Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Butter]

The Steam version includes GBC. If you're playing the physical versions you're too prestigious to be using GBC.

 

[octavius]

The Steam version includes GBC. If you're playing the physical versions you're too prestigious to be using GBC.

No, I need GBC to have Ranger and Paladin in PoR, and to avoid the transfer characters hassle (which also is buggy from PoR to CoAB).
I'm too prestigious to use Steam, though.

 

[Dorateen]

I wonder how having a Ranger in the party will affect the giants in the end castle. Hastened and enlarged, he will probably slice through everything.

 

[moleman]

...

Also, GBC assumes using the GOG version. What if you already have a different version (and are too cheap to buy the GOG version)?

Since all versions are running in dosbox, it should not really matter.
Just set your game folder in GBC and you should be (almost) good to go. I believe the "start game" button does not work with non-gog versions, so you have to start dosbox and the game manually.

 

[octavius]

Finnish and Hungarian nerds need to talk together!

Joonas, Rincewind

I crave those sexy shaders that Rincewind has been teasing us about.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Oh? Sexy shaders?

 

[Rincewind]

Finnish and Hungarian nerds need to talk together!

Joonas, Rincewind

I crave those sexy shaders that Rincewind has been teasing us about.

I'm aware of the issue and I've already created a ticket for it:
https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/3106

Joonas please let me know how can we help from our side to make your nice companion apps work with Staging. Please see the above GitHub ticket for the full context, but the TL;DR is the eXoDOS guys have figured out how to use GBC with DOSBox ECE using Tandy sound with the Gold Box games, but it doesn't work with Staging, unfortunately. The goal is to make GBC work with Staging using the same game config to take advantage of the auto CRT shaders Staging provides.

Happy to work with you through private email correspondence if you're averse to GitHub, just PM me.

 

[Supermedo]

I'm thinking of replaying the Gold Box games again, this time using the latest high tech available, in the form of the Gold Box Companion, enabling me to start with a Paladin and a Ranger.

But the tutorial advices that before you start GBC, you need to start the game normally, create the party, begin adventuring, and save the game.
So I assume the procedure is to use the save game editor to change a character's class to Ranger or Paladin?

Also, GBC assumes using the GOG version. What if you already have a different version (and are too cheap to buy the GOG version)?

Damn didn't know about Gold Box Companion, the only thing prevented from playing golden box games was the need to draw a map which for me is too cumbersome.

 

[octavius]

Damn didn't know about Gold Box Companion, the only thing prevented from playing golden box games was the need to draw a map which for me is too cumbersome.

You can use Area View for most locations.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I'm thinking of replaying the Gold Box games again, this time using the latest high tech available, in the form of the Gold Box Companion, enabling me to start with a Paladin and a Ranger.

But the tutorial advices that before you start GBC, you need to start the game normally, create the party, begin adventuring, and save the game.
So I assume the procedure is to use the save game editor to change a character's class to Ranger or Paladin?

Also, GBC assumes using the GOG version. What if you already have a different version (and are too cheap to buy the GOG version)?

Damn didn't know about Gold Box Companion, the only thing prevented from playing golden box games was the need to draw a map which for me is too cumbersome.

OMG! Drawing the maps was/is fun. I can’t recall if I liked POR more than Curse for mapping. I damn loved SOTSB as well.

 

[Rincewind]

Drawing maps is the best part, yeah.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

 

[Butter]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

Grid Cartographer, but I have to echo octavius that mapping is seldom necessary in the Gold Box games.

 

[mediocrepoet]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

Grid Cartographer, but I have to echo octavius that mapping is seldom necessary in the Gold Box games.

Oh I know that, I was just thinking about getting into some other blobbers again and was curious since the topic of mapping came up and I've been eyeing grid cartographer for awhiel.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Tough call as far as mapping programs. I still love to map using graph paper or grids/dots/etc provided by the game (in the case of early Wizardry and might & magic). I will say mapping overland 2D games can be painful in the case of ultima-likes, Questron, AZALTA!!! Lordy AZALTA! In fact I was trying to do Azalta with grid cartographer making tiles from the game (slow process). The cities and dungeon are easy (screenshot/paste/save). Blobbers/1st person perspective dungeon crawlers the paper comes out for me.

The two are probably the best:
Grid Cartographer
Gridmonger


Excel is also an option or maybe mappers one uses to create pnp adventures (there are quite a few)

 

[Rincewind]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

Well, I recommend my own tool, Gridmonger, of course (link in my signature)

 

[mediocrepoet]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

Well, I recommend my own tool, Gridmonger, of course (link in my signature)

Free? Well, why didn't you say so?

When you use your Trojan to hijack my computer, please be gentle.

 

[Rincewind]

Do you guys still hand draw using graph paper or the like, or do you use a program like Excel or Grid Cartographer?

Well, I recommend my own tool, Gridmonger, of course (link in my signature)

Free? Well, why didn't you say so?

When you use your Trojan to hijack my computer, please be gentle.

You're on Windows are you're using Steam and Chrome and similar apps anyway, right? So it wouldn't matter

 

[Rincewind]

Free? Well, why didn't you say so?

Ok, changed my signature and the "official thread's" title too. Never occurred to me not saying "FREE" would be a deterrent to click on the link I'm not selling anything!

