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

Infinitron

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Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://www.adamantyr.com/blog/







The Game
The game’s full title is:

Realms of Antiquity: The Shattered Crown
The design has been inspired by some particular games:
  • Ultima
    • (in particular Ultima IV and Ultima V)
  • Tunnels of Doom
  • Legends (and by extension Phantasie)
  • Avernum
Features:
  • A party of up to four characters
    • Characters can be created at the start
    • Characters can be found in game as well
  • Four primary attributes
    • Used to determine secondary attributes and other factors
    • Mostly static, can be raised in game with certain items
  • Two secondary attributes
    • Health (your basic hit point)
    • Stamina (energy for combat, spells, etc)
  • Nine character classes
    • Classic fighter, wizard and rogue from Tunnels of Doom
    • Hero class available for players who start with a party of one
  • Eight schools of magic
    • 60 different spells
  • 250+ different items
  • Characters can level up to 16 in game
    • Experience gained from both questing and monster slaying
  • Scrolling maps
    • Line-of-sight blocking
    • Elevation
    • Light
    • Wrapping and edged maps
    • Slanted maps
  • High-color graphics
    • For the TI, this is “bitmap mode” which permits 2 colors for every row of 8 pixels in a character
  • Equipment
    • Players can equip a variety of items
      • Melee weapons
      • Ranged weapons/ammo
      • Off-hand items like shields and “foci”, rogues can use weapons in the offhand
      • Armor
      • Spellbook
      • Trinkets
  • Inventory
    • Each character has a backpack capable of 10 item capacity
  • Tactical Combat
    • Turn-based
    • Battlemaps generated randomly for every combat
    • Melee
      • Thrown weapons
      • Reach weapons
    • Ranged
      • Several different forms of weapon types and ammunition
      • Wands are “infinite” use
    • Spells
      • Can be targeted in multiple ways
        • On single units
        • On locations
        • On multiple units
    • Summoned creatures
    • 200+ monsters
      • Multiple monster types per battle possible
      • Some are “bosses”, double-sized
      • Monsters can have ranged attack and “special attacks”
    • Treasure
      • Only intelligent monsters have coins and items
      • Items are in chests which must be checked for traps
Requirements:
  • A TI-99/4a emulator for a modern PC system capable of SAMS support
    • Classic99
    • MAME
    • PC99
    • JS99er (? Need to verify SAMS support)
    • V9T9 (? Need to verify SAMS support)
  • A TI-99/4a home computer with the following:
    • One of the two:
      • Extended BASIC, Editor/Assembler, or TI Writer cartridge
      • FinalGROM99 to support a custom cartridge ROM image
    • SAMS memory system with at least 256KB of RAM
    • Disk system capable of at least 180K of space per disk
      • TIPI compatible
    • Color monitor
 
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FriendlyMerchant

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I didn't realize graphing calculators were almost as powerful as gameboy colors now.
 

Skdursh

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I didn't realize graphing calculators were almost as powerful as gameboy colors now.
I can play DOOM in full color on mine. Controls are janky, but it's visually flawless. Pretty sure that's more powerful than a Gameboy color. Besides that Texas Intruments used to make more than just calculators. Pretty sure the MSX/2/2+/TurboR used graphics chips made by Texas Instruments and the TI-99/4a is a home computer from the early 80s.
 

Abu Antar

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Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth


I removed pics and video. Click the headline to go to the article.

Inch by Inch
Posted on September 5, 2020 by adamantyr
Well we are officially into the last third of the year, four months left in 2020 to keep my New Year’s resolution to release the game in 2020…

This post coincides with the release of beta 33. (If you’re asking what happened with 32, it was an internal release that followed 31 hastily due to a game-breaking set of bugs, and wasn’t announced.) One of the testers has successfully won the game, albeit with me providing several fixes ahead of them. So I’m feeling very confident that we are close to completion!

The changelist for 33 is huge, I made a lot of updates and fixes based upon tester feedback. Besides fixing obvious bugs or issues, a lot of it is also polishing the design. I ended up changing one spell (Terror) so it impacted all enemy units instead of just one because the spell was almost useless otherwise. In a lot of classic CRPG’s the spells tend to be more for show than actual practical use, and I want to avoid that.

Another change in 33 was a total revamp of the monster’s AI. I originally intended to keep it simple. But I found that many of the stronger “boss” creatures or opponents with spells were just so random and stupid with their use of them that battles were easy to win and kind of dull.

