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Reply 2220 of 5847, by Thandor

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Star Flight on the Sega Megadrive. I was actually looking for decent gamepads for my Amiga 500 so I ended up buying a Sega and browsing through the games the seller had available as well, I noticed Star Flight. Never heard of the game before but it got my interest. I guess the game is not for everyone but I do like the fact that you can fly around through space with the right 80'ies 'space noises' and lot's of planets to explore. And it's a good combo with a nice Pöhjala Kosmos beer 😉.

Not my images but pulled a few off the internet. An in-game screenshot and a lovely box art! 😀
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And the rest of us would be carousing the aisles, stuffing baloney.

Reply 2221 of 5847, by clueless1

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newtmonkey wrote on 2020-09-18, 01:59:
I don't think I've played and completed more than you have! Since you enjoyed the latter Wizardry titles so much, I'd definit […]
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clueless1 wrote on 2020-09-17, 09:58:

I definitely don't mind! Thanks! It sounds like you've played a lot more RPGs than I have. Any others (either old or modern) stand out to you?

I don't think I've played and completed more than you have! Since you enjoyed the latter Wizardry titles so much, I'd definitely recommend The Bard's Tale Trilogy, which is a really awesome remake of three games that really couldn't be more like the original Wizardry games if it tried. You can customize how "hardcore" you want it to be, which goes a long way towards making it more playable for a modern audience. When I ran through the games I used the automap but saved only in the Guild for the first two games (even the original BT3 allows you to save anywhere). Like I said earlier, it took about 70 hours to run through all three games, but BT1 was pretty short and you might want to run through it to see how you like the formula.

It's also worth continuing on to The Bard's Tale IV, which is an interesting attempt at a "modern" take on these kinds of games.
It works in some ways (exploration, overall atmosphere, combat/character development [til the mid point of the game]) and fails in others (loot, combat/character development [mid point onward], way too much reliance on logic puzzles [i.e. sliding blocks and similar things; however, they can be skipped if you hate them]). It's got a lot of callbacks to the previous games in the series so it's worth saving it for last imo.

Other than that, you might want to consider playing some of the older games in the Wizardry and Might & Magic series. You can hook them into a tool called "Where Are We" that provides a lot of modern quality of life features, such as an automap that fills in as you explore, status panels showing party and monster stats, and even a quest log! There's a similar tool, "Gold Box Companion," for the SSI AD&D "Gold Box" games, and I definitely recommend playing Pool of Radiance as it feels just right, with plenty of sub-quests and an somewhat nonlinear structure.

Wizardry I-III&V are all individually short enough that it's worth going through them imo. Wizardry I and V, in particular, have aged very well.

I also highly recommend Might & Magic Book One. It's aged EXTREMELY well and the sense of exploration the game provides is simply unmatched imo. It's also not as brutal as you might expect, as you can rest at (almost) any time to fully restore HP and SP... which means you have nothing to lose by taking full advantage of all your spellcasters every combat. It's a massive game, and it really feels like you are exploring an entire world.

Wasteland takes some getting used to but is pretty amazing (and shouldn't take too long to complete). There's a modern remake that came out last year I think, but I haven't tried it. It's apparently a very faithful remake, just with "improved" (tastes vary) graphics rendered in 3D.

For more modern takes on party-based & turn-based combat, there's Might & Magic X, Operencia, and Grimoire.
Might & Magic X is definitely better than the horrible M&MIX, but I'd rank it below everything else in the series. It has fixed encounters which is a pet peeve of mine. It is also heavily character build-based, but provides no option to respec your characters; since there are no random encounters, that means you could get stuck in the game with a nonviable party. It follows modern MMO character building pretty closely (you'll want a "tank" and a rogue "damage dealer" as well as a "buffer" and so on), which I guess was its attempt to modernize the formula, but it feels out of place imo in a M&M game. The combat is fun early on as a result, but once you've locked into your roles it's almost like playing on autopilot. The game is also very linear, and the fixed encounters basically serve to lock you out from exploring outside of whatever area is appropriate for your level. It just didn't feel like a M&M game to me, but was enjoyable on its own and worth playing.

