Let's Play Aleshar: World of Ice
Having grown weary on the lack of RPG LP's (fuck your Oblivion) and not having sufficient challenge in wrapping up the 7.62 LP, I decided to start another one.
Aleshar: World of Ice an RPG that holds a special place in my heart. It's brutally hard-core, set up in a desolate realm of ice, doesn't have any of the faggotry of today's games and still maintains quite few innovative approaches in its design.
It's been years since I last played the game, so it'll be interesting to see how time has treated it. And today, thanks to DOSBOX, I don't actually need a separate machine to run old games.
Game background:
Aleshar was made by a small Finnish developer Hypothermia, and it remains their only title. The game was originally shareware, but was later released as freeware.
Story:
Links:
[*]Get the game:
[*]Sextant locations:
[*]Walkthru I wrote years ago:
Original LP update, now with broken images (courtesy of Imageshack):
Having grown weary on the lack of RPG LP's (fuck your Oblivion) and not having sufficient challenge in wrapping up the 7.62 LP, I decided to start another one.
Aleshar: World of Ice an RPG that holds a special place in my heart. It's brutally hard-core, set up in a desolate realm of ice, doesn't have any of the faggotry of today's games and still maintains quite few innovative approaches in its design.
It's been years since I last played the game, so it'll be interesting to see how time has treated it. And today, thanks to DOSBOX, I don't actually need a separate machine to run old games.
Game background:
Aleshar was made by a small Finnish developer Hypothermia, and it remains their only title. The game was originally shareware, but was later released as freeware.
Hypothermia said:
Story:
Hypothermia said:
Links:
[*]Get the game:
[*]Sextant locations:
[*]Walkthru I wrote years ago:
Original LP update, now with broken images (courtesy of Imageshack):
Chapter 0: Snowblind
Let's play the game! There are three different difficulty options, but quite funnily the game manual forgets to say what they actually do. I'm guessing 'fairy tale' is easy mode, 'chronicle' normal and 'legend' hard. So let's go with legend then!
I'm going to roll a hunter, since this is one of those games where you're can starve to death.
In true Codexian fashion, let's go for savant IQ!
Piss-poor social skills, measly strength and 120+ IQ - signs of true Codexian!
Then some more boring choices with skills. I went for bow and cutting, for reasons that will become obvious later on. Hunter template affects the skills quite bit, I put most emphasis in trading and lock picking as they are some of the more annoying skills to improve. And now we're done!
---
So the game starts with you returning from a visit to the nearby town. As you're about to enter your trainer's hut, you're interrupted by two fellows dressed in red robes.
Trainer tells me to run, but of course I say outside the window to see what happens inside...
And so it begins...
:idea: This is the 'outdoor mode', which we'll be seeing a lot more later. In this the time passes real time. It's used to move between locations and to hunt for food. For now, we'll just enter the town.
We promptly enter the building in front of us, discovering that it is an inn.
:idea: This is the 'adventure mode'. In contrast to the 'outdoor mode' it is actually turn-based. You move first and then everybody else moves. There is no action points, rather slower characters may act a fewer times than fast ones.
The innkeeper is the person we were sent for.
:idea: Talking works like in adventure games. You say a key word, like 'name' and the person you're talking to answers. Key words are highlighted with a different color.
Relating him with the news, he reveals that he is actually a resistance supporter and directs me to their leader in a town called 'Snowhold'.
I got a key for the door, but decide to rather practice my lock picking skills.
:idea: Lock picking is annoying, you basically try 'till it opens, bashing the keys (O,P). And keep in mind that locks are reset if you ascend/descend ladders/stairs...
I help myself to the items in his stash, most importantly the sextant. Without it travelling in the wilderness would be impossible.
Seeing that the door was open and the owner not home, I decide also liberate a gem from the neighboring building. I'll need the money.
I visit the blacksmith to sell the excess goods I have.
Even the cheapest bow available consumes most of my coin... Longbows are out of my league for now.
I don't feel very comfortable in the heavy armor and wielding the shortsword, but I have no choice. My strength and stamina has to improve if I am to survive.
I leave for Snowhold, stopping to hunt for rations on the way. Luck favors me, and I'm soon well stocked.
While hunting, something ambushes me in the middle of the night. A snow giant!
Those beasts are brutally strong and tough. I switch for my bow and pepper the beast with arrows while running away from it.
Thankfully the brute is slow, alone, and I'm not too encumbered. I shudder at the thought of being in the reach of that beast.