Some of the changes made:

  • I added a new monster trait, pounce, which allows a monster to jump right next to an opponent

  • I updated targeting to be based upon distance to unit and a “threat” level. So the character who hangs back throwing fireballs is eventually going to get targeted.

  • Some monsters are smart, and also consider how wounded characters are as part of the threat assessment.

  • For buff and healing spells, monsters consider if they or any allies need them before casting them.

  • For debuff spells, monsters consider if the target already has it. I was getting tired of the plains dragon constantly hitting the same target with its sleep breath over and over.

  • For any spells that affected locations, the monster now determines how many enemy and ally units are impacted. That way they pick the best direction or location for maximum impact and minimal friendly-fire.
I’m hopeful this will make combat a bit more interesting, since you spend a lot of time in any CRPG engaged in it.

So let’s hope 33 proves to be a success and from here on out it’s just spit and polish to the first release candidate. I am still doing some balance checks with the economy. The early game seems good but the latter game there was way too much much money and not enough things to spend it on.

Posted in Beta, CRPG, Design, Screenshots, TI-99/4a, Video | Leave a comment
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://www.adamantyr.com/blog/index.php/2020/11/16/all-i-want-for-christmas/

All I Want for Christmas

Wow… It’s amazing to be here. On the cusp of release! My plan is to do so next month, in time for the holidays.

I’m currently working on the “release candidate” code, which is me playing a game all the way through myself, and fixing stuff on the way. I’ve found enough substantial changes to make it worth the time and trouble!

A change I recently made was to “pad out” transaction scripts and mob files to a near 2-bit value. This gives me a little buffer space at the end of each transaction for changes later after release that won’t alter the address location in the disk file. Without that, any minor change would require a player to start the game over from scratch, something I’d like to avoid.

The game will be sold through a fellow 99’er and a good friend’s website at ArcadeShopper. He sells a lot of great retro equipment and software for a variety of platforms, and hey, anything I can do to pay back a bit to the community is great!

As part of release, I’ve also been working on the tangibles. The game will have a full digital release, of course, but you can’t have a classic CRPG without a collector’s edition!

I’ve had a game box custom-created by BoardGamesMaker, which is large enough to fit all the Collector’s Edition contents. They do excellent work, albeit with a bit of lag time. The unit cost is VERY high though, and so I probably will have to have boxes printed in small numbers, even though I’d save money with bulk.

The manuals I originally had printed by Lulu, but I decided I wanted to get a slightly better one printed locally at a print shop I’ve done business with before. They did an excellent job with both the manuals and reference cards! Sadly, I decided this after I’d ordered a batch of 50 from Lulu, so I guess I’ll have spares to sell…

The cloth map wasn’t something I’d sure I’d even be able to do, until a good friend and fellow retro CRPG developer suggested Spoonflower. I was able to print 9 maps on a yard of fabric for a relatively low cost. I then engaged a professional seamstress with years of experience (Thanks mom!) to help me baste and hem the edges.

It would come as no surprise to any retro-enthusiast that there are many who want the game on ACTUAL old-school media, namely cartridge and floppy disk. Of course, this presents some challenges…

The cartridge is the game’s executable loaded onto a cartridge for faster loading. This also removes the need for any of the other requisite cartridges to run the game. A fellow 99’er has offered me a good bulk rate deal on assembled boards with EPROMS, and I have several dozen old TI carts I can recycle the case for. However, the game loads just fine from disk as well, and the cartridge ROM can be put on an SD card for a modern-cartridge peripheral called FinalGROM. So at some point I’ll probably say “No more carts.” I had cartridge labels printed up in two styles at StickerGiant.

Floppy disks are interesting… They are no longer manufactured, and aren’t something you can 3D print. So working disks can be a bit of a pain to find. Plus my game is pretty big, it requires three double-sided double-density (360k) disks to store. And you can’t use high-density either, they won’t work with the older disk drives or controllers.

Fortunately I got an offer of some old user group disks from an enthusiastic supporter, and I bought some from Greg as well. And anyone who just wants labels because they have their own disks they can use I’ll provide them. (3 1/2″ disks I can’t do anyway… that particular combination for the TI is very rare.)

How many collector’s editions will there be? Unknown… I had dreamed of only selling 99 at most, but I thought that was unlikely to happen. Now, though, seeing the enthusiasm of the retro community I don’t know, it could get that high. Either way, there will be a point where I’ll say “I’m done, digital only going forward.”

Stay tuned for a link to the website in the next couple weeks!
 

adamantyr

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Released today!

http://www.adamantyr.com/blog/index.php/2020/12/29/release/

Release!

