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Phantasie series

KeighnMcDeath

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This type of organizing can end up becoming full time work. I've seen fantastic custom libraries. I think I'd slowly customize as I played the games unless I really got in a roll (similar to how when I start organizing albums which my last bought used album from amazon turned out it was a damn pirated crap copy which horrible static). The first 7 tracks were ok but damn the last 4. I managed to get some mp3s online. The other album is stuck in Russia go figure). Still, i like to fill out the genre, date, discs, etc.
 

Rincewind

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This type of organizing can end up becoming full time work. I've seen fantastic custom libraries. I think I'd slowly customize as I played the games unless I really got in a roll

Yeah, it's easy to fall into the organising trap while not playing any games. For myself, I just downloaded all these giant libraries for safekeeping, then when I decide to play one, I add just that to my emulator setup and that's it. What's the point in having 5000+ games in your library when in the end you'll gonna play like 50 max, and even that over many many years.
 

unseeingeye

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I might have to get that Premium Edition, not sure yet. But yeah, Launchbox is incredible for old game libraries and such. I didn't add FS-UAE but that app is also pretty nice itself, similar to Launchbox but for the Amiga. I still have to grab the C64 libraries but I've been lazy and gaming. :P
I will eventually pay for the premium edition, not necessarily for the features as it already is amazing at the free level, but to support what to me is an incredible project and labor of love.

Also Fluent, if you do go about integrating FS-UAE into LaunchBox (and I highly recommend you do; it is a bit of extra work but it is so, so worth it), you will want to save yourself a huge amount of work and headaches by going to this link: FS-UAE Exporter to create a folder structure for import into Launchbox - Third-Party Applications and Plugins (Released) - LaunchBox Community Forums (launchbox-app.com), signing up as a member to the LaunchBox forums (otherwise you cannot access the file to download). Then you simply go into LaunchBox, and under "tools" select "import" and then "ROMs"; it will have a step-by-step walkthrough process where you direct it to your folder where all of your Amiga .lha files are stored, then select FS-UAE as your emulator, and let it import everything. You can grant it access to the metadata and it will do the automatic process of downloading the appropriate boxart, screenshots, database ID number, &c for each game it recognizes.

What I do is when I download the .lha files for the WHDLoad games, now this is tedious but I keep them all in one folder and after downloading them all, I make an individual folder with the name of each game exactly as it appears on the database (or a very close approximation at least), and put the file for each game within its own named folder. This way, when you are integrating your library into LaunchBox, you simply select the option during the integration process "Use folder name for games instead of file name", and it will have a much greater success rate at automatically recognizing and assigning each game.

Anyway when this is all done, you run that small file from the link I sent you; in the first option you point it to the directory of your .lha files, and in the second one you designate an empty output folder (it doesn't matter where you create such a folder), and it will within a half second or so spit out folders for each game with the FS-UAE custom configuration number within it. Then you repeat the above process - you go in LaunchBox to "tools", then "import" and "ROMs", but this time select that folder. What happens is that it creates a subdirectory for every game assigning it this number, so that when you launch the game from within LaunchBox it will instead of simply loading the .lha file with the base configuration of FS-UAE, it instead will launch it as its own custom configuration as determined by FS-UAE database (the one which pre-configures each game it recognizes that you have the files for). Without doing this, the majority of games launched directly from within LaunchBox will likely not work, or will malfunction in some capacity.

It is a very simple process that only took me a matter of minutes, so it is nowhere near as complicated as it may sound, I just am trying to be thorough in my directions. The instructions for running the executable that does the assigning for you are also included on that page I linked, with photos and everything.
 

unseeingeye

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Yeah, it's easy to fall into the organising trap while not playing any games. For myself, I just downloaded all these giant libraries for safekeeping, then when I decide to play one, I add just that to my emulator setup and that's it. What's the point in having 5000+ games in your library when in the end you'll gonna play like 50 max, and even that over many many years.
You're right, and it has already happened to me a number of times where I've caught myself and designated a goal that can be reached within a day or two, then cut myself off. The same thing happens when I do a fresh install of Morrowind and New Vegas and begin modding, I end up spending a week or more perfecting a loadout with 200 or more mods and although I always end up playing them, it could easily turn into a never-ending perfecting process if I didn't just snap out of it and launch the game with my fingers crossed.

