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samIamsad 10-23-2005 05:38 AM

(A)D&D games
 
I've never experienced the joy of an (A)D&D p&p session, but over the years there have been many great game adoptions. For me it all started with Westwood's Eye Of The Beholder.

http://www.abandonia.com/games/98/do...older%2014.png

I've been more into Attic's Realms Of Arkania games (based on the German p&p system of the same name) and 3DO's Might&Magic series during the time when SSI made their truckload of AD&D titles (mid 80s until mid 90s). It wasn't until Baldur's Gate was released, that I had another D&D game installed on my hard disk. Awesome game, btw. ;) Though most games used the Forgotten Realms setting (heavily influenced by standard Tolkien stuff), game developers also told stories in the Ravenloft (vampires) or the Planescape universe (Planescape:Torment, anyone?).


Here's a nice series of articles covering the history of D&D video gaming:

Quote:

A high percentage of computer programmers were and are, not surprisingly, Dungeons & Dragons aficionados. There's an affinity between computer programming and games that require reams of graph paper and 20-sided dice. Both are artificial universes governed by quantifiable rules, probability, and obsessive mapping… A combination of computers and dragon-slashing games was begging to happen...
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V


What are your favourites? Are there any D&D games in development? Atari currently owns the rights, is that correct?

RLacey 10-23-2005 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
I've been more into Attic's Realms Of Arkania games (based on the German p&p system of the same name)

Blade of Destiny!

Shame it sucked, really. I remember wasting odd days when friends came round generating a party and heading off to whatever the name of the pirate town was, just to get into impossible fights and lose :D.

I think I tried playing seriously once, but there's one really, really nasty fight where you have to fight this wizard guy who summons set of creatures after set of creatures. That and having to worry about food annoyed me :(.

samIamsad 10-23-2005 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RLacey
That and having to worry about food annoyed me :(.

:D That game sticks *very* close to the rules of the p&p system. I actually found the infamous Blade Of Destiny and didn't know where to go next! How embarassing. :D The second game of that series (Sternenschweif / Star Trail) was pure awesomness. I've still got my box and the map that came with the game. :)

insane_cobra 10-23-2005 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
Though most games used the Forgotten Realms setting (heavily influenced by standard Tolkien stuff), game developers also told stories in the Ravenloft (vampires) or the Planescape universe (Planescape:Torment, anyone?).

Also Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Birthright, Al-Quadim, Spelljammer...

samIamsad 10-23-2005 09:06 AM

Pan me! :P

BTW:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...orment-box.jpg

This guy is the producer of the Realms Of Arkania Trilogy. No, really! :D

Jeysie 10-23-2005 12:22 PM

I think the only D&D-based PC game I've ever played is Planescape: Torment, but... really, does it get any better than that? ;)

Peace & Luv, Liz

Kolorabi 10-23-2005 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeysie
I think the only D&D-based PC game I've ever played is Planescape: Torment, but... really, does it get any better than that? ;)

No. :)

RLacey 10-23-2005 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
:D That game sticks *very* close to the rules of the p&p system. I actually found the infamous Blade Of Destiny and didn't know where to go next! How embarassing. :D The second game of that series (Sternenschweif / Star Trail) was pure awesomness. I've still got my box and the map that came with the game. :)

Maybe I should track down the second game, then. For all its flaws, BoD was vaguely amusing :)...

imichaelj 10-23-2005 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RLacey
Maybe I should track down the second game, then. For all its flaws, BoD was vaguely amusing :)...

As someone who never played BoD, but played Star Trail and Shadows Over Riva, I can strongly encourage you do so. I bought all three in one box a few years back (I think it was from Chips & Bits) and I can't say I ever regretted it. If only they made RPG's like they used to. Attic had hinted at continuing the Das Schwarze Auge series at some point, but I'm fairly sure they're out of business by now.

samIamsad 10-23-2005 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imichaelj
Attic had hinted at continuing the Das Schwarze Auge series at some point, but I'm fairly sure they're out of business by now.

