Knight
• Human Fighter
• Qualinesti Fighter/Mage[white]
• Qualinesti Cleric[Shinare]/Fighter
• Kender Cleric[Majere]/Thief
• Human Mage[red]

This should give me a good mix of characters who will gain power quickly (the three humans), characters that will start out quite useful and then become powerhouses later on (the Qualinesti characters), and a "utility" character that should be useful in certain circumstances (the Kender). All characters will also have plenty of room to grow all the way to the end of the last game of the trilogy, since the multi-class characters have one class in which they can reach max level.

One thing I noticed straight away is how much more frequently you miss during combat, compared with Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades. Enemies also miss pretty often, so it's not necessarily harder so far, just different.

Interesting, the rules should be based on D&D it shouldn't behave any differently as far as characters missing, maybe you just have worse rolls? Are the monsters AC's higher? If its not because of the official mechanics then that sir is a travesty of the D&D license!

Shagittarius wrote on 2024-10-19, 15:40:

Are the monsters AC's higher?

I think this is it, the game starts you off fighting enemies that are pretty resilient.

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-10-19, 16:09:

Shagittarius wrote on 2024-10-19, 15:40:

Are the monsters AC's higher?

I think this is it, the game starts you off fighting enemies that are pretty resilient.

Are you playing via GBC or on real hardware? I keep saying I'm going to play the GB games, but still haven't started. I just know once I get started, I'll be hooked. At least I hope...😀

clueless1 wrote on 2024-10-19, 18:51:

Are you playing via GBC or on real hardware? I keep saying I'm going to play the GB games, but still haven't started. I just know once I get started, I'll be hooked. At least I hope...😀

I'm using GBC for these, just for convenience. They actually play pretty fine without GBC once you get used to the UI, but GBC adds so many convenient features like a status bar showing your current party status, combat maps with mouse-over (VERY helpful during tough fights to keep track on what's going on), a single menu to launch any of the Gold Box games, etc.
I complained quite a bit about the decline from Pool of Radiance to Curse of the Azure Bonds and then Secret of the Silver Blades, but Gold Box games are like pizza to me -- even a "bad" Gold Box game is still good. I definitely recommend at least playing through PoR, which I consider one of the greatest RPGs ever made (definitely in the top five of all time for me). If you ever decide to play it, I can offer some general hints (no spoilers). 😀

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-10-20, 02:29:

clueless1 wrote on 2024-10-19, 18:51:

Are you playing via GBC or on real hardware? I keep saying I'm going to play the GB games, but still haven't started. I just know once I get started, I'll be hooked. At least I hope...😀

I'm using GBC for these, just for convenience. They actually play pretty fine without GBC once you get used to the UI, but GBC adds so many convenient features like a status bar showing your current party status, combat maps with mouse-over (VERY helpful during tough fights to keep track on what's going on), a single menu to launch any of the Gold Box games, etc.
I complained quite a bit about the decline from Pool of Radiance to Curse of the Azure Bonds and then Secret of the Silver Blades, but Gold Box games are like pizza to me -- even a "bad" Gold Box game is still good. I definitely recommend at least playing through PoR, which I consider one of the greatest RPGs ever made (definitely in the top five of all time for me). If you ever decide to play it, I can offer some general hints (no spoilers). 😀

Thanks! I'll take any and all hints. 😀 I'll keep you posted on when I start. The consensus is POR is the first, the best and the one to start with. But I was a huge fan of the Dragonlance books in the 1980s (my high school years), so I really want to play that trilogy too.

clueless1 wrote on 2024-10-20, 10:18:

Thanks! I'll take any and all hints. 😀 I'll keep you posted on when I start. The consensus is POR is the first, the best and the one to start with. But I was a huge fan of the Dragonlance books in the 1980s (my high school years), so I really want to play that trilogy too.

Great! I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts whenever you decide to give the game a shot. 😀
I definitely recommend starting with PoR because it really eases you into the engine with its manageable early encounters and non-linear structure.

