Updates? Information?

[Zeno]

I found Prelude to Darkness as a reference in an online article discussing turn-based strategy. and then found the website, downloaded the game, etc, etc. Had the "invisible character models" bug on my old Pentium 3 laptop, tried it on my desktop and it worked sometimes.

The game loves to crash. It was crashing every time Autosave occured while any on-screen window was open (barter, speech, journal, map, character screen, etc). These crashes didn't go to the desktop--they were total system lockups which required full reboots. Disabling autosave worked marvelously and the crashes are much less frequent.

Still, crashes occur. Looking at some of the old posts in this forum, it appears to be a recurring problem. Is there any chance of future patches or updates? Is there any chance the source code will be released, so modders and sideline developers can take a shot?

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I also have a question on general gameplay. Most skills are character-specific; the selected character performs an action and that character's skill level is checked to determine success or failure. However, there are some skills that are automatic, which occur whenever the party is in a specific situation, and only one character is ever checked--the character with the highest skill level in that skill.

I just want to confirm that the following skills are only valuable for one character to have, and any character with a lower skill level will never be checked for success/failure:

Literacy_and_Lore, Barter, Nature, Stealth, Medical

The other 16 skills seem to have correlated independent actions for each character which anyone in the party can perform. Is my understanding correct?

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Thanks for what looks to be an interesting game. Wish I'd discovered it years ago...

--Zeno

 

[Jora]

The old shareware version is said to have been not as buggy as the recently released freeware version. Every now and then a developer finds some time to sink his teeth into all the technical problems in the game but the progress isn't as fast as one would like.

I'm not certain about the skills.

 

[Radish]

I just want to confirm that the following skills are only valuable for one character to have, and any character with a lower skill level will never be checked for success/failure:

Literacy_and_Lore, Barter, Nature, Stealth, Medical

True for all five, except in one specific instance (that I know of). There's a woman in a bar you can seduce by showing off with any one of many different skills, Lore and Nature among them. In that instance only the skills of the character speaking are checked.

 

[Zeno]

Thanks for your responses. This is really an interesting game, at least from what I can see of it. Character progression and skill, the story and NPC characterizations, and the tactical combat all seem to be tied together in an excellent design. Unfortunately the implementation of this game--meaning that it never was finished--really makes it a test of patience to play.

Crashes to desktop every hour or so? Yes, I can handle that. No problem. But this game is crashing every 10 minutes, and it's not just crashing...more often than not, my system completely locks and requires a reboot.

Just when I start getting into the game, I have to reboot. I kept at it, because the game looks so good...but the enjoyment is marred by my inability to play for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a stretch.

Anyway, if I get some time I may look into what it would take to do some technical tweaking. Maybe if more people see this game, and realize it's potential were it completed, a startup game company might pursue a similar design.

--Zeno

 

[Vault Dweller]

Maybe if more people see this game, and realize it's potential were it completed, a startup game company might pursue a similar design.

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=18

PtD was my inspiration.

 

[OSK]

Is the download found in the topic "Prelude 1.8 Test Link" the most recent version?

 

[Jora]

Yes.

 

[OSK]

Thanks.

I'm going to give this game a try. Anything I should know?

 

[Fez]

Never eat mints before drinking coffee.

 

[Jora]

Thanks.

I'm going to give this game a try. Anything I should know?

Nothing important besides the fact that it might be extremely buggy and crash constantly. :D I suggest making a balanced party that knows how to fight and how to talk. Skills like music, nature, and literacy and lore are cool.

 

[Severian Silk]

Maybe they will release the source code some day and we'll get a bunch of code junkies to fix it as well as add new features. It worked for JA2.

I found Prelude to Darkness as a reference in an online article discussing turn-based strategy.

Which article, might I ask?

 

[AZ]

I really like PtD but it is horribly buggy for me - the journal doesn't work, and I have a literate charter, if I die the game puts me to the Kellen inn whit random equipment and I can't open skills or inventory like in the first dream. And the crashes, after every twenty minute.

Any chance for a stable version? I would even donate money for a stable 2.0.

 

[Slylandro]

I doubt they will be able to clean up PtD at this stage. Your best bet is to do what I do-- automatically quit PtD preemptively when you notice that the game has started slowing down or graphical glitches appear. Sometimes it pays to quit on your own volition even if nothing seems wrong. Maybe every half hour or so automatically.

Save before bartering in stores, some items (eg heartsworth I think) and trading schemes will cause the game to crash.

Save the game if you plan on walking very far in the world (as opposed to using auto-travel.)

Save before you think you are going to encounter a very large group of enemies. PtD tends to crash when combat initiates and there are more than about 5 or 6 enemy combatants.

Always save before attempting to do part of the main quest. Some of it is still buggy and you could accidentally end up doing something that prevents you from finishing the game. For example in the Barrier, if you ask Telus to teach barter to you first, you cannot ask him for the Component later and as a result the rebellion won't talk with you.

 

[AZ]

It is said that the original version was not that buggy, sure it doesn't support detailed textures and hight resolutions. Anybody has the original?

 

[AZ]

So no one has it?