Incline Butthurt Dungeon: Thac0's Ultimate Blobber List

[Pink Eye]

Also. You guys should try setting up a MIDI Synthesizer if you want the best possible experience from Ravenloft. Music sounds so gorgeous with a custom soundfont. I use VirtualMIDISynth it's very easy to set up and install. For soundfonts I have a million installed and am constantly experimenting with different types, but the one I liked for Ravenloft is Merlin's Gold font. You can find it here. Scroll down til you see it. Then download. Getting it to work in game is pretty easy. First you need to see what your midi synth is mapped to. For me it's 0:

Spoiler

Go to Config file then input the number in here:

Spoiler

Now enjoy the awesomeness of Ravenloft. By the way. When playing these DOS based games you should ALWAYS be looking at the config file and tinkering with it. Setting up CPU speed to any number higher than whatever it is the game defaults to is something you should always do, for example.

 

[V_K]

I know this is unfinished, would you say there is enough game there to make a full experience?

I have never heard that it was unfinished. I was able to play it to the end with no issues or dead ends. So did CRPGAddict.

I would need to know which of the Ultima's feature first person blobbing

I think all Ultimas up to 5 have first-person dungeons. Including Akallabeth aka Ultima 0.

 

[Pink Eye]

Though. Colombo sounds pretty nice too. Anyways. You gotta experiment with the different soundfonts. There's loads of them out there.

 

[Rincewind]

For soundfonts I have a million installed and am constantly experimenting with different types, but the one I liked for Ravenloft is Merlin's Gold font.

Wouldn't using a Roland MT-32 emulation like MUNT provide the best authentic experience? Pretty much all MIDI music in DOS games were composed for the MT-32 soundset. I guess subjectively you can like entirely different sample sets, though.

 

[Pink Eye]

Tried it on Darklands and it sounds nice. But when it comes to Ravenloft I like trying out different sample sets.

 

[V_K]

Also, it looks weird to me that you put Ambermoon with a star but Amberstar without. Usually, I've seen people asses them the other way around (haven't played AM myself, but AS is a darling).

 

[d1r]

Stonekeep ★
Just alone for the amazing atmosphere. Really. Dark, claustrophobic, and even some touch of horror in the later maps. Gameplay is alright, although the AI is really dumb, and you can cheese the game easily.

Wizardry Tales of Forsaken Lands ★ (Emulator) | Wizardry Tales of Forsaken Lands ★⚔ (OG hardware)
Great atmosphere, good and interesting gameplay and a very nice soundtrack. Can become a pain in the ass to play if you go with OG hardware, since it is INCREDIBLEY slow.

Wizardry Busin 0 Alternative Neo ★
Does everything better than Forsaken Lands, but needs to be played alongside a guide ... my guide.

Wizardry & Warriors ★
Sometimes a little bit too buggy, but the atmosphere is fucking great. Gameplay is good, and some of the maps look really good. Definitely recommended.

Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux ★
Is missing. Art style has been changed here and there, full voice acting, new content, game has become a little bit easier thanks to new gameplay mechanics. Still the best DRPG out there.

Shin Megami Tensei IF ★⚔
Same as SMT2, but way harder, respectively grindier. I personally liked it.

Shin Megami Tensei Soul Hackers ★⚔
Interesting setting. Great soundtrack, questionable art style, and exhausting gameplay. Demons having and living out their own little character traits sounds interesting at first, but it becomes really annoying at the end.

Wizardry 1-5, Might & Magic I & 2
I don't approve of Wiz 1-5 getting a ★. The presentation of 1-5 alone will make a lot of people hate, respectively drop it. Same goes with Might & Magic 1 and 2. Also, Wizardry 5 being a total FUCK YOU festival doesn't help the game neither.

 

[Thac0]

Also, it looks weird to me that you put Ambermoon with a star but Amberstar without. Usually, I've seen people asses them the other way around (haven't played AM myself, but AS is a darling).

The star came from Mortmal , I have only played Albion. If the two spiritual prequels hold the quality I see no problem with stars for all.

Sooo part time blobber category:

Part Time Blobbers
Games which contain a significant amount of blobber dungeon crawling, but feature different modes of exploration for other aspects of the game

Wasteland I ★
Albion ★
Amberstar ★
Ambermoon ★
Ultima IV-V ★
Disciples of Steel
Ultima I-III
Alakabeth

Good idea or not?

