Phantasie series

[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.

I misremembered a bit. It's not 64K for the entire party, but for each character.
This is the most XP you can get in one trip outside town:

Also, there's a limit on how much loot you can bring back.
After returning from the bleeping Bleebs dungeon in which I had picked up items from all the far too numerous random encounters, Rings D, E and F did not show up when distributing the loot, so I had to redo that dungeon.

 

[octavius]

Last time I played P1 I had some problems with the ending not fireing properly (probably due to doing things in wrong order). This time I consulted a walkthrough and also made sure I was loaded with potions, and I had four characaters casting Fireflash IV instead of only the wizard, and things went swimmingly.

In all I had only one character death, against a Minor Deity (tougher than the Black Lord) from which I had to flee.

When I feel some Phantastic craving again I'll replay P2 with a transfered party.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Last time I played P1 I had some problems with the ending not fireing properly (probably due to doing things in wrong order). This time I consulted a walkthrough and also made sure I was loaded with potions, and I had four characaters casting Fireflash IV instead of only the wizard, and things went swimmingly.

In all I had only one character death, against a Minor Deity (tougher than the Black Lord) from which I had to flee.

When I feel some Phantastic craving again I'll replay P2 with a transfered party.

2 dwarves, 2 elves, and 2 gnomes? I don't remember things I did yesterday, but I remember sprites from a game I haven't played since around 1986. Good priorities, brain.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ah cool to see the ST ending. I got the latest version of AppleWin and all three Phantasies for appleII v1.11. I spent some time today looking for my bloody manual then organizing old file folders. I have a lot of manuals missing but I did find Phantasie, Realms of Darkness, Questron 1-2, Legacy of the Ancients, All 3 Bard's Tale, Might & Magic 1-2, Gemstone Warrior, Alternate Reality and some others. I couldn't find my Shard of Spring but did find my Wizard's Crown & Eternal Dagger. Oh Well, I wanted to focus on Phantasie. I'll have to Print the 2-3 manuals on my laser printer.

So, this emulator works great and there are some things I found interesting in character creation. First you can speed up the emulator to get through this part. Next, if you are working on a Random Creature but want a specific one you don't have to go through the whole sequence on the apple. I chose N new character then R random but if the race was one I didn't want I hit the ESC or ` key and it took me back to the race choices so I could hit R again. That sped things along for B team alts. I made 12 characters and since I'll just be grinding the first continent recording encounters and mapping using the tiles in the game, I'll probably be using the two Dwarf Fighters, 2 Human Clerics, and 2 Elf Wizards. Here's the 12.

Spoiler

A TEAM

B TEAM

I may make others later but this is just to get this emulation started. Next, I'll boot up the c64 via ccs64 (even though I heard that VICE works better albeit slug snail pace). I'm hoping I don't have the errors the video states. Then I'll look for best best Atari800 emulator or just get Steem for the ST then the 800. And then it is the Amiga, DOS, and MSX and others I have images/roms/dsks for. I simply want to do a comparison and compare maps and difficulty. Accordingly, the c64 is ranked the hardest but I wonder if the Atari800 isn't comparable. I'll also be creating tilesets as I go. It is nice Kroah has the ST version done mostly. It is something to do in my spare time while I go through physical stuff.

 

[Fluent]

Hey guys. Just wanted to chime in with something. When u find items in the dungeons or in the world, u have to (D)istribute them or sell them BEFORE saving and exiting the game! This means that when u come back with new loot, (D)'ing will identify it all and let u distribute it or sell it, then u can save your game and exit. If u just save and exit the loot will be GONE next time. Heh. Kinda hurts because I lost like 2 Weapons and 2 Armors from the first dungeon trip I made because I didn't read the fine print (which was actually large and in my face ) in the text when u enter town again. My bad! All better now, though. Found some sweet lewtz and it's back to the dungeon for a 3rd trip in the next session. DOPE game!!

 

[octavius]

I may make others later but this is just to get this emulation started. Next, I'll boot up the c64 via ccs64 (even though I heard that VICE works better albeit slug snail pace). I'm hoping I don't have the errors the video states. Then I'll look for best best Atari800 emulator or just get Steem for the ST then the 800. And then it is the Amiga, DOS, and MSX and others I have images/roms/dsks for. I simply want to do a comparison and compare maps and difficulty. Accordingly, the c64 is ranked the hardest but I wonder if the Atari800 isn't comparable. I'll also be creating tilesets as I go. It is nice Kroah has the ST version done mostly. It is something to do in my spare time while I go through physical stuff.

A worthy venture!

