Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor in 2018

[KeighnMcDeath]

It’s very much goldbox like in combat. Random generation each new game. Lots of little quests randomly generated also. I love the maps personally. They are easily converted to tabletop so, just record everything by hand if you wanted some quick adventure pnp ideas (not like there sent other ways).

There’s even magical pools in some dungeons that remind me so much of phantasie. I play it off an on when I can but usually I’m cataloging stuff I’ve acquired.

Knights of the chalice is new to me and I’m liking that WOTES movement. I gotta check that out as I played that game to death on the genesis though I never broke the secret menu debug after the first debug menu. Almost did in emulation but it’s tricky as hell. So I’ll chreck out KOC and it ms possible sequel.

 

[Martyr]

It’s very much goldbox like in combat. Random generation each new game. Lots of little quests randomly generated also. I love the maps personally. They are easily converted to tabletop so, just record everything by hand if you wanted some quick adventure pnp ideas (not like there sent other ways).

There’s even magical pools in some dungeons that remind me so much of phantasie.

sounds partially good (the comparisons to Gold Box and Phantasie) and partially off-putting (random generation).

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

ok Let’s see...


Couldn’t find a vid so stills

FRUA community forums

 

[Martyr]

KeighnMcDeath Knights of the Chalice is great, I think you'd certainly enjoy it.
that OSCG is really cheap, so I think I'll just buy it always nice to hear of some smaller unknwon RPGs that are worth playing.

 

[iqzulk]

This is pretty much "Odessa Catacombs: Isometric D&D Edition". It's a thoroughly peculiar and extremely divisive experience that is almost nowhere conventionally fun or entertaining. To this day I haven't ever seen a single other game quite like it (although Wizardry8 IS more or less its very distant relative in a way). Think of it like this. It's like a highbrow high concept high art game made in such a way, that it is almost impossible to discern it as one unless you just happen to possess a natural affinity, a nose, for such things, since it doesn't really use any flashy imagery or flowery verbiage to advertise its artistry to the player. Quite on the contrary, actually. In any case, I advise you to try to treat it strictly on its own terms, without any extraneous comparisons - and to give it an honest attempt to understand why it was made like this specifically, and whether there is anything it seems to try to convey by having been put together in this particular manner.
P.S. Odessa Catacombs are a deadly place. I retract my statement above. The question of whether the game is an aesthetization of thereof doesn't concern me for the time being - and it is definitely not EXCLUSIVELY so. If anything, there is Abstractionism Proper aspect to it as well - much more interesting to me personally.

 

[Martyr]

merry christmas to everyone who's reading this!

I've only played 1 and a half hours (gotta finish my 620 pages novel in 3 days, I'm on page 153...), but so far I like Ruins of Myth Drannor. very much.
the game runs perfectly stable, no bugs or crashes. neither my party nor the enemies are invisible. of course there's no widescreen resolution; in fact you can't even change the resolution at all.
I really love the atmosphere, the visuals and the soundtrack - it has got that certain "world in ruins" feeling, if you know what I mean.
character creation wasn't as elaborate as ToEE's, but char crea isn't everything (see KotC). combat is well done and could be compared to ToEE. my party consists of one warrior, one barbarian, one cleric and one "Hexenmeister", don't know what the english name is. maybe sorcerer or witcher (if you choose Hexenmeister in NWN you can select necromancer as sub-class). doesn't seem like a bad party, but I'll see how good they are when the fighting gets more difficult. and I have yet to decide which PC will be multi-classed and how.

two things that I have to get used to:
- the camera is locked onto the party and the surrounding area. no scrolling, the mouse cursor will constantly "walk" into an invisible wall. most isometric RPGs have free scrolling, but that's no big deal.
- insanely slow walking speed. but again, that's not an insurmountable problem, it's just different. combat speed is no problem at all !

now my gaming dementia sets in and I've run out of things to say. I'm sure there were more things I wanted to say.

oh, just remembered one question: can't you choose attributes/skills on level up?? I've had one level-up so far and could only select the PC's class.

few screenshots of the starting area:

Spoiler

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Are you running it from disc, iso, something else? In what OS? Win10? I’ll assume all patched up. Game kind of screams for an EE done imho.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Game kind of screams for an EE done imho.

That's right !
So they could also add all party members romance options with stray dogs and shit.