 

[Strange Fellow]

No. Too little blobbing going on.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Sooo part time blobber category:

Part Time Blobbers
Games which contain a significant amount of blobber dungeon crawling, but feature different modes of exploration for other aspects of the game

Wasteland I ★
Albion ★
Amberstar ★
Ambermoon ★
Ultima IV-V ★
Disciples of Steel
Ultima I-III
Alakabeth

Good idea or not?

This dilutes the list and starts making it about as useful as a list of video games someone you've talked to happens to enjoy. If you seriously think that any of these belong on the list, you should ask yourself whether you think the Gold Box games belong on it. I would suggest that there's a reason why no one ever brings up Pool of Radiance or Champions of Krynn when discussing blobbers. Yet those games have as much "part time blobbing" going on as what you've listed.

Tl;Dr Part time blobbers category is actively stupid.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Butthurt? Nah. I submit the following games for inclusion in the part time blobber category:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secrets of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Dark Queen of Krynn
Buck Rogers Matrix Cubed
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures

These all feature blobber dungeon exploration and are great games for the most part. They should definitely be on the list by your criteria.

 

[Lady Error]

Butthurt? Nah. I submit the following games for inclusion in the part time blobber category:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secrets of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Dark Queen of Krynn
Buck Rogers Matrix Cubed
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures

These all feature blobber dungeon exploration and are great games for the most part. They should definitely be on the list by your criteria.

Gold Box games are already in the list.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Butthurt? Nah. I submit the following games for inclusion in the part time blobber category:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secrets of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Dark Queen of Krynn
Buck Rogers Matrix Cubed
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures

These all feature blobber dungeon exploration and are great games for the most part. They should definitely be on the list by your criteria.

Gold Box games are already in the list.

Didn't notice them before but the list has been updated at least once. Alright then. (I still think it's stupid, but whatever.)

 

[Thac0]

Butthurt? Nah. I submit the following games for inclusion in the part time blobber category:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secrets of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Dark Queen of Krynn
Buck Rogers Matrix Cubed
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures

These all feature blobber dungeon exploration and are great games for the most part. They should definitely be on the list by your criteria.

Gold Box games are already in the list.

Didn't notice them before but the list has been updated at least once. Alright then. (I still think it's stupid, but whatever.)

Nah it was in there from minute one, as one of the three polls made to assemble the initial games was Lady_Errors poll about tactical blobbers. Which is literally linked in the preamble. Also in the ending is a question about what to do with the Goldbox games, and wether it is worth it to split them open and decide which ones are worth playing and which are not. Like many others in this thread you just can't read.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Butthurt? Nah. I submit the following games for inclusion in the part time blobber category:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secrets of the Silver Blades
Pools of Darkness
Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Dark Queen of Krynn
Buck Rogers Matrix Cubed
Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday
Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures

These all feature blobber dungeon exploration and are great games for the most part. They should definitely be on the list by your criteria.

Gold Box games are already in the list.

Didn't notice them before but the list has been updated at least once. Alright then. (I still think it's stupid, but whatever.)

Nah it was in there from minute one, as one of the three polls made to assemble the initial games was Lady_Errors poll about tactical blobbers. Which is literally linked in the preamble. Also in the ending is a question about what to do with the Goldbox games, and wether it is worth it to split them open and decide which ones are worth playing and which are not. Like many others in this thread you just can't read.

I believe you, but it's more likely that I simply forgot because including these games in the list at all is bizarre to me. In my mind, blobbers are defined by blobber style combat, whether turn based or real time.
Putting in something with a top down view that has actual individualized movement (i.e. Specifically not a blob) means that it's not a blobber by definition. As a result, me remembering that it'd be on a list of blobbers is basically a non-starter. As I say, you simply dilute it to have little meaning.

 

[agris]

Part-Time blobbers are a category I might open, but I barely played any of them.
I could open one now for Ultima, Disciples of Steel, Amberstar games. I would need to know which of the Ultima's feature first person blobbing, and which other good games there are in which you part time blob.

It's turning into Another List. If you are going to curate, curate.

 

[Lady Error]

I believe you, but it's more likely that I simply forgot because including these games in the list at all is bizarre to me. In my mind, blobbers are defined by blobber style combat, whether turn based or real time.
Putting in something with a top down view that has actual individualized movement (i.e. Specifically not a blob) means that it's not a blobber by definition. As a result, me remembering that it'd be on a list of blobbers is basically a non-starter. As I say, you simply dilute it to have little meaning.

There is combat and there is exploration. If exploration happens as a blob, the it is a hybrid blobber with tactical combat.

Better to include hybrids than to ignore them.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Stonekeep

I'd love to see it in the list because of the unique presentation, but it should have a contested tag.