For LaunchBox I'm pretty much done for now, I've got the eXoDOS library games I wanted, the Amiga games and my GOG collection. I'm not bothering with my Steam collection because it is minor in comparison anyway, and eventually I will get around to Apple II but that is all. I'd LOVE to play some of the MAC games but every time I go to set it all up, the instructions end up being a labyrinthine maze of stuff that I just don't ever feel like doing, but eventually I'll get around to it. Being able to play them in-browser through Internet Archive will have to suffice for now.
 

Fluent

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For Mac I went with the real thing, a vintage Mac from 2002 that still runs OS 9 (dual boots, also can run OS X and several other OS's I have on drives) so it can emulate and also play the older games natively. Stacked with it RPGs for a rainy day. :) But yeah, for the others it's emulation all the way. I'm not gonna get too picky with the organization, I'm going to actually play some of the games when I am done with the current batch I'm playing. Thanks again for all the info and help guys. :)
 

newtmonkey

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Phantasie
Put a lot of time into this over the last week or so. I've got three dungeons cleared, four wilderness maps explored, and have started getting some of the level 4 spells for my characters. I also reached the point where I can defeat the Black Knights, though doing so requires casting a lot of spells.

I really like this one. That's mostly because of the exploration and dungeoneering, though the combat is alright too. The buffing/debuffing spells really help a lot—casting a Protection spell and a Strength spell during a tough fight can really turn the odds in your favor. The latter spell is really quite necessary for your melee characters to do any damage at all against especially tough monsters.

I guess if there's anything I don't like about this game, it's the overall structure of town -> wilderness -> dungeon -> repeat. It certainly helps, though, that the dungeons are all so great so far.
 

Fluent

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Hey guys. Would it be too much to ask for someone to zip me up the Commodore 64 - D64 & T64 folders of games from the TOSEC collection and upload them somewhere for me to grab? I still can't seem to get them on that grandis.nu site (it's not letting me download anything now.) Would really appreciate it!

Could someone also do me another big favor? I just need the dosbox.conf and dosbox_ece.conf files for Redguard from the eXoDOS installed files. Somehow I was tinkering with the settings and now the 3dfx version doesn't recognize any setting sin the file and launches in a tiny box on the screen (regardless of what I have set for the output in the .conf file.) Getting a fresh version of the 2 .conf files would really help!
 
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Fluent

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Hey guys. Not sure if anyone saw the edit I made on my last post. If u guys can't zip up the C64 libraries can u instead zip up those 2 .conf files? They can be found in your installed eXoDOS folders. That way I can play the game again as default configured. Thanks! :)
 

Fluent

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Ah Rincewind you're a lifesaver there! Hah. Thanks again bud, I forgot all about that! :)

Now, any idea on the Redguard files I need? I assume if I do a clean install with brand new .conf files, it should return to playable status, since I *guess* I messed mine up. :P
 

Fluent

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Actually, I'll take the whole Redguard folder! It's in Drive:eXoDOS/eXO/eXoDOS/dos!/Redguard - that folder.
 

Rincewind

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Ah Rincewind you're a lifesaver there! Hah. Thanks again bud, I forgot all about that! :)

Now, any idea on the Redguard files I need? I assume if I do a clean install with brand new .conf files, it should return to playable status, since I *guess* I messed mine up. :P

Also, I posted the details about the 8bitfiles FTP for the Gamebase64 archive in my original post, you can use that too.
 