 

[Martyr]

Are you running it from disc, iso, something else? In what OS? Win10? I’ll assume all patched up. Game kind of screams for an EE done imho.

disc 2 has to be inserted to run the game ... thankfully the Rhem Quadrology runs without the DVD.
Win10. I didn't install any patches, so either the DVD is pre-patched or there is actually no need for any patches.
an EE (not done by Beamdog) would be nice for those who have trouble running the game; and of course to have widescreen resolutions. and an option for your characters to run and not only walk like grandpas and grandmas.

That's right !
So they could also add all party members romance options with stray dogs and shit.

I can only imagine the beginning of the game; a black dwarf fighter falls in love with the two orcs and instead of killing them he has a threesome before moving on to battle the forces of evil.

 

[Martyr]

oh btw. KeighnMcDeath how the hell does one even start the Old School Computer Game?
I've downloaded and unzipped it, but then there's this with lots and lots of subfolders:

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

- insanely slow walking speed.

You can run.

can't you choose attributes/skills on level up??

No, you can't. Use a savegame editor if you want to pick them yourself.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

So is this game any good? Does it have in depth RPG elements, anything interesting to note? It can't be *that* bad, right?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

There should be a jar file in there. The oldest version was OSCG.jar but I’m pretty sure the current jar file spells out old_school_computer_game.jar

I reinstalled just now but it ate my old save. Damnit! I’ll dl again and do a fresh install. Funny the dL only had a jar file in it so I can’t recall where my folders of data came from (I guess it installs fast). I didn’t have a com folder. The game is java ran I know that.

Hope my ccscleaner settings didn’t erase it. I know I had a bitch of a time at first.

 

[Martyr]

- insanely slow walking speed.

You can run.

can't you choose attributes/skills on level up??

No, you can't. Use a savegame editor if you want to pick them yourself.

how can you run?? double-clicking does nothing.
oh okay, thanks for the information!

So is this game any good? Does it have in depth RPG elements, anything interesting to note? It can't be *that* bad, right?

it is a proper RPG; really reminds me a lot of ToEE. it has tactical turn-based combat, full party creation and is an isometric dungeon crawler with gigantic dungeons, really well designed. great atmosphere. I really love this game so far.

There should be a jar file in there. The oldest version was OSCG.jar but I’m pretty sure the current jar file spells out old_school_computer_game.jar

I reinstalled just now but it ate my old save. Damnit! I’ll dl again and do a fresh install. Funny the dL only had a jar file in it so I can’t recall where my folders of data came from (I guess it installs fast). I didn’t have a com folder. The game is java ran I know that.

Hope my ccscleaner settings didn’t erase it. I know I had a bitch of a time at first.

I've got zero experience with java based games; searched every sub-folder and couldn't find anything that resembles a start-up application or exe or something like that.

 

[Hellion]

I remember reading a great guide/walkthrough for RoMD back in the day. Glad to see it's still up on the internets.

Spoiler

I) INTRODUCTION:
In this game you are the guiding force behind a band of adventurers who quest
to defeat Kya Mordrayn, an evil Sorceress with a really big hand, who has
nurtured a sinister Pool of Radiance beneath a castle in the ruins of the
ancient city Myth Drannor. It would be nice if, in real life, we had treasures
with special abilities like the ones found in Ruins of Myth Drannor. To play
this game I would need my ring of excitement (+10 protection against boredom);
and my shield of variation (+15 protection from repetitive stress disorder);
and my wand of no regret (so I could forget about the money I spent on this
game).

There are a few things to remember while you play this game:
1) Even slugs will have higher initiative rolls than you; prepare to stand
around for hours being beaten to death by no-legged Zombies while snails crawl
all over face and your adventurer's old age pension checks expire because they
can't get out of battle and go to the bank to cash them.

2) You were sent on this quest by your dwarven patron Thorbeard Barrelsmasher,
infamous hater of poorly made wooden handicrafts. His only contractual
stipulation is that you spend 3/4 of your waking hours hunting down and
destroying anything made of wood that does not meet his exacting standards.

3) Most battles in RoMD are two people standing close to each other swinging
their weapons wildly for hours on end until one accidentally manages to hit the
other.