My arrows cannot penetrate it's thick hide and I'm getting tired... this does not bode well.
A lucky arrow strikes the beast in the eye, killing it instantly!
I gather my things and continue the journey. Let's hope that no further obstacl... oh no - another of those beasts!
It throws a javelin at me, but my mail saves me. A javelin in my leg would've meant sure death in the hands of the brute.
The fight continues well through the night, and by sunrise I finally manage to get an arrow through it's defences. Luck hasn't left me, for the blood on the field belongs to the dead giant.
:idea: Aleshar features dynamic time of the day changes. Nighttime means weakened visibility and in towns the townspeople go to sleep during nights. Useful for assasins and thieves, hindrance for adventurers looking to sell their loot.
I take the axe with me, intending to sell it in the nearest town. My journey towards Snowhold continues... hopefully without further obstacles in the way. Luck alone won't keep me alive for long.
Let's play the game! There are three different difficulty options, but quite funnily the game manual forgets to say what they actually do. I'm guessing 'fairy tale' is easy mode, 'chronicle' normal and 'legend' hard. So let's go with legend then!
I'm going to roll a hunter, since this is one of those games where you're can starve to death.
In true Codexian fashion, let's go for savant IQ!
Piss-poor social skills, measly strength and 120+ IQ - signs of true Codexian!
Then some more boring choices with skills. I went for bow and cutting, for reasons that will become obvious later on. Hunter template affects the skills quite bit, I put most emphasis in trading and lock picking as they are some of the more annoying skills to improve. And now we're done!
---
So the game starts with you returning from a visit to the nearby town. As you're about to enter your trainer's hut, you're interrupted by two fellows dressed in red robes.
Trainer tells me to run, but of course I say outside the window to see what happens inside...
And so it begins...
:idea: This is the 'outdoor mode', which we'll be seeing a lot more later. In this the time passes real time. It's used to move between locations and to hunt for food. For now, we'll just enter the town.
We promptly enter the building in front of us, discovering that it is an inn.
:idea: This is the 'adventure mode'. In contrast to the 'outdoor mode' it is actually turn-based. You move first and then everybody else moves. There is no action points, rather slower characters may act a fewer times than fast ones.
The innkeeper is the person we were sent for.
:idea: Talking works like in adventure games. You say a key word, like 'name' and the person you're talking to answers. Key words are highlighted with a different color.
Relating him with the news, he reveals that he is actually a resistance supporter and directs me to their leader in a town called 'Snowhold'.
I got a key for the door, but decide to rather practice my lock picking skills.
:idea: Lock picking is annoying, you basically try 'till it opens, bashing the keys (O,P). And keep in mind that locks are reset if you ascend/descend ladders/stairs...
I help myself to the items in his stash, most importantly the sextant. Without it travelling in the wilderness would be impossible.
Seeing that the door was open and the owner not home, I decide also liberate a gem from the neighboring building. I'll need the money.
I visit the blacksmith to sell the excess goods I have.
Even the cheapest bow available consumes most of my coin... Longbows are out of my league for now.
I don't feel very comfortable in the heavy armor and wielding the shortsword, but I have no choice. My strength and stamina has to improve if I am to survive.
I leave for Snowhold, stopping to hunt for rations on the way. Luck favors me, and I'm soon well stocked.
While hunting, something ambushes me in the middle of the night. A snow giant!
Those beasts are brutally strong and tough. I switch for my bow and pepper the beast with arrows while running away from it.
Thankfully the brute is slow, alone, and I'm not too encumbered. I shudder at the thought of being in the reach of that beast.
My arrows cannot penetrate it's thick hide and I'm getting tired... this does not bode well.
A lucky arrow strikes the beast in the eye, killing it instantly!
I gather my things and continue the journey. Let's hope that no further obstacl... oh no - another of those beasts!
It throws a javelin at me, but my mail saves me. A javelin in my leg would've meant sure death in the hands of the brute.
The fight continues well through the night, and by sunrise I finally manage to get an arrow through it's defences. Luck hasn't left me, for the blood on the field belongs to the dead giant.
:idea: Aleshar features dynamic time of the day changes. Nighttime means weakened visibility and in towns the townspeople go to sleep during nights. Useful for assasins and thieves, hindrance for adventurers looking to sell their loot.
I take the axe with me, intending to sell it in the nearest town. My journey towards Snowhold continues... hopefully without further obstacles in the way. Luck alone won't keep me alive for long.
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