Fluent

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Ah, no worries Rince, appreciate the look regardless. I'll have to keep searching! :)

Edit - I think I can just install nGlide for it, and use the wiki instructions to run it that way rather than default eXoDOS, so i should be okay there.
 

newtmonkey

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octavius
Did you get much use out of the buffing/debuffing spells? I've found Protection, Strength, Quickness, and Weakness to be extremely useful, but have had little luck with Confusion (doesn't seem to work at all) or Teleport (seems just as unreliable as fleeing). I haven't tried stuff like Sleep, Fear, etc. as I assume they would only be useful against very weak enemies (and therefore useless)...
 

octavius

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All I remember now was that Quickness and Strength was very effective buffs, the latter vital to at all be able to hit some enemies.
Sleep should be useful in the beginning, at least.

When I finish my current Age of Wonders map (only mopping up, barring some unforeseen incident), I think I will replay the Phantasie games. I was planning on using the Apple version, but it looks just too slow and ugly, so I will play the very nice looking Atari ST versions instead.
 

Rincewind

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All I remember now was that Quickness and Strength was very effective buffs, the latter vital to at all be able to hit some enemies.
Sleep should be useful in the beginning, at least.

When I finish my current Age of Wonders map (only mopping up, barring some unforeseen incident), I think I will replay the Phantasie games. I was planning on using the Apple version, but it looks just too slow and ugly, so I will play the very nice looking Atari ST versions instead.

Have you tried the Amiga WHDLoad version, or the floppy version only? The WHDLoad versions are generally created from uncracked original disks, hence the maps should be unexplored.
 

octavius

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Unfortunately, there's no Amiga version of P2. Otherwise I don't think there's any practical difference between the ST and Amiga versions.
 

unseeingeye

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Unfortunately, there's no Amiga version of P2. Otherwise I don't think there's any practical difference between the ST and Amiga versions.
Yea, what is up with that? I recall preparing my Amiga collection of RPGs in WHDLoad format and grabbing disk images of the games unavailable otherwise, and noticing that there were only copies of Phantasie and Wrath of Nikademus available on my usual lha files source, so I went looking for other versions only to learn that the middle game never saw an Amiga release. It seemed to have evidently been released for just about every other computer of its time so I was disappointed to learn that there was no such game to be found.
 

KeighnMcDeath

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I swear there was a conversion of an st for amiga. It is probably faulty memory. Perhaps it doesn't matter too much as the more I read the more it looks like transfer of original party isn't really viable except for elves & dwarves.
 

KeighnMcDeath

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I wonder for PnP if you could cobble together the old SSI games into a huge campaign? This thought occurred when rereading the demon lord of Gemstone Warrior/Healer is Nicodemus compared to Phantasie Nikademus.

or... maybe not a demon lord:
The player has to recover the Gemstone, a relic of incredible power forged by the gods and focusing the natural magic of the world. This, they entrusted to Man alone and for a time, there was great prosperity and peace. But the Demons, led by Nicodemius, had managed to boil to the surface and take the Gemstone. Unable to destroy it, Nicodemius fragments it into five pieces and hide them in the Labyrinth, buried deep within the Netherworld. Going into the Netherworld, the protagonist must find and return with the Gemstone.
 

octavius

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Regarding the Atari ST version, you need to run the Utilities.prg from disk A to start a new game from scratch.
 
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Zed Duke of Banville

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I swear there was a conversion of an st for amiga. It is probably faulty memory. Perhaps it doesn't matter too much as the more I read the more it looks like transfer of original party isn't really viable except for elves & dwarves.
Hall of Light lists both Phantasie and Phantasie III being available for the Amiga but not the middle game, oddly enough. :M
 

Rincewind

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I swear there was a conversion of an st for amiga. It is probably faulty memory. Perhaps it doesn't matter too much as the more I read the more it looks like transfer of original party isn't really viable except for elves & dwarves.
Hall of Light lists both Phantasie and Phantasie III being available for the Amiga but not the middle game, oddly enough. :M

That's because the second part was never released on the Amiga, as indicated correctly on Mobygames.

Apparently, there was an attempted porting project with the goal of "Reverse engineering of the Phantasie II CRPG and rewriting it for Amiga CD32 consoles" that ultimately got abandoned. You can still have a look at the guy's defunct blog using the Wayback Machine.

Maybe that's what you remember seeing KeighnMcDeath .
 

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