If I tried to write a play log recording the flow of a typical battle in Ruins
of Myth Drannor it would look like this:
Party Member 1 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 2 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 3 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 4 attacks Orc- Miss!
Orc attacks Party Member 1- Hit! -10HP!
Party Member 1 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 2 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 3 heals Party Member 1, +10HP!
Party Member 4 attacks Orc- Miss!
Orc attacks Party Member 1- Hit! -10HP
Repeat this for about half an hour then try something new:
Party Member 1 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 2 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 3 attacks Orc- Miss!
Party Member 4 casts Magic Missile at Orc- Immune!
User Exits to Windows...

4) In the days before the fall of Myth Drannor the home armies were diverted
from battle and given masonry tools to seal up half the doors in city. The plan
was to annoy the invaders by having them walk endlessly around the city looking
for a usable door. It seems that the one indispensable quest item your
adventurers forgot to bring with them was a battering ram.

5) Your adventurers can never do anything without a mob of supporters watching
them, they can't even go to the bathroom without a crowd cheering them on. If
ever a single party member gets more than five feet away from the party that
member will become paralyzed with indecision, unable to open doors or chests,
unable to examine objects or even walk any further without the return of the
comforting presence of their codependent brethren. This means they will always
be blocking a path, blocking a door, blocking a chest, getting stuck around
corners, getting stuck behind pillars, getting stuck amidst one another,
getting stuck during battle and finally they will end up blowing each other to
bits with magic spells just to get a little breathing space.

6) Your adventurers are perhaps the greatest mass murderers in history, nothing
will be left alive in Myth Drannor once they are finished with it. So terrified
are the people of New Phlan that they won’t even allow your characters to come
home at the end of the game; instead they leave them to wander Myth Drannor in
perpetuity.

I am just kidding, this is all in good fun. I really did like the game,
although there were times I wanted to throw the computer out the window. The
story is very engaging, and full of diverse and interesting characters. I
imagine it is a lot like mining for gold, you must dig through the dirt for
what seems like an eternity, but when you find what you are looking for, you
really enjoy the payoff.

My boxed version must still be around here somewhere.

 

[Martyr]

just "found out" how to run, lol.
shift. haven't even thought of checking the keyboard options.
so that's a "con" less, Ruins of Myth Drannor just got even better !

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

So how does one play this game? Is it for sale somewhere or abandonware at this point?

 

[Martyr]

So how does one play this game? Is it for sale somewhere or abandonware at this point?

afaik it's available on myabandonware com. I've got my copy as a christmas gift, some boxes are fairly cheap on ebay.

just saw that there's even an in-game tutorial. certainly don't need it, but I'm gonna play through it just for fun.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

so that's a "con" less, Ruins of Myth Drannor just got even better !

Monsters will get the jump on you (and a free round at combat start) more often when you run though.

 

[Darth Canoli]

So how does one play this game? Is it for sale somewhere or abandonware at this point?

Do yourself a favor and play every Turn-based cRPG ever created before this one.
The first hour and a half is alright, then you enter the dungeon and two hours later, you'd understand ...

 

[Martyr]

so that's a "con" less, Ruins of Myth Drannor just got even better !

Monsters will get the jump on you (and a free round at combat start) more often when you run though.

that sounds pretty balanced.

So how does one play this game? Is it for sale somewhere or abandonware at this point?

Do yourself a favor and play every Turn-based cRPG ever created before this one.
The first hour and a half is alright, then you enter the dungeon and two hours later, you'd understand ...

that sounds pretty pessimistic.

 

[Martyr]

KeighnMcDeath I downloaded the newest version of java, downloaded OSCG again and didn't unzip it this time. instead I double clicked on the unzipped file and then selected java. OSCG is running, checking it out now!

Spoiler

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Cool. I was just going to suggest that. I was at first wondering about the folder then I just realized you can open the jar file and explore but, as you discovered, double clicking works. I believe you can open it to add content if one knows how. I’m not a programmer so I don’t fiddle much.

Glad you got it working.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

I downloaded it from myabandonware.com and will give it a spin sometime. The full party creation and ToEE-style combat piques my interest a bit.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Don't hold your breath over ToEE style combat. It's D&D and it's turn based alright, but no 5 foot step, no attacks of opportunity when walking close to an enemy, no readied actions, clerics play like sorcerers and don't need to memorize spells, insane Diablo-like weapons and items and probably other things I forget.

Think of it as some bizarro D&D.