Review RPG Codex Retrospective Review: The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (1996)

[Deuce Traveler]

I don't mind criticisms to my reviews, and I rarely reply to them since they usually foster dialogue between different posters who would do that job for me, as I'm now seeing in the discourse between Sceptic, Clockwork Knight and MicroSelva. If I defend my work too much, I would come off as defensive, but please don't think that I do not carefully read the replies. You all make fine points about Daggerfall's worth today and technology it contributed to the genre, although people's opinions should differ in order to make conversation worthwhile. Criticism also can point out to me how I can phrase my thoughts in better ways in order to better communicate my thoughts, and again I appreciate it when its constructive and especially when its from the more monocled bros here. I now have two Codexers (the first being Crooked Bee) asking me to play Battlespire next, so it is likely that I will hold off my Morrowind review and see if I can run Battlespire with DOSBox in order to review that little known TES game next.

 

[Sceptic]

I now have two Codexers (the first being Crooked Bee) asking me to play Battlespire next, so it is likely that I will hold off my Morrowind review and see if I can run Battlespire with DOSBox in order to review that little known TES game next.

Bee and I (and Luzur if I recall) are pretty big fans of Battlespire, mainly for the same reasons too. It should be easy to run in DOSBox but if you have any problems tag me and I'll do what I can to help.

 

[abnaxus]

I tried to play Battlespire, but got less than 5 fps. With a modern monster rig it might run alright.

 

[mindx2]

I now have two Codexers (the first being Crooked Bee) asking me to play Battlespire next, so it is likely that I will hold off my Morrowind review and see if I can run Battlespire with DOSBox in order to review that little known TES game next.

Bee and I (and Luzur if I recall) are pretty big fans of Battlespire, mainly for the same reasons too. It should be easy to run in DOSBox but if you have any problems tag me and I'll do what I can to help.

I recently tried to get it running on DosBox but it kept crashing as soon as I took more than a few steps. That one is a bear to get running.

 

[bozia2012]

My first true powergaming experience - always running and jumping outside, always crouching inside and pickpocketing enemies between swings:

 

[Luzur]

I now have two Codexers (the first being Crooked Bee) asking me to play Battlespire next, so it is likely that I will hold off my Morrowind review and see if I can run Battlespire with DOSBox in order to review that little known TES game next.

Bee and I (and Luzur if I recall) are pretty big fans of Battlespire, mainly for the same reasons too. It should be easy to run in DOSBox but if you have any problems tag me and I'll do what I can to help.

It is a good game, but it is kind ahell to get running great, i am prob one of the few lucky ones to be able to do that thanks to some DOSbox settings juggling.

 

[Raapys]

If only Battlespire had been a Daggerfall expansion as first intended.

 

[RK47]

Your mom is so fat they called her groundbreaking for her time

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

its true

 

[Zeriel]

This is the worst Daggerfall review I've seen that isn't a hatchet job. I mean, it doesn't come at it from the "negative" perspective, but it does a fucking godawful job of praising it, and misses out on the elements that make it really special. Probably would have been better if it was just a hatchet job, to be honest.

 

[Raapys]

I think he missed out a bit on just how powerful enchanting is.

A gamey thing to do is to put all the "bad reputation with X" on items to get lots of room for enchantments(some base items are also much better than others), thus lessening the need for a good soul. However, the really overpowered stuff comes from using the skill increase enchantment for spells schools. As your spell school skill increases, the cost to cast a spell from that school goes down and the chance to cast the spell goes up. This is doubly true once the skill surpasses 100+; you can get insta-death spells down to 5-10 mana per cast easy, or ridiculous AoE spells at 10 mana. Or practically-infinite duration spell shields that render you next to immortal for several minutes at a tiny mana cost.

 

[mastroego]

Sceptic makes me want to try the game again after 20 years.
I was quickly worn out by the dungeons back then, and I have nightmares to this day thinking about getting lost in ENDLESS passages to find some letter or shit.

Still...
People, give me the definitive advice: should I try it again or not? How can I avoid dungeon fatigue?

 

[Zeriel]

Sceptic makes me want to try the game again after 20 years.
I was quickly worn out by the dungeons back then, and I have nightmares to this day thinking about getting lost in ENDLESS passages to find some letter or shit.

Still...
People, give me the definitive advice: should I try it again or not? How can I avoid dungeon fatigue?

I forget how its enabled or if it's just by default, but there's a keystroke that will warp you between the quest locations in a dungeon. Yeah, it's "cheating", but considering some dungeons are unsolvable it's something you just have to get used to. You should still try to enjoy some of Daggerfall's labrinthine dungeons (especially the more decent, main quest related ones), but you have the option of skipping the 10 hour dungeon trek to find a level 2 bear for your fighter's guild quest if that's what's stopping you from enjoying the game.

 

[DavidBVal]

I believe the review is fair and accurate for the most part, if what it tries is objectively to state how good is the game, for someone considering playing now.

But it misses the "milestone" factor, the perspective. How back then, Dagerfall and Arena made many of us shake our head in disbelief when we saw the size of the world map. The UI is crap and poorly designed? sure, as was usual back then. Things become repetitive? Of course, by "Skyrim" standards, it does. but back then, I don't think we had seen any game with a scope half as ambitious, regarding extension&variety. Arena was larger, but THAT was repetitive. And after it, Morrowind is much smaller, and completely "handmade", designed, not generated by the engine.

And yeah, dungeons were the big problem with the game... I don't know what the review means by "can take a couple hours". Maybe I was softer back then, but I remember being lost FOREVER in a dungeon and eventually giving up to start all over.

 

[DavidBVal]

My first true powergaming experience - always running and jumping outside, always crouching inside and pickpocketing enemies between swings:

Hahaha yeah, that was awesome. And what about running & jumping through the city wall, while picking all the locks on it? They tried to make an innovative leveling system... we just wanted to level up! :D