They are. AFAIKR Guido Henkel said in an interview, that he left Attic, because the company wanted to continue making DSA games like forever. It must be said, that they made next to no money from them, despite the fact that they sold a crapload of copies of these games (at least in Germany). Most of the profits apparently went straight to the license holders (Schmidt Spiele/Fantasy Productions AFAIK). He then signed up with Interplay/Black Isle, while they were making PS:T and then left a PC gaming industry he thought he didn't fit into anymore. The times they were changing ($$$), and apparently even Torment got a little fuc%ed up by the men in suits (ahem). Especially after Baldur's Gate became such a success. I think he's now developing mobile games... Dunno. You might google for some interviews with him. I like this guy's attitude. :)

Here's also a nice Shadows Over Riva (the last DSA/ROA game) review from Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/shado...va/review.html

To get back on topic: Planescape:Torment is of course an exceptional game. Still, there's a bit more. The closest thing to P&P thus far is Neverwinter Nights (human dungeon master, adventure construction kit, etc.), Icewind Dale is a fun dungeon crawler, and from what I've heard Temple Of Elemental Evil features the best implementation of 3rd edition D&D rules to date.

RLacey 10-24-2005 04:44 AM

Hmm, the Realms of Arkania trilogy is on Ebay for $4.99, but postage to the UK turns it into $31 :(. Mind you, if the copy for sale is anything to go buy, I could sell my copy of Blade of Destiny for £30 :crazy:.

samIamsad 10-24-2005 04:58 AM

Ouch. :frown: If Sir-Tech were still in business, maybe (just maybe) they were still selling them for cheap. :D They published the ROA games in the US (the UK, too?).

RLacey 10-24-2005 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
Ouch. :frown: If Sir-Tech were still in business, maybe (just maybe) they were still selling them for cheap. :D They published the ROA games in the US (the UK, too?).

Blade of Destiny was distributed through US Gold in the UK, if I remember correctly. I can't find a copy of the trilogy on UK Ebay :frown:...

samIamsad 10-24-2005 05:55 AM

I'd trade mine (ACHTUNG: they're German) for a copy of Wizardry 8. :D

Why haven't I bought this game yet? I have played Bradley's Wizards&Warriors some years ago. Has some of the best dungeons I've ever seen. In one your party is turned into pig-like creatures and you have to find a way out of your misery. Nice puzzles, too! One day I might check out his latest game, Dungeon Lords, though it's supposed to be pretty buggy.. :frown:

Last year I stumbled upon a Pool Of Radiance remake/module for Neverwinter Nights.

http://www.classicgaming.com/gotcha/...f_Radiance.jpg

It's straightforward (a city, some areas surrounding it and some quests waiting for you to complete), and was some hack&slash fun in multiplayer. That's so cool about Neverwinter: The next D&D adventure is just a small download away. :)

stepurhan 10-24-2005 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
Last year I stumbled upon a Pool Of Radiance remake/module for Neverwinter Nights.

http://www.classicgaming.com/gotcha/...f_Radiance.jpg

It's straightforward (a city, some areas surrounding it and some quests waiting for you to complete), and was some hack&slash fun in multiplayer. That's so cool about Neverwinter: The next D&D adventure is just a small download away. :)

Have the original PC version as part of the Forgotten Realms Archives boxed set. 12 games including

The Epic Series
  1. Pool of Radiance
  2. Curse of the Azure Bonds
  3. Secret of the Silver Blades
  4. Pools of Darkness
Hillsfar

Eye of the Beholder trilogy

Dungeon Hack (a random fantasy dungeon generator)

Savage Frontier
  1. Gateway to the Savage Frontier
  2. Treasures of the Savage Frontier
And last but not least Menzoberranzan a first person shoo....erm....hacker.

Mind you, you need to have the right machine to run these games (my emboldening)
Quote:

Originally Posted by manual
If you have a "fast" machine such as a 486/50MHz machine, it may be so fast that you may not be able to read messages - no matter how slow you set the speed.