Things to look for:

How much damage do enemies do? In the Atari ST version only the strongest do more than 1 damage, which is rather annoying and makes it too easy. I understand there are some difference between versions.

How much XP can a character get in one trip out of town? For the Atari ST it's 64K, which means later dungeons can't be done in one go without losing out on XP.

How much of the overland is already explored in new games? The ST has the the first two areas explored.
And how does the Vision spell work in other versions? In the ST it works in a peculiar way; the effect is dependent on how much MP you have, even if it only costs 1 MP to cast.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

It looked like it took a while for the DOS guys to die and the PC-98 as well. I'd hate to think they gimped other versions. Or maybe your guys were just too bad ass to take damage.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Bah! I can't get Steem to work at all. The main program popped up asked a bunch of crap I chose this tos
EmuTOS 1.1.1
Formats: 196K, 256K, 512Kб 1024K
Machines:
ROM Date: 19 July 2021

And tried to mount the Phantasie disk to drive a and run it. Nada. Maybe I should have stuck to ancient Hatari.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Ok, CCS64 v3.9 for now. I booted up a phantasie from Gamebase c64. There was a party but not in Pelnor. The shitty mage is dead and they are all lvl 1. Stats suck but here is the roster. (they also had two #8 scrolls but no gear)

OK, time to make a similar crew as before I guess unless there is a better d64 file out there.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Two other d64 disks I tried. Both were cracked, I think. The first is definitely with the high stats and lvl 12-13 alts (probably played though, but who knows). The next one they have stats that you never roll and numbers above normal max on some. Eh... I don't want to cheat so the uncracked disk I first listed will have all characters deleted. Of all the things for them to crack they chose stats. Couldn't reset the game bah!

c64 Plays far different with the menus in town. Just to distribute you have to rest in the inn.

edit----
The purest version for cc64 seems to be the one from Gamebase c64. Yes, there are some players with scrolls and no gear but only the first section and section to the right are clear. The other two I have that I dubbed (boosted (perhaps by pools) and CRACKED have many maps cleared (but not all continent). Yes, it annoys me but what can I do? I'll have to check some other sources I guess.

 

[octavius]

Bah! I can't get Steem to work at all. The main program popped up asked a bunch of crap I chose this tos
EmuTOS 1.1.1
Formats: 196K, 256K, 512Kб 1024K
Machines:
ROM Date: 19 July 2021

And tried to mount the Phantasie disk to drive a and run it. Nada. Maybe I should have stuck to ancient Hatari.

I found Steem very user friendly.
You need Tos102.img for running games.
Put the game ROMs in the Home Folder.
Start Steem and from the Disk Manager double click on the game you want to run, then click on the yellow arrow in the upper left corner to start emulating.
When disk has loaded explore floppy disk A and run Utilitys.prg to reset the game.
Use Phant.prg to run the actual game.
From Steem's Options -> Start Up choose Restore Previous Save. If you have saved using Save States the game will now start instantly the next time you start Steem.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I must be a fucking idiot as nothing works. I even followed these two dudes instructions as well.



I booted up the latest version of Hatari and Saint (yuck that thing ran like a demo and wouldn't stop). Fuck me. I don't get it. I guess I need to step down to that dudes exact version or something as the newest isn't working for me. I should move this to that emulation thread on here. I begin to wonder how the hell I got ti to work at all on the older computer. I guess I'll boot it up and see if it still works. I'm moving on the Amiga emulation now then dos then atari800. I'll come back to this fuckery later and see if my brain stops bleeding from stupidity.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I'm not sure exactly what your problem is, but I found that an issue I had with Atari ST emulation was related to the specific disk dumps being bad. One version wouldn't work and then one would. I've gotten a version of it to work on Hatari 2.2.1. Weirdly, it won't run in drive A, but drive B will run it no problem. If there's a different problem I'll try to help.

 

[newtmonkey]

Phantasie (Apple II)

Put several hours into this over the weekend, and I believe I'm nearing the end. I've explored most of the wilderness areas, completed dungeon 6, and have located the next dungeon. I've reached the point now where I have plenty of gold, but need lots and lots of experience to level up.

I thought it might get boring because of how linear it is, but the excellent dungeons really keep the game interesting. Having said that, it doesn't appear to be 100% linear, as the game doesn't really force you to explore the dungeons in any particular order, even if the overall order is pretty obvious. I also noticed that wilderness encounters mostly peak in difficult east of the central mountain range, so it's not like a JRPG or anything where you are constantly being gated by tough encounters.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Has Anyone noticed that some of the ST phantasie downloads are .stx and not .st. Now the emulators say they can run a myriad of versions but only those even register in some of the emulator windows. I'm not even getting the famous green background screen of the atariST in the Steem emulator. Maybe every last image I have is garbarge after enough failures for the day I think I just want to steer clear of the ST for a bit.

