Phantasie series

[octavius]

On the subject of aging, I saw on page 2 of this thread that a character's life span is dependent on the Luck stat. I wonder how far Humans and Halflings would get with 18-20 Luck before age penalties would start to be a problem?

Also, annoying that you have to enter an Inn to re-equip ("distribute") items, since that automatically ages the party 14 days. So you can't rely on potions alone to restore HP and MP, even if you could find enough potions.

Anyway, I decided to go with two Elves, two Gnomes and two Dwarves, one of each class, and rerolled shamelessly, since I want to create as few characters as possible to avoid the bug when transfering from P2 to P3 (and also because P3 is brutal).

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I never saw any screenshots of transferred characters by anyone. I can't recall if the levels caps for each game are different. I guess 15 is max??

It seems walking can age you:

Monster 1, Pluto's Giant Constrictor, seems to be found at random in
the overworld. I combed it(i.e. move all the way left, down one, all
the way right, etc.) and eventually got the sucka. It was actually the
last one I found before I went to the second level of the underworld.
If you cannot find it after combing the continent you probably do not
want to save the game, especially if you have humans in your party. The
continent has 20*26*9=4680 squares(well, a few less for water, etc.) and
that can add up to quite a few years for your characters. It makes up
for its relative ease by being incredibly tough to find.

 

[octavius]

I'm feeling a bit that the reason I have to leave a dungeon half explored is not due to running out of HP, MP and bubble gum, but because I hit the 64K limit on XP. No deaths in the party so far (I guess now I jinxed it).

Also, some heavy C&C:

 

[newtmonkey]

That damned C&C made me have to redo that dungeon to rescue the right person haha

I put a few more hours into this over the last couple of days. I explored all the wilderness areas and dungeons west of the central mountain range, and began exploring the eastern wilderness. The game really opens up a bit at this point and seems to focus more on wilderness exploration than dungeon delving—this is especially nice for me, as I was just starting to get a bit bored by the town>wilderness>dungeon>repeat formula.

I've reached the point now where I have plenty of gold but need lots of experience to level up. I've found that armories are pretty useless after the very beginning, since you find so much better equipment in the dungeons and as encounter loot. I'm not sure where I got it, but I managed to pick up a God Shield along the way and it's a VERY nice boost to defense.

 

[octavius]

newtmonkey, you are playing the Apple version, right?
Is even the first wilderness area unexplored? In the ST version the two first areas are always explored.

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys. I'm sorry but I'm not reading your posts, heh. Potential spoilers and all that. But I did want to update my journey. I haven't been able to really dive in much yet but I've played for a few hours, and will play an hour each day or every other day to continue it. I made it halfway thru the first dungeon. MAN what an adventure! I love it. The dungeons are so immersive and fun to explore on the Apple II version, and imo the Apple II version was made just for me, heh. I love the sprites in combat and the various effects and designs of creatures, etc.. Very cool. I left the dungeon to go level up and regain strength and will return. I also made it to Pikedale, the 2nd town, and will be exploring more there. Spell #53 VISION, is a monstah! :D Hope u guys are having fun!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Which ST emulator you using again? On that train of thought best emulator for each version?

Once I'm comfortable with a set of emulators I'll try these games side by side. I was going to do a similar thing to wasteland but got distracted with music. I'm always lured to editing my digital albums. Damn you music damn you!!

 

[octavius]

Which ST emulator you using again? On that train of thought best emulator for each version?

Steem for ST.
I guess Applewin for the Apple.

 

[newtmonkey]

octavius
Yeah, I am playing the Apple II version. The entire wilderness (including the first area) is unexplored.

I am using version v1.11 (Apple II), which turns out to be a fan patch released in 2003/2004 (!) that includes a modified reset utility that blanks the wilderness maps:

https://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/Phantasie_new.htm

After doing some research, I don't think ANY (retail) version is capable of resetting the game completely. When you run the (retail) reset utility, it simple clears the current dungeon and the party roster. I think this is true for all versions, including the last official Apple II release.

I don't think there is a similar patch for other platforms, which is a shame.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'll have to open up Lenny and see what ST emu I was using. I was working on finishing that version of Sword of Kadash (which should be similar to AppleII. The c64 I finished, mapped, and added a simple guide. Maps are screenshots touched up. The three games do play very different and the ST version you can break the maps because you are like a skinny pirate. I was working on the tilesets as well. If I recall, the emulator had a very twitchy unwieldy save/load quickload/quicksave and record method. Still, it worked on early win8-10.(barely).

 

[octavius]

octavius
Yeah, I am playing the Apple II version. The entire wilderness (including the first area) is unexplored.