Well I didn’t quite make Christmas… But I did get it done in 2020!

roa-small.png

Realms of Antiquity: The Shattered Crown is now released! Digital edition is available immediately, collector’s editions are in pre-order and will ship late January/early February.

I’ve put together a website for it here, you’ll find links to the store to purchase it on the product page:

http://quixotic.adamantyr.com/

I’ve created a topic on AtariAge as well, as an additional resource for questions and information.

Excelsior! Time to see how long before I have to release a new build…
 
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683
So 2020 isn't completely shitty after all! I purchased the digital edition and printed all the pdf-stuff out. Lovely manual and map! After the first hour of playing the game seems very nice. I had my first crash during the fight against the Faeling king, but otherwise everything runs perfectly. I love the colorful design and the accessibility of the controls.

edit: adamantyr I encountered a reproducable crash issue: Using the spell "scare" with any one of my characters against any enemy messes up the game, giving me a shrill sound and this ugly screen (the game still responds to my commands though).
Things I did up to this point: talk to everybody in Alpthorpe, talking to the old guard ("piss off!") and killing the Faeling king in his cave. Oh and I stole money from the Mayor (I guess I won't get any reward from the guy as he refuses to speak with me).

edit2: I tried a completely new game, with one character (Hero-class) and the same issue happens if I use "scare" against any enemy. The spell seems to be bugged.

edit3: Scare bug has been solved in version 1.1.002. :)
 
Last edited:
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683
Man this game is great! I re-started as a lone Hero and this character class sure means business! At the moment I'm crawling through the catacombs of the cursed priory west of Weymoor. It's a veritable hellhole, I hope I'll find my way out of these deep caverns again, I feel totally lost at the moment... This game absorbs me more than any modern AAA-title.


edit: I really like the fact that exploration is so important in this game. The wonderful map shows the different locations but not the way to reach them. Discovering the different ways for myself is part of the enjoyment for me. At the moment I'm lingering in the great trade city of Port Bonifice and ponder where I should go next. So many possibilities! The world itself seems really massive and gives me a good impression of freedom. Realms of Antiquity spreads this very classic atmosphere of wonder and adventure I so sorely miss in almost all modern RPGs.

edit2: One criticism, albeit a tiny one: Exploring the mine south of Port Bonifice I had the impression there were too many encounters in there. Almost around every corner I had to squish the simplest of critters so it began to feel a bit like a chore after some time. Less encounters (and respawns) would help I think.

One question adamantyr :
If I decide to join the Thieves Guild in Port Bonifice will that exclude me from joining other groups?
 
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adamantyr

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Apr 5, 2019
Messages
151
Location
Marysville, WA
edit2: One criticism, albeit a tiny one: Exploring the mine south of Port Bonifice I had the impression there were too many encounters in there. Almost around every corner I had to squish the simplest of critters so it began to feel a bit like a chore after some time. Less encounters (and respawns) would help I think.

On my own recent play-through I had that thought myself... I'll make a note that in a future build I may reduce the number of set encounters a bit.

One question adamantyr :
If I decide to join the Thieves Guild in Port Bonifice will that exclude me from joining other groups?

Answer:
No. Generally there are no long-term decisions that will affect your ability to do something later. Or you'll know right away you screwed up and can reload.
 
Joined
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Messages
683
edit2: One criticism, albeit a tiny one: Exploring the mine south of Port Bonifice I had the impression there were too many encounters in there. Almost around every corner I had to squish the simplest of critters so it began to feel a bit like a chore after some time. Less encounters (and respawns) would help I think.
On my own recent play-through I had that thought myself... I'll make a note that in a future build I may reduce the number of set encounters a bit.
Yes, I think that's a good idea. Specifically in some dungeons the respawn rate seems very high. In the first hours it didn't really bother me but now it seems a bit too much, especially as most of these fights are not very rewarding on higher levels. But that's the only criticism I have.

