Realms of Antiquity: The Shattered Crown - Ultima-like retro RPG

[adamantyr]

Yes, Realms of Antiquity is now available on GOG! And for the first week, also 50% off. If you missed the Steam/Itch.IO sales, here's another opportunity!

 

[Ludwig von Eisenthal]

It was about time! I did my duty and threw in the first review.

 

[Dorateen]

adamantyr

I finally got around to purchasing on GOG, and loving it. I know this game is Ultima inspired, but I'm approaching it more as a Gold Box enthusiast. Having a blast with the simple but elegant party-based combat. I can't believe the insane damage our dual wielding rogue is doing. He loves Vanishing and then popping up when the enemy least expects it.

Also was genuinely excited reading the manual. It took me right back to that era of RTFM before jumping into an adventure.

Thanks for making Realms of Antiquity.

 

[Butter]

Build 4.29.052 live

• Fixed a cottage encounter in the Great Forest; will only appear in new games.
• Removed blocking of Return/Homing Stones on two endgame maps that didn't need it.
• Added some dirt paths to the nomad's camp near Zephan to make it easier to find.
• Widened some corridors and added a 2nd path to the lower levels of the Diamond Mines.
• Various updates monster and item statistics.
• NPC and credit updates.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Started messing with this a bit and was pleasantly surprised. This is definitely a game that gets what made classic RPGs great and that there don't have to be great graphics or walls of text to get it done.

AI may be pretty simple from what I've seen, but that was expected. I actually didn't think I'd like this as much as I do.

That being said, the outfit for the "Hero" class kind of cracked me up. Based on my experiences with it, I assume that playing a Hero is the OP easy mode? I figured it was like playing Avatar in Ultima, but it seems like it's closer to picking Superhero or something.

Is the intended experience to start out with 4 characters or just 1 of a particular class? Or even just 1 Hero (I assume it's not this)?

 

[rikkles]

That's correct, the Hero is the easy mode in a game that's already not too hard. But it's a lot of fun to play the hero.
There's only one downside to playing the hero: you can't start with a full party, only the hero. However it's actually better for someone starting a new game, because you can then recruit NPCs during your travels. You can recruit up to 3 NPCs (and you can't dismiss them, so choose carefully!). There's one of each non-hero class, scattered around the huge world.

And FYI don't feel that you need to restart because you "chose the wrong classes". You can win the game solo using any class. Some are a bit cheesy where you run away from fights, but you can do it. Which means any party of any size can conceivably win the game.

 

[Rincewind]

Started messing with this a bit and was pleasantly surprised. This is definitely a game that gets what made classic RPGs great and that there don't have to be great graphics or walls of text to get it done.

That's quite an endorsement given your experience with classic RPGs.

Basically I'm vacillating between playing this next or the Geneforge 1 remake.

 

[Jinn]

Basically I'm vacillating between playing this next or the Geneforge 1 remake.

Flip a coin, because they are both excellent choices.

 

[Dorateen]

I enjoy the party dynamic of RoA, and how you need to have the appropriate character selected for certain interactions. Like a rogue detecting secret doors. I've used him as the party leader when exploring dungeons. Although the other day, I fell down a pit trap, which either the rogue had missed or wasn't paying attention.

 

[Jaesun]

I enjoy the party dynamic of RoA, and how you need to have the appropriate character selected for certain interactions. Like a rogue detecting secret doors. I've used him as the party leader when exploring dungeons. Although the other day, I fell down a pit trap, which either the rogue had missed or wasn't paying attention.

That's a mechanic I really like. Good to see they took the time to add that.