As for Dragonlance, I read through the first trilogy a year or so ago in preparation for eventually playing the Krynn Gold Box games, and I enjoyed them! So far, Champions of Krynn is very good (definitely better than Secret of the Silver Blades), but it's a surprisingly tough game. I think I would have found it frustrating as my first Gold Box game, because you really need to know what you're doing when creating your party (the manual does provide some advice), and you need to know all the combat tricks you've picked up playing previous Gold Box games even to get through the first couple of areas.

I dipping into Warhammer total war 3 (again) I really enjoy this title. I mean what could go wrong with maniac undead pirates eating the brains out of a bretonian knight?

I quit playing the game for a year or so, seems like they have fixed the issue of the AI conspiring against the player. As if they don't want their brains eaten or something..

Laser Squad on DOS

Just managed to complete mission 3 on difficult 7.

Personally I think the game is great fun!

Anyone into 7dtd?
We got a server and we have some slots available. The server is from 7d2d.net, so it's all safe.

Champions of Krynn
I've become quite addicted to this one! Every time I shut the game down, I'm tempted to start it right back up again just a few minutes later. Needless to say, it's a massive improvement over the somewhat dull Curse of the Azure Bonds and the dreadful Secret of the Silver Blades! The Krynn setting is pretty fun, and the tweaked mechanics make character- and party-building a bit more interesting. Although the game is very linear, there are a few side quests you can find (though you'd be foolish not to do them; one side quest gives your knight(s) a very helpful boost in power early on).
The best thing about the game so far is the map design. Each area is unique with its own challenges and plenty of interesting encounters. It's truly a breath of fresh air after the boring encounters and maps of Secret of the Silver Blades.

Anonymous Coward wrote on 2024-10-23, 11:53:

Anyone into 7dtd?
We got a server and we have some slots available. The server is from 7d2d.net, so it's all safe.

7d2d looks like an amazing open world crafting/surviving game - but is it? they can devolve into murder sims where no one gets a chance to do anything due to being mobbed by other players almost immediately

also, survival / post apocalypse / crafting, great mix - one of the more popular niche genres, are there other great titles? maybe some old school ones?

So I finished Mechwarrior 5: Clans. Took about a week and 25 hours, which is more or less exactly what the estimated playtime talked about ahead of release was.

IMHO, if you liked Mechwarrior 2, this is a no brainer. Covers the Clan invasion of 3050, with you playing the oft neglected in novels and games Smoke Jaguar. It's the first work from the exclusive perspective of Smoke Jaguar I'm aware of. Well, that might not be true. I think one of the Twilight of the Clans novels was from the perspective of a Smoke Jaguar who got so shit on he defected to Comstar... with a little help from a deep cover agent they had taken as a Bondsman.

Anyways, it has just the right amount of cutscenes, a pretty good story with some nice personal stakes. Which was a wise choice because how all this turns out is a 30 year old story at this point. So you might as well have some interesting character arcs inside that predetermined outcome.

It goes back to longer, more difficult missions that I was used to from previous Mechwarrior games. A few missions in Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries were of this sort, but there was a fuckton of procedurally generated filler. Which isn't to disparage MW5: Mercs, it just is what it is you know? So Clans is full of hand crafted missions that wouldn't be out of place in your typical MW2-4 entry. I found myself having to take 2 or 3 stabs at some of them, and tweaking my mech builds to strategize, which is a familiar experience from MW2-4 for me as well. I've seen complaints that means it's too hard and people are bitching about dropping down to an easier difficulty when they can't beat the game in a single attempt. Seems normal to me. That's what the easier difficulty is there for, don't get why you'd bitch about it?

The usual complaints about the mechlab being anything short of tabletop build rules where you can cram PPCs into legs and other ridiculous shit are aplenty. While the mechlab UI is a bit rough, it's not any more offensively bad than MW4 or MW5 was. Has it's differences, but it is what it is. I think developers learned long ago that following the tabletop rules destroys the individuality and character of the different mechs, and personally I agree with them. I like knowing that when I see a hunchback I need to blow out it's right torso ASAP. Or the absurdity of the Clan Nova, and it's preposterous laser vomit default build. Having all mechs of a certain weight just be different shaped paper dolls is boring.