Operencia is honestly kind of dull. You create only a single character, while the rest of your party changes along with the story... almost like a Japanese RPG I suppose. I found the combat to be tedious and full of damage sponge enemies, and the game is very linear. The dungeons themselves are quite decent, more complicated than those in both M&MX and BT4 and a lot of fun to explore. My biggest issue with the game is that it is very story-focused and teases a world based on Hungarian folk stories, but ends up being your typical fighters and wizards killing goblins in castles and forests. Worst of all, the dialog is cringeworthy and goes on and on. It really reminds me of modern Japanese RPGs, with character portraits on either side of the screen as text shows up on the screen, where you have to press a button after every single sentence to just get on with it.

Grimoire is DEFINITELY worth playing, especially in your case, as it was specifically designed to be a sort of spiritual sequel to Wizardry VII... it's almost like a "lost" Wizardry game that got released in between VII and VIII. It's got a massive world to explore that's full of interesting stuff, an eight-character party, and some really nice quality of life features (automap complete with an auto-navigation feature!). The writing is also very evocative, and is similar to D.W. Bradley's more serious writing in Wizardry V, VI, and VII.

Nice. I actually tried to play Bard's Tale on my Apple II when I was a young teen but never got into it, but think I can really sink my teeth into the trilogy remake. Ultimas 2-4 were my thing during that period. It was only later, as a college student that I got back into RPGs and started up with Ultima 7 Pt1-2 , M&M 3-5, Wizardry 7 and the Underworlds. I had "missed" the whole late 80s RPG classics like the Gold Box series, Ultima 6 and M&M 1-2. So those are all games I now own digitally and will eventually at least try either on my retro PC or with modern helpers like Where Are We? or Gold Box Companion. I never played the Arkania series when it was new, but I have in the past couple years finished RoA 1-2 and still have 3 on my playlist. Other games I want to eventually play are Betrayal at Krondor, Ultima 8, Darklands, and Daggerfall/Morrowind. The last two aren't my cup of tea because they are so open and I don't like the combat system, but I'd like to give them a shot. Thanks so much for your input!

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Reply 2222 of 5847, by newtmonkey

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clueless1 wrote on 2020-09-18, 22:16:

Nice. I actually tried to play Bard's Tale on my Apple II when I was a young teen but never got into it, but think I can really sink my teeth into the trilogy remake. Ultimas 2-4 were my thing during that period. It was only later, as a college student that I got back into RPGs and started up with Ultima 7 Pt1-2 , M&M 3-5, Wizardry 7 and the Underworlds. I had "missed" the whole late 80s RPG classics like the Gold Box series, Ultima 6 and M&M 1-2. So those are all games I now own digitally and will eventually at least try either on my retro PC or with modern helpers like Where Are We? or Gold Box Companion. I never played the Arkania series when it was new, but I have in the past couple years finished RoA 1-2 and still have 3 on my playlist. Other games I want to eventually play are Betrayal at Krondor, Ultima 8, Darklands, and Daggerfall/Morrowind. The last two aren't my cup of tea because they are so open and I don't like the combat system, but I'd like to give them a shot. Thanks so much for your input!

I was also more of an Ultima guy myself growing up, though my first computer Ultima was Ultima VI on the C64 (impressive but horrible port) and Ultima III on my friend's Atari ST! My first introduction to Ultima was actually the NES version of Exodus, which a decent enough port. The first game I bought when I finally got an IBM compatible was Ultima VII... it worked just barely (386-16) but I stuck with it and got quite far haha.

Since you are hardcore enough to get through the first two Arkania games, the Gold Box games will seem like child's play to you, I think haha. They don't really mess around with mapping challenges like a lot of the early Wizardry games and even have a built-in automap, though Gold Box Companion just makes them a million times easier to play these days. I really recommend at least playing Pool of Radiance.

It's just really a fantastic game, though the interface does take some getting used to. Again, the Gold Box Companion helps a lot here since it gives you a status panel showing your stats so that you don't have to go looking through a bunch of nested menus to find information.