 

[Ladonna]

Two other d64 disks I tried. Both were cracked, I think. The first is definitely with the high stats and lvl 12-13 alts (probably played though, but who knows). The next one they have stats that you never roll and numbers above normal max on some. Eh... I don't want to cheat so the uncracked disk I first listed will have all characters deleted. Of all the things for them to crack they chose stats. Couldn't reset the game bah!

c64 Plays far different with the menus in town. Just to distribute you have to rest in the inn.

edit----
The purest version for cc64 seems to be the one from Gamebase c64. Yes, there are some players with scrolls and no gear but only the first section and section to the right are clear. The other two I have that I dubbed (boosted (perhaps by pools) and CRACKED have many maps cleared (but not all continent). Yes, it annoys me but what can I do? I'll have to check some other sources I guess.

Have you tried booting with the Dungeon disk side? I thought there was a start new game option there.

This is the manual, though it doesn't specifically state what version it is for. https://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Microsoft_DOS//Manual/formated/Phantasie.pdf It is on the last page.

 

[unseeingeye]

I found Steem very user friendly.
You need Tos102.img for running games.
Put the game ROMs in the Home Folder.
Start Steem and from the Disk Manager double click on the game you want to run, then click on the yellow arrow in the upper left corner to start emulating.
When disk has loaded explore floppy disk A and run Utilitys.prg to reset the game.
Use Phant.prg to run the actual game.
From Steem's Options -> Start Up choose Restore Previous Save. If you have saved using Save States the game will now start instantly the next time you start Steem.

I can confirm this worked for me as well and took only a few seconds to get going. Normally I use Hatari but I may just switch over to Steem because of how easily and quickly this was to set up.

I wanted to quickly check it on my work computer so I grabbed a copy of the TOS102 image, and sourced a copy of Phantasie I from TOSEC on the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/Atari_ST_TOSEC_2012_04_23

Under download options select "Show All" then under the third option Atari_ST_TOSEC_2012_04_23.zip click on "View Contents" and scroll down almost towards the bottom and you can download disk 1 and disk 2 of Phantasie (as well as copies of the second and third games, but I have yet to confirm them). Unzip the two disk images and put them in the folder you selected as the "Home" folder within Steem.

While running Steem in the Disk Manager put disk 1 in the "A" spot and disk 2 in the "B" spot, reset and run the emulator and as octavius said run Phant.prg.

Here is a screenshot I just took of it running:

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

OK, I don't know what the hell is wrong with AtariMania and their files but all the Phantasie files are .stx. List of Atari ST Games : page 1, (atarimania.com) I honestly don't know what the hell an stx file but the hard drive gemdos at least recognizes them but does nothing. So, I went to use the version of STEEM that first video showed. By the way, I hate his file structure and his suggestion for which machine in the STEEM menu to use is fucking bullshit. Use the STF machine for gaming since this is an older game. Hey, I thought newer was better, so meh. Also find some .ST disks. I went here: phantasie ROMs. Free Download - wowroms.com - page 1
The issue is the characters on there are like 13-15 already. So, the map is probably cleared as all hell. DAMNIT!

My next issue is:
1. How the hell do you take a screenshot in the emulator (the god damn manual reads like a monkey typed the fucking thing.
2. How do you make or create save states or quick loads in case the emulator freezes (Had that happen a few time).

OH, I did get the Steem.SSE.4.1.1.Win64.D3D version of the emulator to work finally but again, use the correct Model in the options menu: Model STF not the god damn Mega ST or STE or MEGA STE. Fuck those for now or maybe ever.

Its a tad slow compared to the appleII or the c64 on CCS64. There is the fast forward button. Kind would prefer a hotkey to FF the speed. But yeah, Screen capture and save/load.

OK, found the button to take a screenshot, derp. So that works. I must be overthinking shit. I think a hotkey would be better than jumping up to click that screenshot button. Perhaps there is a macro to set up.

Save/load. next.

And that is Load/sae snapshot files you can name. OK. It's a little clunky atm which me going ALT+TAB to get to the option to save/load.

 

[unseeingeye]

I haven't tested it yet (am brand new to Steem, like I mentioned above) but in the file drop down menu there is a "Save" and "Load" snapshot option.. I imagine this is the save states that allow you to resume precisely from the previous snapshot taken?