Definitely lacks the replay value of MW5: Mercs, and I will likely go back to that for my MW cravings over a replay of Clans. At least until DLC happens, which I will be immediately on top of.

Champions of Krynn
Finished! I had a great time with this one, though it was surprisingly short and much easier than I expected (my experience playing through previous Gold Box games probably helped a lot). It plays pretty similarly to Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades, of course. However, it does have some tweaks and changes here and there, mostly due to the unique world of Krynn. For example, there are fewer restrictions on non-human characters, which lets you really go wild with multi-classing.

Unlike Secret of the Silver Blades, each area was expertly designed and a lot of fun to explore with plenty of unique encounters and minor puzzle elements. The designers did a great job at mixing and matching different enemy types to keep you on your toes ever during random encounters. There are even some fun role-playing elements, such as multiple ways through certain areas (combat or stealth) and a fun part where you can go around doing optional little tasks to make a boss battle much easier.

---

This game has really reinvigorated my interest in the Gold Box series, after the slight letdown of Curse of the Azure Bonds and the disappointment of Secret of the Silver Blades. I'm really looking forward to bringing my party into the sequel, Death Knights of Krynn, which I've read combines the nonlinear "open world" structure of Pool of Radiance with the world and mechanics of Champions of Krynn. However, I will probably go in chronological release order and play the first Buck Rogers Gold Box game next.

Still wandering around the dungeons of Legend of Grimrock.

On level 7 currently, can't remember how many levels there were in total but I do believe I've passed the halfway mark. It's odd, I'm not getting that siren's call effect from the game that would constantly draw me in to play it so there's been 2-3 day breaks between every play session, but every time I have sat down to play it an hour + has gone in a flash. I think I just haven't been in entirely correct mood for it as it does require a bit of patience to rummage through the hallways, puzzles and secrets, but the wonderful atmosphere has still managed to reach out and pull me in every time I've started it up.

Only thing I'm not too fond of is checking walls for secret hidden buttons. Thankfully they are easy to spot with a quick glance ...but that still leaves you checking every single wall square if you want to find as many secrets as you can and you can bet your butt I want to. So wall inspector extraordinaire it is. Don't really know how you could fix that from a developers point of view, add a huge flashing neon sign pointing at every secret button?

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-10-28, 01:19:

Champions of Krynn Finished! I had a great time with this one, though it was surprisingly short and much easier than I expected […]
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Champions of Krynn
Finished! I had a great time with this one, though it was surprisingly short and much easier than I expected (my experience playing through previous Gold Box games probably helped a lot). It plays pretty similarly to Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades, of course. However, it does have some tweaks and changes here and there, mostly due to the unique world of Krynn. For example, there are fewer restrictions on non-human characters, which lets you really go wild with multi-classing.

Unlike Secret of the Silver Blades, each area was expertly designed and a lot of fun to explore with plenty of unique encounters and minor puzzle elements. The designers did a great job at mixing and matching different enemy types to keep you on your toes ever during random encounters. There are even some fun role-playing elements, such as multiple ways through certain areas (combat or stealth) and a fun part where you can go around doing optional little tasks to make a boss battle much easier.

---

This game has really reinvigorated my interest in the Gold Box series, after the slight letdown of Curse of the Azure Bonds and the disappointment of Secret of the Silver Blades. I'm really looking forward to bringing my party into the sequel, Death Knights of Krynn, which I've read combines the nonlinear "open world" structure of Pool of Radiance with the world and mechanics of Champions of Krynn. However, I will probably go in chronological release order and play the first Buck Rogers Gold Box game next.

It's never a bad thing to be honored in song and legend. Kudos!