edit: Ok now I feel desperate. West of Bleyloch, up a mountain river, behind a secret passage in the mountains and after fighting an impressive specimen of Draco montis, I found a deep pit and was idiotic and suicidal enough to jump in - ignoring the serious warning that I may never find a way out. Now for hours I'm in this hellish labyrinth and stumble around most helplessly, permanently menaced by the most terrible enemies (man these nightmares are a major pain in the backside!). The only thing I discovered in there was another hole, that let me even deeper into the infernal depths, into another, even more intricate labyrinth! The good thing: My character has won a lot of experience in here, the bad: I have no clue if there even is a way out (thank God I made copies of the whole game folder before the decision to jump down)... could you please, for the love of God, give me a tiny hint again adamantyr ?
I finally managed to get out of this hellhole! What a ride... glad I took tons of food with me (these darn grues almost drove me crazy!). What I learned: Against stronger enemies spells like exalt, protection, blur, mindguard (nightmares...) and haste are essential indeed. I always use the same primitive tactics: The weak bard stays in the background and helps out with healing while my burly hero beats the crap out of the enemy.

edit2: With my recent experiences in this devilish dungeon I more and more get the impression that I'd prefer if respawning only happened after I leave and re-enter a dungeon area.
 
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adamantyr

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Messages
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Marysville, WA
edit: Ok now I feel desperate. West of Bleyloch, up a mountain river, behind a secret passage in the mountains and after fighting an impressive specimen of Draco montis, I found a deep pit and was idiotic and suicidal enough to jump in - ignoring the serious warning that I may never find a way out. Now for hours I'm in this hellish labyrinth and stumble around most helplessly, permanently menaced by the most terrible enemies (man these nightmares are a major pain in the backside!). The only thing I discovered in there was another hole, that let me even deeper into the infernal depths, into another, even more intricate labyrinth! The good thing: My character has won a lot of experience in here, the bad: I have no clue if there even is a way out (thank God I made copies of the whole game folder before the decision to jump down)... could you please, for the love of God, give me a tiny hint again adamantyr ?
I finally managed to get out of this hellhole! What a ride... glad I took tons of food with me (these darn grues almost drove me crazy!). What I learned: Against stronger enemies spells like exalt, protection, blur, mindguard (nightmares...) and haste are essential indeed. I always use the same primitive tactics: The weak bard stays in the background and helps out with healing while my burly hero beats the crap out of the enemy.

edit2: With my recent experiences in this devilish dungeon I more and more get the impression that I'd prefer if respawning only happened after I leave and re-enter a dungeon area.

Well done! That was one of the hardest dungeons in fact. As for altering how spawning works, well, then it wouldn't be a challenge now would it? ;)
 
Joined
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Messages
683
edit: Ok now I feel desperate. West of Bleyloch, up a mountain river, behind a secret passage in the mountains and after fighting an impressive specimen of Draco montis, I found a deep pit and was idiotic and suicidal enough to jump in - ignoring the serious warning that I may never find a way out. Now for hours I'm in this hellish labyrinth and stumble around most helplessly, permanently menaced by the most terrible enemies (man these nightmares are a major pain in the backside!). The only thing I discovered in there was another hole, that let me even deeper into the infernal depths, into another, even more intricate labyrinth! The good thing: My character has won a lot of experience in here, the bad: I have no clue if there even is a way out (thank God I made copies of the whole game folder before the decision to jump down)... could you please, for the love of God, give me a tiny hint again adamantyr ?
I finally managed to get out of this hellhole! What a ride... glad I took tons of food with me (these darn grues almost drove me crazy!). What I learned: Against stronger enemies spells like exalt, protection, blur, mindguard (nightmares...) and haste are essential indeed. I always use the same primitive tactics: The weak bard stays in the background and helps out with healing while my burly hero beats the crap out of the enemy.

edit2: With my recent experiences in this devilish dungeon I more and more get the impression that I'd prefer if respawning only happened after I leave and re-enter a dungeon area.

Well done! That was one of the hardest dungeons in fact. As for altering how spawning works, well, then it wouldn't be a challenge now would it? ;)
Really? Wow, then I guess I can be proud on my tenacity! ;) It was quite an exhausting experience, I only found the way out by using the old trick (I always walked along the wall to my right and after some time finally found the lair of *youknowwho*).
I found this dungeon by coincidence while I was exploring the river by boat. Is it generally no problem to explore like this or can I mess up something in the game by finding places I'm not supposed to - because they are part of a quest or something like that?
 

adamantyr

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Messages
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Location
Marysville, WA
Really? Wow, then I guess I can be proud on my tenacity! ;) It was quite an exhausting experience, I only found the way out by using the old trick (I always walked along the wall to my right and after some time finally found the lair of *youknowwho*).
I found this dungeon by coincidence while I was exploring the river by boat. Is it generally no problem to explore like this or can I mess up something in the game by finding places I'm not supposed to - because they are part of a quest or something like that?

Nope, you should be able to do things in any order you want.
 

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