Ironically, DOSBox, resource-hungry little beast that it is, allows these games to run at a perfectly playable speed on my XP PC. :D

samIamsad 10-25-2005 05:09 AM

That box is still being sold on Amazon.uk. :) I remember having seen Pool Of Radiance (or was it Curse Of The Azure Bonds) in a shop when I was a kid. The cover sure looked exciting. Then I flipped the box, took a look at the screenshots and picked Hudson Hawk (the game) instead. :D :frown:

Lucien21 10-25-2005 05:24 AM

I would have to say my favourites have been the "Eye of the Beholder" trilogy, The Baldurs Gate games, Planescape:Torment and Neverwinter Nights (Was ok).

stepurhan 10-25-2005 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
That box is still being sold on Amazon.uk. :) I remember having seen Pool Of Radiance (or was it Curse Of The Azure Bonds) in a shop when I was a kid. The cover sure looked exciting. Then I flipped the box, took a look at the screenshots and picked Hudson Hawk (the game) instead. :D :frown:

You picked Hudson Hawk instead? Oh bad luck. :P

IF yoiu found the cover exciting then it was probably Curse of the Azure Bonds. Over-endowed young lady with a chainmail shirt split down the middle that barely covers her two most prominent features. Just the sort of thing to attract the attention of a hormone-addled teenage boy. :9~ :D

Neverwinter Nights was a pleasant diversion. I think the two expansions, Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark (HOtU having high-level adventuring) showed more of what the engine was capable of.

samIamsad 10-25-2005 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stepurhan
You picked Hudson Hawk instead? Oh bad luck. :P

Indeed. But hey, when I was home from shopping and opened the box, I found a nice black Hudson Hawk™ baseball cap. (A disk too, of course). :D

Quote:

Over-endowed young lady with a chainmail shirt split down the middle that barely covers her two most prominent features. Just the sort of thing to attract the attention of a hormone-addled teenage boy. :9~ :D
......
*cough*
I was like ten years old! :pan: :D


Quote:

Neverwinter Nights was a pleasant diversion. I think the two expansions, Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark (HOtU having high-level adventuring) showed more of what the engine was capable of.
I still haven't played the expansions... but the possibilites are almost endless. The whole thing is tile-based, so that after a while, every module starts to look the same, but still... I played it with a friend over LAN last year.. some spooky story that had us running through a dark, dark wood at night and there wasn't that much fighting involved. Scary! We used to play it with some light role-playing involved. At that time I played a kinda dumb female half-orc barbarian. She used to yell "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" whenever she spotted an enemy and then kicked serious butt. That was fun. :P

RLacey 10-25-2005 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
That box is still being sold on Amazon.uk. :) I remember having seen Pool Of Radiance (or was it Curse Of The Azure Bonds) in a shop when I was a kid. The cover sure looked exciting. Then I flipped the box, took a look at the screenshots and picked Hudson Hawk (the game) instead. :D :frown:

Must... resist... urge... to... spend... more... money...

squarejawhero 10-25-2005 10:59 AM

Dragonlance was horrid. Still wasted hours on it, but never felt I was getting anywhere.

stepurhan 10-25-2005 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samIamsad
Indeed. But hey, when I was home from shopping and opened the box, I found a nice black Hudson Hawk™ baseball cap. (A disk too, of course). :D

And I bet you looked just spiffy in that stylish headgear. :D
Quote:

......
*cough*
I was like ten years old! :pan: :D
Erm....... precocious at all? OK. Myabe it was the dragon/fighter combo on Pool of Radiance after all then.
Quote:

I still haven't played the expansions... but the possibilites are almost endless. The whole thing is tile-based, so that after a while, every module starts to look the same, but still... I played it with a friend over LAN last year.. some spooky story that had us running through a dark, dark wood at night and there wasn't that much fighting involved. Scary! We used to play it with some light role-playing involved. At that time I played a kinda dumb female half-orc barbarian. She used to yell "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" whenever she spotted an enemy and then kicked serious butt. That was fun. :P
HOtU introduced high-level gaming so you could start off with a character with a well-rounded set of skills. If you didn't import a character from a previous game then you leveled up (to 15th I think. I've uninstalled since so I can't check) right at the start. It also had greater freedom in choices of solving some quests and, at one point, a choice of quests you could undertake to advance. I'd recommend it as an improvement over the original.