I am using version v1.11 (Apple II), which turns out to be a fan patch released in 2003/2004 (!) that includes a modified reset utility that blanks the wilderness maps:

https://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/Phantasie_new.htm

After doing some research, I don't think ANY (retail) version is capable of resetting the game completely. When you run the (retail) reset utility, it simple clears the current dungeon and the party roster. I think this is true for all versions, including the last official Apple II release.

I don't think there is a similar patch for other platforms, which is a shame.

Hmm...I suspect the first two areas being already explored is by design, like it's the party's own turf.
But quite impressive with a fan patch as recent as 2004.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

octavius
Yeah, I am playing the Apple II version. The entire wilderness (including the first area) is unexplored.

I am using version v1.11 (Apple II), which turns out to be a fan patch released in 2003/2004 (!) that includes a modified reset utility that blanks the wilderness maps:

https://apple2.org.za/gswv/a2zine/Sel/Phantasie_new.htm

After doing some research, I don't think ANY (retail) version is capable of resetting the game completely. When you run the (retail) reset utility, it simple clears the current dungeon and the party roster. I think this is true for all versions, including the last official Apple II release.

I don't think there is a similar patch for other platforms, which is a shame.

If only the other versions got that treatment as well. That's a good QOL.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I guess Applewin for the Apple.

Really? AppleWin always felt like it was missing something. It is obvious that its missing a screenshot function though.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'm sure I screenshotted somehow as I did my appleII ACS tileset. Let me check my notes

 

[newtmonkey]

octavius
It's hard to say. The original Phantasie manual doesn't really mention anything, but the PI&PII manual (which covers all versions from Apple II to the 16-bits) mentions that the first area should be explored already since your adventurers are familiar with the area around the first town. The Phantasie III manual seems to indicate that the wilderness should be completely visible (it is assumed that your characters would have maps). It's possible, then, that this was changed with the 16-bit ports and/or the release of Phantasie III.

I'm curious if the reset utility on the Atari ST will clear wilderness areas that you have explored yourself. If you have your old save, would it possible to test it? If the ST version is working as designed (initial areas already explored but later areas can be wiped with the reset utility), I wouldn't mind replaying the trilogy on ST a year or so from now.

 

[octavius]

I guess Applewin for the Apple.

Really? AppleWin always felt like it was missing something. It is obvious that its missing a screenshot function though.

Behold the power of a fully functional Applewin:

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Now this is an older appleWin but my doc says: (version 1.26.2.4)

PrintScrn
Save Apple screen to bitmap.
Puts screenshot in folder of file .dsk image
560x384 default.
Shift+PrintScrn to save 280x192
Files are named {Diskfilename}_#.bmp

Ctrl+printScrn will copy the textscreen to the clipboard

F11 Save Stste
F12 Load State

F6 Fullsize
Ctrl+F6 toggle x1 or x2 screen size

You can browse where your save state is (name of file.aws.yami)

Maybe that has changed now.

To record sound music I just used audacity. Hit record and went through each tune and sound effect then broke each of those up into separate files. It wasn't perfect and i had to edit the best i could. You can listen in my ACS thread with download link to my googledrive/drop box.

LORDY! I'm using a 2017 pre-release. Good Grief!

 

[Fluent]

Sorry for being such a newb but hey octavius , what game is that you just posted a screenshot of? Looks neat!

 

[unseeingeye]

Sorry for being such a newb but hey octavius , what game is that you just posted a screenshot of? Looks neat!

Looks like Silvern Castle?

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Behold the power of a fully functional Applewin:

Oh, I see, it has one, it just doesn't work on my machine.

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys. In the Apple II version, in the dungeon after certain battles it says, "You've found Weapons: 1. Do u wish to keep them? y/n". And the same for Armors. Do I have to sell them when I get back to town or something? They don't show up in anyone's inventory but they show up in the overall party (I)nspect. Kinda odd and i'm sure i'll figure it out tomorrow when i play but i am curious if anyone knows.

 

[Sinatar]

Hey guys. In the Apple II version, in the dungeon after certain battles it says, "You've found Weapons: 1. Do u wish to keep them? y/n". And the same for Armors. Do I have to sell them when I get back to town or something? They don't show up in anyone's inventory but they show up in the overall party (I)nspect. Kinda odd and i'm sure i'll figure it out tomorrow when i play but i am curious if anyone knows.

You can't access your loot until you get to town.

 

[Fluent]

Makes perfect sense then, heh. Appreciate it Sinatar !

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I think they have to be ID or something or distributed back in town. It has been a while.

Anyway, I got a chuckle at this review

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Lol I had to screenshot these: spoilers

Don't Look if you're afraid of death

Damn happy to see you. HURRAH! Skeles CHEER! HUZZAH!! THOU ART DEAD!!

Welcome to the underworld. I almost picture Nakrul's voice delivering the lines.

Bonus:

Well, I guess these guys could have showed up and made it worse...