---

Meanwhile, I decided to start a new RPG today:

Exile: Escape from the Pit
This has actually been remade two times, first as Avernum (2000) and then again as Avernum: Escape From the Pit (2011), each with increasingly better graphics and a better interface.
Why am I playing the original? First of all, I prefer the overhead graphics of Exile over the isometric graphics of the remakes. Second of all, each remake is increasingly streamlined compared with the original game. I don't mind some streamlining, especially when it comes to interface improvements, but both remakes have smaller parties (4 characters vs. 6 in Exile) and have even changed some core mechanics (how some spells work in combat, removing the food resource, removing trainers, replacing the skill point system in Exile with skill trees, etc.). The remakes are good games, from what I've played of them, but the reduced party size is really a big deal to me.

The Exile games are 16-bit Windows games, and don't work in Windows 10 (64-bit). There are basically two ways to play on a modern system: 1) Windows 3.11 installation in DOSBOX (I am using this method), or 2) OTVDM which allows you to run 16-bit applications in Windows 10. I've verified that OTVDM works fine for playing the Exile games, but I sort of like having Windows 3.11 emulated on my computer. 😀

So far, I'm having a great time. Combat is pretty fun with some interesting tactical options (including AD&D3-esque attacks of opportunity and an "overwatch" option similar to that in X-COM) and a lot of fun spells that are actually useful. Really looking forward to seeing how the game unfolds, and because it's a long series (up to Avernum 6) I feel a bit like when I played Wizardry 1 for the first time a few years back.

Reply 2223 of 5847, by Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman

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This game is beautiful, especially with advanced interpolation and FXAA, but could anyone guess what I'm playing?

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Never thought this thread would be that long, but now, for something different.....
Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman.

Reply 2224 of 5847, by newtmonkey

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I wasn't really in the mood to put any effort into playing games this weekend, so I just fooled around with various games.

Two Worlds: Epic Edition
It's tough to find a "so bad it's good" game; with movies, you can get a lot of entertainment sitting for 90 mins through something that's technically poorly made but entertaining due to cheesy effects, poor acting, or a ridiculous script. In contrast, it's typically a chore to play through a poorly made game due to a range of factors including how games tend to be longer than movies and how games require some aspect of skill/effort to progress.

Well, Two Worlds is it. It plays fine and as a loot-based action RPG it's competent enough. It's also got a massive open world to explore that's filled with content. Once you get used to its quirks, it's actually quite fun! The dialog and voice acting, though... it's so bad I can't get enough of it. I typically turn voice acting off in games, as it annoys me to wait for the voice acting to catch up to my reading... the sole exception is Two Worlds. I just love it.

Legends of Amberland
This is a competent party/turn-based RPG "blobber" heavily inspired by Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra. It's a fine attempt with a particularly nice soundtrack, but it feels even simpler than M&MIII, which was itself simpler than M&MI&II. The combat is VERY simple; you've got a decent selection of spells, but most enemies are just bags of HPs. Towns are just menus, which saves time but ruins immersion imo. I guess the biggest issue I have with this is that it's really generic... you spend the game fighting goblins, trolls, and knights for the most part, and loot is never very exciting. It's disappointing to explore a dungeon and defeat a tough boss encounter, only to open a treasure chest and get a knife that's no better than anything you currently have.

It also seems quite linear, as there are no random encounters at all so you are gated by tougher enemies guarding more difficult areas. On top of that, because the combats are all fixed, you never feel like you are getting more powerful.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun
A modern take on the "blobber" RPG. The characters and dialog are pretty much terrible, but sadly not "so bad its good" but instead "just bad." I was skipping most of the dialog and just playing it as a dungeon crawler, but the game suffers from two pet peeves of mine: fixed encounters and HP bloated enemies.

I don't like fixed encounters because it makes me feel like I am playing a tactical RPG like Shining Force or whatever; I am a firm believer in an RPG having a good mix of weak (random) encounters to sap your resources punctuated with periodic strong (fixed) encounters. If a game has just one or the other, it ruins the pacing for me.