RLacey 10-25-2005 03:01 PM

OK, I cracked and ordered the Forgotten Realms pack of an eBay seller. Mmm, £7.00, making it a little over 50p per game (if we ignore the BG demo).

My brother was addicted to Dungeon Hack's demo at one point, though it did get a little silly by the time you were choosing to use the Flower Key on the Flower Door :D...

samIamsad 10-26-2005 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stepurhan
Maybe it was the dragon/fighter combo on Pool of Radiance after all then.

Maybe. :D ´

One day I might check out all these SSI games I've missed. I've played Al Quadim, though. And a bit of Ravenloft. But.... I'm kind of spoiled by the later D&D games. The turn-AND D&D-based combat system surely was one of the main attractions back then. I'm currently knee-deep in Goblin blood (Icewind Dale II). My rather exoctic party (3 Drows, a Deepling and a Human), too. :devil: Holy.... they've implemented 350 spells or something in that game. 350 spells, that makes another 60 pages of manual! :D

samIamsad 10-27-2005 06:13 AM

My IWDII CD2 is cracked. ARGGH. :( Off to Neverwinter.

RLacey 10-27-2005 06:34 AM

So many games, so little time!

http://www.laceyware.com/junk/gamefest.jpg

That makes 14 games that I've received in two days, if you ignore the Baldur's Gate demo...

samIamsad 10-27-2005 06:49 AM

Wohooo! :) I've got plenty of time (kinda sucks, really :(), just like four years ago, before I started my studies... Here's a nice editorial for anybody who has stopped playing Neverwinter Nights after completing the (rather boring) campaign:

Quote:

One of the biggest misconceptions tied with Neverwinter Nights is just what the package is - many feel it was an official campaign with a toolkit attached to it. It was however quite the opposite - it was a toolkit with an official campaign attached to it.
http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view...s.Detail&id=56

samIamsad 10-28-2005 02:27 AM

Update: Apparently, there are currently 3 D&D games in development:

Dungeons&Dragons Online: Stormreach (http://www.ddo.com)
Dragonshard (http://www.atari.com/dragonshard)
Neverwinter Nights 2 (http://www.neverwinternights2.com)

NWN 2 is being developed by Obsidian, so with people like Chris Avellone working on it there should also be a great deal of storytelling involved in the boxed campaign. :)


edit: (NWN question) Does anybody know if it's possible to have these nice skyboxes

http://mac.softpedia.com/screenshots/9-155_3.png

in the game without having HOTU installed?

samIamsad 10-31-2005 11:04 AM

I'm currently downloading the CEP (Community Expansion Pack) for Neverwinter Nights. Looks like there's *plenty* of cool stuff in it..

http://nwn.bioware.com/players/cep.html


Quote:

New unreleased creatures not available anywhere else and over 450 community creatures, such as goblins, owlbears, and gelugons. Many of these creatures also feature wing and tail nodes.
Two new dynamic creatures suitable for PCs: the Wemic and the Brownie.
14 completely new weapon types, including the falchion, maul, nunchaku, and trident, and new components for thousands of unique weapons.
324 new shields. There's also new components for thousands of unique armor and clothing types.
772 new inventory icons including rings, robes and books, and 90 new items from holy symbols to musical instruments.
1,448 new placeables from plates and bowls to siege engines, ships, and towers.
121 new NPC portraits for dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, humans, half-elves, half-orcs, wemics, and driders.
:9~

Lucien21 10-31-2005 11:44 AM

I think Dragonshard is already out.

Part RTS game Part dungeon crawl

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61343

samIamsad 10-31-2005 09:09 PM

Ah, you're right, Lucien... Holy crap, I did also install NWN patch 1.66. Either those skyboxes are a real performance hog or my system sucks big time. Or both.

Now playing: Some horror themed modules (this time of the year again, heh?)
Shadows Over Innsmouth and some zombie and Ravenloft adventures.

samIamsad 11-02-2005 06:53 AM

LOL. I'd recommend this to anyone who has got a copy of NWN:

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view...Detail&id=1794

Nice puzzles and good writing! And a funny (and at the same time disturbing) story. You're even allowed to talk to the town's animals, after you've received a particular item. :D


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