 

[Joonas]

Finnish and Hungarian nerds need to talk together!

Joonas, Rincewind

I crave those sexy shaders that Rincewind has been teasing us about.

I'm aware of the issue and I've already created a ticket for it:
https://github.com/dosbox-staging/dosbox-staging/issues/3106

Joonas please let me know how can we help from our side to make your nice companion apps work with Staging. Please see the above GitHub ticket for the full context, but the TL;DR is the eXoDOS guys have figured out how to use GBC with DOSBox ECE using Tandy sound with the Gold Box games, but it doesn't work with Staging, unfortunately. The goal is to make GBC work with Staging using the same game config to take advantage of the auto CRT shaders Staging provides.

Happy to work with you through private email correspondence if you're averse to GitHub, just PM me.

The memory footprint of that DOSBox version is different, and GBC can't find identifiers in the expected places.

GBC doesn't just use offsets to identifiers to read / change stuff in the game's memory, but also uses pointers and linked lists. I tried some non-standard DOSBox at some point, and could identify the game's location in memory, but those pointers still were not at the expected places. Trying to fix those for all the 12 games is time consuming and so utterly boring that at the time I just gave up. And there are even different versions of the games floating around.

For the eXoDOS thing, I think they just used a compatible version of DOSBox, and I added some startup parameters to help.

I made a better "memory scanner" for the Steam version of GBC, and plan to update the free one as well at some point. Probably would be a good idea to try to include support for different versions of DOSBox at the same time, and make it somehow future-proof.

It's just a bit hard to find time and motivation for that, as most players are happily using the Steam and GOG versions of the games. If it was just one game, but going through all of them...

 

[mediocrepoet]

Free? Well, why didn't you say so?

Ok, changed my signature and the "official thread's" title too. Never occurred to me not saying "FREE" would be a deterrent to click on the link I'm not selling anything!

Well that part was somewhat joking. It's less about the free and more about it being (from the sounds of things) a more light weight option than GC which has a bunch of features that have no use for me, but with a reasonably hefty price tag to go with it. But it certainly doesn't hurt given GC goes for around 75% of a new AAA game.

 

[BruceVC]

I'm thinking of replaying the Gold Box games again, this time using the latest high tech available, in the form of the Gold Box Companion, enabling me to start with a Paladin and a Ranger.

But the tutorial advices that before you start GBC, you need to start the game normally, create the party, begin adventuring, and save the game.
So I assume the procedure is to use the save game editor to change a character's class to Ranger or Paladin?

Also, GBC assumes using the GOG version. What if you already have a different version (and are too cheap to buy the GOG version)?

Damn didn't know about Gold Box Companion, the only thing prevented from playing golden box games was the need to draw a map which for me is too cumbersome.

Im getting very close to playing the Gold Box series, I have always planned to and now that I really appreciate CPRG and older games its going to happen

 

[mediocrepoet]

I'm thinking of replaying the Gold Box games again, this time using the latest high tech available, in the form of the Gold Box Companion, enabling me to start with a Paladin and a Ranger.

But the tutorial advices that before you start GBC, you need to start the game normally, create the party, begin adventuring, and save the game.
So I assume the procedure is to use the save game editor to change a character's class to Ranger or Paladin?

Also, GBC assumes using the GOG version. What if you already have a different version (and are too cheap to buy the GOG version)?

Damn didn't know about Gold Box Companion, the only thing prevented from playing golden box games was the need to draw a map which for me is too cumbersome.

Im getting very close to playing the Gold Box series, I have always planned to and now that I really appreciate CPRG and older games its going to happen

Do it. Also GBC is excellent.

 

[BruceVC]

Tough call as far as mapping programs. I still love to map using graph paper or grids/dots/etc provided by the game (in the case of early Wizardry and might & magic). I will say mapping overland 2D games can be painful in the case of ultima-likes, Questron, AZALTA!!! Lordy AZALTA! In fact I was trying to do Azalta with grid cartographer making tiles from the game (slow process). The cities and dungeon are easy (screenshot/paste/save). Blobbers/1st person perspective dungeon crawlers the paper comes out for me.

The two are probably the best:
Grid Cartographer
Gridmonger


Excel is also an option or maybe mappers one uses to create pnp adventures (there are quite a few)

I can see the worth and sense of satisfaction with creating your own map, it must be an incredible sense of achievement to create an accurate and useful map of a level

Its just not practical for most people so automaps are preferred

 

[Rincewind]

GBC doesn't just use offsets to identifiers to read / change stuff in the game's memory, but also uses pointers and linked lists. I tried some non-standard DOSBox at some point, and could identify the game's location in memory, but those pointers still were not at the expected places. Trying to fix those for all the 12 games is time consuming and so utterly boring that at the time I just gave up. And there are even different versions of the games floating around.

Thanks for your reply, that explains it then. Yeah, I expect the memory layout between DOSBox variants/forks to be wildly different. We're heavily refactoring the whole codebase pretty much, so that will make such a tool that expects certain fixed *emulator* memory layouts a no-go with Staging (unless specifically written for it).

If you only relied on the emulated machine's memory, then your tool would be 100% transferable between various DOSBox forks (or it would even work with PCem/86box). But you must have had your reasons for doing things this particular way and I'm sure you have no appetite for rebuilding it from scratch