 

[mediocrepoet]

There is combat and there is exploration. If exploration happens as a blob, the it is a hybrid blobber with tactical combat.

Better to include hybrids than to ignore them.

My issue with this line of thinking is that it creates sprawling endless lists with no meaning. Literally a list of a bunch of games people on the Codex like. There are tons of those.

"Blobber exploration" isn't a thing in my mind because it basically accounts for almost any game presented in first person. It's the combat being presented in such a way that sets these games apart and makes it subgenre defining.

Even real time blobber combat is distinct from FPS due to everyone firing from the same general position. The blob is the combat entity, the entire party is one thing. You specifically cannot have this once you split them out for combat or other actions.

 

[Thac0]

There is combat and there is exploration. If exploration happens as a blob, the it is a hybrid blobber with tactical combat.

Better to include hybrids than to ignore them.

My issue with this line of thinking is that it creates sprawling endless lists with no meaning. Literally a list of a bunch of games people on the Codex like. There are tons of those.

"Blobber exploration" isn't a thing in my mind because it basically accounts for almost any game presented in first person. It's the combat being presented in such a way that sets these games apart and makes it subgenre defining.

Even real time blobber combat is distinct from FPS due to everyone firing from the same general position. The blob is the combat entity, the entire party is one thing. You specifically cannot have this once you split them out for combat or other actions.

It is an interesting thing I noticed, blobbers tend to attract two very different kinds of players. Players who masturbate to this:

and people who masturbate to this:

Of course there are all kinds of hybrids who can appreciate both a cruel dungeon and good combat, but extremes exist for whom a blobber is all about combat or exploration.

Those:

Give the Gold Box games at least some clear blobber boners for those who fall into type 2.

Given that there is a clear subgroup who play those types of games for the blobbing I consider it a disservice to not include those who are at least playable for the blobbing exploration, especially as the genre is not exactly abundant.
I see the risk of the list becoming overly broad, but categorisation and the tags are something which is imo preferable to cutting too many games for now.

Eventually I will cull the list a bit, the largest influx of superflous games imo came from users who did not understand that the list should be curated, and recommended games which are merely obscure, not good.
But I would rather cull games that noone will play from the list, than those who can be usefull to some people, so I would personally be in favor of opening the jar which Gold Box games are good and which not.

That said maps of an actual part time blobber like Ultima:

Are a case against opening a subcategory for games like it.

The Amber games are on the fence:

I might kick Disciples of Steel next, given that I can't find a single dungeon map for it, making it more tactical rpg than blobber hybrid.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Thac0 you make a good point. It's easy for me to forget that mapping enthusiasts are a real thing and definitely a huge part of the blobber formula.

I'm also glad to see that you're giving this real thought instead of ending up with a category that should probably be labelled "Not Blobbers, but some Codexers demanded they be on the list anyway".

 

[Lady Error]

My issue with this line of thinking is that it creates sprawling endless lists with no meaning.

Well, except in the case of blobbers there is not too much to choose from anyway. And the hybrid ones are even more rare, at least since Goldbox games were stopped.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Anyone here played the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 DnD games?

 

[Pink Eye]

and people who masturbate to this:

Oh yeah. Stone Prophet has some of the best dungeons ever. My favorite dungeon is the Temple of Dead:

Spoiler

Look at that bad boy. It took me so many hours to map out. Once I finished. I felt very proud of myself. It's like running around in Baldur's Gate 1 trying to clear out all the Fog of War from the maps. Oh yeah there's also the Sphinx dungeon:

Spoiler

It has multiple levels with lots of riddling doors! What's this door saying?! I don't know! Only Set knows!

Spoiler

You had to answer the Sphinx's riddle before you got entrance into the dungeon - the answer is gained via exploration of another dungeon. It's also where you find the thought bottle!

I think what I enjoy the most is how rewarding mapping the dungeons can be. You gain so many loots, plus potential allies - like for example Gloriantha the Undead Paladin woman who was cursed by the evil mummy Senmet. She's the coolest companion because she consumes no water resources! Though she leaves you once you've defeated Senmet:

Can also find a troll and a were hyena man - it's as cool as it sounds! Once found a +3 Battle Axe and a bunch of other cool gear. Had my party all kitted out by the end:

Spoiler

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Anyone here played the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 DnD games?

I've played Warriors of the Eternal Sun, which is a simple top-down tactical game that becomes a full blobber inside dungeons. It's a fun game once you get used to its obvious flaws, but I don't think it deserves to be included in this list.