Also I don't know how to take screenshots within it either; I'm on my work computer and am only messing around so I did it the old fashioned way. So far I managed to create a party, get out into the world and entered a cave dungeon, battled some spiders and won. Game is awesome so far, I can't wait to get home and set this up on my own computer and properly play the series! I even got a Troll as a party member, I love it!

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Oh, I'll do a pic to show the snapshot thing. Its right there. Still, alt+tab gets on my nerves at time. Even dosbox when set up has a better option.

Here's my screenies thus far:

Screenshots & Load/save files

I also noticed when in windowed full screen mode that sometimes the screen goes black when alt+tab at times so Just reduce it to a smaller window and then go wndowed fullscreen. At least that happens to me so far.

The characters on this disk version are levels 13-15 so ugh! There goes the fog of war exploration fun (or is it just OCD autism). Also note that I'm messing around with two different STEEM versions. The latest Steem.SSE.4.1.1.Win64.D3D and the Steem.SSE.4.0.2.Win64.DD. Things are switched around a little in the emulator. I'm organizing far differently than that guy in the first video. Sure, I have Hatari and Saint on here and the idea of the TOS Disk drive and hard drive just in your main ST folder is you just navigate there rather than inside each individual emulator. EH, I can go either way. I shouldn't be using more than one anyway, just the one that I can game with easily.

Cheers and Thank you for the help. I let my excitement and frustration dull my logic. I muddled through but now, like the c64, it is trying to find the best disk version tha doesn't have all of the overland mapped out. I guess I can take the first two areas (as that just might be how it was intended. Without vintage set never opened and platforms to try them on this isn't happening. It would be cool that an enthusiast with some programming skill could blacken out all the land for a first trip. Oh well. It runs so next up is creating new characters (probably same names).

Yeah, ALL explored. But Now I remember the end of the far extreme borders.

Minny died.. I guess cowmen can't swim.

 

[unseeingeye]

Sorry if this is stupid and I'm misunderstanding, but for this test on your previous post are you using the disk images mentioned in your earlier post, or the ones I suggested from TOSEC?

Both this game and the emulator are new to me, as far as experience with them other than in name only goes, so this overworld being pre-explored and characters already levelled is something I'm only just discovering is a possibility, so I wouldn't know whether or not the disc images I linked to are valid for your (and ostensibly my, as I too would like a "fresh" game experience, if that is possible) needs. When I exited the Pelnor town, I do believe I saw that the overworld map was "filled" in, but now I don't recall if it was entirely so or just a region around where the icon signaling the party position currently is. I didn't even think to try loading up the premade characters.. I suppose that itself is its own answer, though? I rolled my own 6 characters, saved the game (and evidently lost all of my starting gold taken from the bank in the process, lol) and left the town, entered a dungeon cave and fought a 3 tiered group of monsters, was victorious and had to close out and return to work, so my knowledge is entirely superficial and cursory.\

EDIT - I also noticed that the window went black when I alt+tabbed, so its not just for you. I had to completely close the emulator and relaunch it because I didn't have time to figure out what exactly happened.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I just minimized it back to regular size. Sometimes i would also have to hit the yellow arrow. That TOSEC is too large for me to DL so I used the images from wowRoms. I don't know what everyone else used but I'd love to DL and test them. I can understand the frustration with a new emulator. STEEM is new to me as well but seems better than Hatari. I want to get Hatari up and running on my new conputer to compare. The one on lenny is old.

 

[octavius]

As I've mentioned a few times, the two first outdoors areas are always already explored, and you need to run ULITITYS.PRG from disk 1 to create a new game with a blank character roster and basic items in the Armory.

For screenshots I use IrfanView. I use that for nearly all programs I use. Some require Fraps, while others have superior inbuilt screen capping. For Steem it's more convenient to use IrfanView unless there's a hot key (I haven't really checked if there is).

I have had no problems Alt-Tabbing. I'm on a Win 7 and play in windowed mode.

 

[Ladonna]

and you need to run ULITITYS.PRG from disk 1 to create a new game with a blank character roster and basic items in the Armory.

Thanks octavius,

As I said before guys, you just need to reset the game. I put up the way to do it for the 8 bits earlier.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'll have to make sure run the utility for each version (except the appleII V1.11) to reset.

Do you all prefer hard drive or disk access? The only real slowtime I've seen so far for c64 and ST is just loading areas and dungeons along with initial load. I should see what the emulated hard disk is like but I'm happy thus far with just getting things working. I will be sure to put clean versions into a zip file and host them somewhere as this scavenger hunt bullox can be annoying. Its fun the first time but I'd hate to repeat this crap. So big middle finger to the sites taking shit down. Files will be archived.