Computer Gaming
Monday, July 05, 2010
CRPG Addict
I thought this morning I’d give a plug to a blog that’s been in my rss reader for some time, CRPG Addict.
So far he has played through games listed on the wikipedia page for DOS in release order.
Right now he is on to playing Might and Magic 1 after a mixup in Bards Tale II.
I do particularly like the GIMLET post.
THE RULES
There must be rules. Otherwise we have chaos. These are my rules as I work my way through every PC CRPG ever published.
1. Wikipedia’s list is my Bible. The titles on this list are heavily biased towards CRPGs commercially released through established publishers. I understand there are some really good freeware, browser-based, and otherwise noncommercial RPGs out there, but honestly this project is taking enough time as it is. I’m also going to work through the list based on initial publication date, even if the version I’m playing is a re-release or newer port.
2. Only PC RPGs. To appear on my play list, the game has to have been released for DOS or the PC, if only as a port. I’m not going to frig around with C64 or Apple II emulators.
3. No hints, no cheats, no walkthroughs. We didn’t have these in the 1980s, and I don’t need them now. If I make mistakes, or it takes me a little longer, well that’s part of the fun of the game. I will only use the Internet to solve technical problems. I will allow myself one exception: if anyone reading this blog wants to post non-spoiler gameplay hints to problems I’ve posed, I’ll use them.
4. I don’t have to win every game, but I must at least make a sincere effort to play it. I’m writing this initial posting after already starting on my project. The second game I played (as you’ll soon read) was an early version of Rogue. It took me four months of playing to beat it. It became almost an obsession. Four months is an acceptable time to beat some games if the world is big enough (think Daggerfall), but the reason it took so long to beat Rogue is that the game is punishingly difficult. After even a few days of playing it, there was really nothing new left to discover. I won’t do this for every game. I will devote a minimum of six hours to each one, but if after that I’m having no fun or the play is repetitive, it’s on to the next game.
4. If the game is still available commercially, I will buy it. I believe in rewarding game developers and publishers for their hard work. But if it is not avaiable commercially, I will have no compunction downloading it from abandonware sites or otherwise obtaining it illegally.
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Saturday, April 04, 2009
Realms of Quest III on VIC-20
Ghislain has been very hard at work on an excellent old-school looking rpg VIC-20 homebrew.
Check out the thread here on Denial VIC-20 community.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Chaotic Neutral Human Fighter/Ranger (3rd/2nd Level)
I did the What DnD character are you meme (130 odd questions)
Kinda odd coz thats the character I create in any CRPG that I can play (usually I pick ranger over fighter but dualclassing both is nice). My stats are a bit low :( doh!
I Am A: Chaotic Neutral Human Fighter/Ranger (3rd/2nd Level)
Ability Scores:
Strength-15
Dexterity-14
Constitution-15
Intelligence-14
Wisdom-15
Charisma-11
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn’t strive to protect others’ freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it. Chaotic neutral is the best alignment you can be because it represents true freedom from both society’s restrictions and a do-gooder’s zeal. However, chaotic neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all authority, harmony, and order in society.
Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
Primary Class:
Fighters can be many things, from soldiers to criminal enforcers. Some see adventure as a way to get rich, while others use their skills to protect the innocent. Fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities of the PC classes, and they are trained to use all standard weapons and armor. A fighter’s rigorous martial training grants him many bonus feats as he progresses, and high-level fighters have access to special melee maneuvers and exotic weapons not available to any other character.
Secondary Class:
Rangers are skilled stalkers and hunters who make their home in the woods. Their martial skill is nearly the equal of the fighter, but they lack the latter’s dedication to the craft of fighting. Instead, the ranger focuses his skills and training on a specific enemy a type of creature he bears a vengeful grudge against and hunts above all others. Rangers often accept the role of protector, aiding those who live in or travel through the woods. His skills allow him to move quietly and stick to the shadows, especially in natural settings, and he also has special knowledge of certain types of creatures. Finally, an experienced ranger has such a tie to nature that he can actually draw on natural power to cast divine spells, much as a druid does, and like a druid he is often accompanied by animal companions. A ranger’s Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that he can cast.
Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus
Detailed Results: Alignment: Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15) Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (16) Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (17) Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22) True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (23) Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (24) Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXX (9) Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10) Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXX (11) Law & Chaos: Law ----- XXXXXXX (7) Neutral - XXXXXXXX (8) Chaos --- XXXXXXXXX (9) Good & Evil: Good ---- XXXXXXXX (8) Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15) Evil ---- XX (2) Race: Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14) Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXX (8) Elf ------ XXXXXXXXXX (10) Gnome ---- XXXXXXXX (8) Halfling - XXXXXXXXXX (10) Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXXXX (11) Half-Orc - XX (2) Class: Barbarian - (-2) Bard ------ (-6) Cleric ---- (-2) Druid ----- (0) Fighter --- XX (2) Monk ------ (-13) Paladin --- (-21) Ranger ---- XX (2) Rogue ----- (-2) Sorcerer -- (0) Wizard ---- (0)
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Monday, February 04, 2008
Gates of Delirium update
I need to do an update to my Gates of Delirium saga on armchair arcade… I admit to being a bit lazy lately (ok, much has been happening in life) on the gaming front.. even tho its the only game I am playing right now 
if “playing” is the operative word.
Lets see if I can grind down and get another key and blog it for the ArmchairArcade,...
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
GP2X dev : Fishguts I : Changes
I’ve been doing some minor alterations on Fishguts for the GP2X, I’ve changed a lot of my design and goals, and in doing so have gutted out all non-pc support, but don’t fear, GP2X + PSP support will be added back in.
I want to work to get a nice basic CRPG going (Its going to be very Ultima II + Ultima III style), this greatly simplifies combat (I envision Fishguts II to go party mode).
I’ve got some more code tools written in the process. I’m doing a lot of prebuilt data now, rather than have a cellular automata create random dungeons all the time, I’ve take that processing out and I am going to build a collection of about 256 random maps (256 of small maps, 256 medium, 256 large, 256 narrow+long, 256 short+wide), with my encoding + compression they are tiny, but it takes the pain out of the CA construction then doing flood fill testing for connectivity from entrance and exit.
I also have some tree conversation data in my scripts that my conversation and map compiler will turn into nice valid precompiled lua code.
This stops short circuiting and going from A to Z and asking about X, since unless someone tells you about X, Z will feign ignorance about said topic.
Take for example, digging for exotics in Ultima III, once you know where they are, you can always dig even if you have not talked to the people who have give you the clues to the location.
By ripping out the GP2X code I will get a good PC interface, then I can do a separate GP2X/PSP interface. Right now its a GP2X interface on a PC which does not work well/intuitively.
I need to work on some more tile graphics first, I’m going to add some more varied things (bridges, etc) and some other stuff. I’m thinking of going back to black backed tiles so there is a more uniform look to the maps than have water an entire blue tile, that makes everything very blocky/chunky and squarely defined.. This means redoing all my tiles.
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Gaming pundits
Apparently I’m not as interested in online game as the pundits seem to think I should be. I’m all for the free online gaming experience, ie: diablo was ok.. But I’m certainly not going to be paying monthly fees for something I will use twice a month.
GameTap looks awesome, and I really want to play some of those classic games, and its even worth booting into windows to play it but, again, Im not going to pay monthly subscription fees for something I want to use twice a month.
Game Publishers used to be happy you purchased the game for 60$-100$, but now they want you to pay that AND the monthly fee, and buy the online extras (Psst Kid, want the new costume? secret level? pay here)..
You have to pay programmers, artists, musicians etc… I survived on the drek pumped out on the C64 and loved it (yeah there was real trash but there was the unquantifiable awesomeness as well), but yet cant really get excited about any of the high-gloss drek pumped out now.
Maybe that’s why I own a GP2X so I can write my own RPG drek with 16 colour graphics and play the Vice C64 emulator.
I owned a dreamcast for all of a week (played+beat soul calibur then sold it), have never owned any other console. Wont be buying a PS3 or xbox360 or Wii.
What’s wrong with me that I dont like gaming and consoles and online play! Im supposed to have given my left nut to own a Wii/Xbox/PlayStation…
Maybe I am the forgotten niche gamer, I never really made it out of the early-mid 90’s…
Why would I want to care about online persistent worlds making online fleeting 5 minute friends and meeting people who’s sole intent is to kill you and spoil any game play your trying to invoke.
Jaded crotchety old geezer that I am…
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