I haven't played a lick of Control in at least 3 weeks. Just haven't had time. I was wanting to finish it before moving on to either Pool of Radiance or Legend of Grimrock 2. But I may just pause/bail on Control and pick an RPG to start with.

Completed Legend of Grimrock!

Didn't even make a doomed quick save during the final boss like I did the last time so got to see the end credits this time without having to go to youtube to watch it. A great game, enjoyed it a lot for the most part! I did like the first half more than the latter, enemies were scarcer and weaker which felt like a better balance between exploration, solving puzzles and combat. Later levels got a bit much at times, hurting the overall atmosphere.

Had to google one puzzle I just couldn't figure out and as I was looking it up I realized I had to google the same damn puzzle during my previous playthrough too, the solution wasn't complicated at all but clearly my brain is wired the wrong way for that particular puzzle. Solved everything else on my own though. Left a couple locked doors behind, not a clue where the keys were or what was behind the doors.

As the game returned to main menu after end credits I was left with a craving to play more, always a sign of a good game. I think I'll have another look of the sequel, didn't seem too appealing to me with its more open areas the last time checked out some gameplay video of it but doesn't cost anything to have another gander.

Was the puzzle you got stuck on the hallway with the poem that tells you how to walk down it? Only puzzle I needed help for too, and even with the solution, I wasn't 100% sure how the instructions from the poem mapped to the specific movements you performed. Like broad strokes I got it, but then comparing the solution to the poem had me going "but wait... doesn't it say this instead?"

Apparently it was the most common spoiler people needed.

Namrok wrote on 2024-10-31, 00:26:

Was the puzzle you got stuck on the hallway with the poem that tells you how to walk down it? Only puzzle I needed help for too, and even with the solution, I wasn't 100% sure how the instructions from the poem mapped to the specific movements you performed. Like broad strokes I got it, but then comparing the solution to the poem had me going "but wait... doesn't it say this instead?"

Apparently it was the most common spoiler people needed.

No, it was the checkered room earlier on the same level.

Funnily enough that poem you mentioned was the thing that misled me, you find it just before the checkered room and I thought it was a guide through that puzzle. Was extremely confused as the poem starts by telling to take two lefts and the checkered room is three squares wide and you start from the middle one...

newtmonkey wrote on 2024-10-20, 02:29:

I definitely recommend at least playing through PoR, which I consider one of the greatest RPGs ever made (definitely in the top five of all time for me). If you ever decide to play it, I can offer some general hints (no spoilers). 😀

Okay, I think I'm ready! First, should I follow the advice of GBC and create my party outside of GBC? They say to start the game in DOSBox, create characters, save, then start GBC. I'm not sure why...

Second, any party composition tips? I just read over at Gamebanshee the following:

Party Composition […]
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Party Composition

Thieves have little to do in the game (any door that can be picked can also be bashed or knocked), but there is one sequence where a thief is useful. So you should have one thief in your party, but no more.

Mages start out pretty weak (they can only learn one spell), and even at later levels they'll blow through their spells pretty quickly. That means you should definitely multi-class your mages, preferably with the fighter class, so the mage can use all equipment and wield a good ranged weapon.

A potential party is listed below. Races and genders are almost immaterial, so pick whatever you want (as long as the race allows for the class combo you're aiming for).

1 x F: Fighters can go all the way to level 8, and they probably won't hit the cap until near the end of the game, so it's useful to have one pure fighter in your party.

1 x F/T: Thieves don't do a lot in the game, and a pure thief is a waste of time.

2 x F/C: You're only going to get one healing spell in the game, and that's the wimpy "cure light wounds" spell, so it's useful to have a couple of clerics in your party. Clerics can only reach level 6, so there isn't any reason not to multi-class them.

2 x F/M: Mages only get one spell at level 1, and they'll only get eight spells at level 6 (their maximum), so you'll need to multi-class them so they can help you out in battle after they've expended their spells. Since fighters get to use the best ranged weapons, and since you probably won't want your mages to get into melee range, the fighter class is the best way to go.

Seems reasonable. Any counter suggestions?

Thanks!