I don't think anyone like HP bloat. It reminds me of fighting a boss enemy in a side-scrolling shooter that has a single simple pattern but takes 100 shots to kill. It's basically wasting your time and testing your patience.

With Operencia, every encounter is fixed so you never feel like you are gaining any power. 10 hours in, and each combat takes as long as it did in the starting dungeon. Each dungeon typically only has at most 2-3 different enemies in it, so you keep fighting the same enemies over and over; you figure out the "puzzle" and then that's what you'll be doing for the rest of the dungeon until you get to the boss.

The game also expects you to respec your characters every dungeon/boss. Respecs are free and can be done at any time, so at least it's not possible to lock yourself into an unwinnable state (as in M&MX)... but, I dunno, this is not why I play RPGs. I want to build a party up, make some good decisions and some bad ones, and be able to somehow get to the end with the choices I've made.

Reply 2225 of 5847, by Shagittarius

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Operencia : I just finished this game, I did a respec once towards the end of the game when I knew how the game worked better but I didn't need to respec for each dungeon. I agree though that the game is just OK, not a great game. I also agree with you about fixed encounters.

Reply 2226 of 5847, by newtmonkey

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Shagittarius wrote on 2020-09-20, 17:38:

Operencia : I just finished this game, I did a respec once towards the end of the game when I knew how the game worked better but I didn't need to respec for each dungeon. I agree though that the game is just OK, not a great game. I also agree with you about fixed encounters.

It's interesting you mention that you didn't need to respec until the end, that means I might have just had a poorly spec'd party early on then. I remember entering what was basically the second dungeon and all the enemies being poison-resistant and having to immediately respec that first additional character you get. After that, the next area was full of enemies that spawned new enemies, so I felt like I needed to respec again, but maybe after that the difficulty level settles down?

If so, that motivates me to continue haha! I'll have to reinstall the game and pick it up again.

Reply 2227 of 5847, by Shagittarius

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Everything you described is true, the battles are just as grueling throughout, I used the party of Joshka, Mezey/Kela, and Csilla. I only swapped out when I was trying to conserve firewood. I always wondered while I was playing if encounters would have been easier if I had done more character swapping...I didnt think things got too difficult until the copper forest and beyond.

The battles are long and grueling like you say, especially when I would always rest characters during battle to regain their Magic points whenever the timeout was up, that was key to using less firewood...There are a few enemies that can kill your whole party quick but mostly if you use Mezeys protection abilities characters will shrug off incoming damage allowing you to keep their magic mostly topped off inbetween fights, to be used harshly against the enemies in a group that are a real threat.

I wish the game had a Fast Forward combat animations setting , that would have been nice.

Reply 2228 of 5847, by badmojo

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newtmonkey wrote on 2020-09-20, 17:31:

Well, Two Worlds is it.

There is indeed lots to like about this game - I was right into it back in the day. I've tried to play it again a few times recently and the cheesy dialog and voice acting were a bridge too far unfortunately - it was billed as an Oblivion killer on release I recall!

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Reply 2229 of 5847, by badmojo

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I've been spending some time with Medievil Dynasty - recently released as an early access game on Steam. I usually avoid early access but the description of this one interested me a lot - it's mainly a survival sim but with RPG elements. I like the setting and the first person thing and it's surprisingly playable already, with about 5 updates coming through since I bought it a few days ago. I'm still not convinced that I'm a survival game fan; they never seem to hold my attention for long. But this thing has full day / night cycles, seasons, and the RPG stuff which is more my thing. The NPC interactions are pretty bare bones and the quests are only vaguely interesting, but the idea is that you hook up with a special lady friend, have kids, and build up your own town and eventually a dynasty which all sounds pretty interesting.

Graphically this thing looks done to me, it's like a budget version of Kingdom Come:

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Reply 2230 of 5847, by chrismeyer6

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badmojo wrote on 2020-09-22, 07:06:

I've been spending some time with Medievil Dynasty - recently released as an early access game on Steam. I usually avoid early access but the description of this one interested me a lot - it's mainly a survival sim but with RPG elements. I like the setting and the first person thing and it's surprisingly playable already, with about 5 updates coming through since I bought it a few days ago. I'm still not convinced that I'm a survival game fan; they never seem to hold my attention for long. But this thing has full day / night cycles, seasons, and the RPG stuff which is more my thing. The NPC interactions are pretty bare bones and the quests are only vaguely interesting, but the idea is that you hook up with a special lady friend, have kids, and build up your own town and eventually a dynasty which all sounds pretty interesting.

Graphically this thing looks done to me, it's like a budget version of Kingdom Come:

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I saw that game pop up on steam and it sounded interesting. I'll have to give it a shot now.

Reply 2232 of 5847, by Shagittarius

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Currently Playing:

Knack II - PS4 game, its a light brawler/platformer with some puzzle solving elements, a brain off kind of enjoyment.

The Outer Worlds - Managing to remind in equal amounts of the later fallout games and the Borderlands games, the latter primarily due to art style and dark humor. It's been very enjoyable, though pretty easy so far, I also understand its not a super long action/rpg so it probably wont overstay its welcome.

Reply 2233 of 5847, by clueless1

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I'm almost 17 hours into Bioshock Remastered. First time playing this. After a slow start, I'm really starting to enjoy this game. I just got to Fort Frolic. Love the artwork, it's pretty amazing. And the graphics are great. Runs at a constant 60fps on my mediocre i5-4590/GTX 1650 Super system.

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Reply 2234 of 5847, by appiah4

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Snuck in some more hours into Pillars of Eternity. The more I play it the more it starts to itch that Baldur's Gate itc, I'm falling in love with the game. The companions in particular are very enjoyable. I will write a formal review here at some point.

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Reply 2235 of 5847, by badmojo

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In Medievil Dynasty news: the season changed from Summer to Autumn so my crop of carrots were ready to harvest, and a whole lot of edible mushrooms (some poisonous) popped up around my nascent township too - pretty cool! The seasons transform the look of the place too and of course alter the temperature so different clothing is in the mix - there's potential for a fun game here. Another small update was deployed too with a whole lot of fixes and a FOV slider.

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Reply 2237 of 5847, by newtmonkey

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badmojo wrote on 2020-09-21, 05:55:

There is indeed lots to like about this game - I was right into it back in the day. I've tried to play it again a few times recently and the cheesy dialog and voice acting were a bridge too far unfortunately - it was billed as an Oblivion killer on release I recall!

I remember the marketing TW at the time describing it like that! It's so different from Oblivion that it's hard to compare the two like that imo. I guess they were hoping to capture the Elders Scrolls audience haha.

---

What I've been playing:

Legends of Amberland: The Forgotten Crown
After putting a few more hours into this, I'm liking it more and more. It takes several hours to get there but eventually the world opens up and the "gating" by monster level gets less relaxed. The combat never gets any more complicated than "attack with everyone and then heal anyone that's hurt"... but then again, the combat in Might & Magic III was nothing to write home about, either. The bigger issue with LoA is that the dungeons are very dull and basic; no unique graphics, no interesting layouts, no teleporters or dark areas, no traps. They are basically on the level of Akalabeth or Ultima I/II.

Reply 2238 of 5847, by appiah4

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More Pillars of Eternity for me. I've started doing some of the Companion quests and this game really has no bad companion picks, and all of them are very relatable. I especially love Eder and Sagani so far, and even an annoying guy like Aloth can become very dear quickly. I love the campaign's pacing as well. It's probably my favorite RPG in recent years, definitely pick it up if you are a Baldur's Gate fan.

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Reply 2239 of 5847, by alfer

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appiah4 wrote on 2020-09-25, 13:22:

More Pillars of Eternity for me. I've started doing some of the Companion quests and this game really has no bad companion picks, and all of them are very relatable. I especially love Eder and Sagani so far, and even an annoying guy like Aloth can become very dear quickly. I love the campaign's pacing as well. It's probably my favorite RPG in recent years, definitely pick it up if you are a Baldur's Gate fan.

Good for you! Personally I passionately hate their reimagining of Infinity Engine. I would gladly overlook any story related silliness otherwise. But after about 5 hours of torture I gave up.