Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Null Null]

Heh heh....thanks.

I ironmanned Pool in 6 hours (you can only do this if you are very familiar with the game) with Metallica playing a little while ago, but can't speak to the metal subgenres or which one would do best with which game. I do think Iron Maiden would go pretty well with Death Knights of Krynn, what with all the undead.

 

[Inspectah]

Blind Guardian is the ultimate RPG soundtrack

 

[Themadcow]

Sitting on a plane for 20~ hours just became a much more interesting situation.

Out of interest, what did you use to get it running on that tablet? I'm not sure whether to get it running on my (superior) Android tablet or take the easy option with my cheapo Windows tab.

 

[Agesilaus]

Out of interest, what did you use to get it running on that tablet? I'm not sure whether to get it running on my (superior) Android tablet or take the easy option with my cheapo Windows tab.

AnDOSbox and hacker's keyboard on a Nexus 10. I just downloaded the game and manuals from gog, I unzipped them and installed them on my pc, and then copied all the files over the usb to the tablet.

The hacker's keyboard is important because I don't have one of those Bluetooth/usb keyboards for my tablet. With this app, I can shrink the keyboard so it only takes a little of the screen, and I have the arrow pad. AnDOSbox also lets you resize the screen so you can match it up with the keyboard. You also get options to configure the touch screen so it's very responsive.

I am getting on the plane today and am considering getting a keyboard at the airport so I can play full screen. I would recommend you put it on the tablet that has a physical keyboard for you to use.

 

[Themadcow]

Cheers. I'll try it first on the windows tab and if that sucks I'll follow your setup for android.

 

[doggfookker]

Kicked the slums' ass. Not even those nubtrolls could fuck with my shit. Righteous.

That troll battle still took a couple tries, and their shitty respawn ability sucked, but it was a decent battle. Better than another hallway full of orcs and kobolds and shit packed together like swine. Sliced through those fuckboys like butter.

Ventured further west and ran into some lizardfuckers. Killed a few of them but got a little more thrashed up than I'd like, so me and the boys set our sights on the Keep instead--will murder some liard pups later and salt their fields and all that jazz. Ran into those skeletors in the Keep. Friar Rosing used his turning ability to great effect. Shit was solid like a drive by.

Moonwillow the elf maiden got her bloodlust on too, sniping those zombie snitches like some shit straight out of a Clint Eastwood jingoism patriot freedom film.

Overall I'm rating Pool of Radiance as a solid 7 out of 10 in the old school CRPG scale. The game is almost as old as I am, so I missed out on the true grog D&D 1st edition p-n-p games of the '80s, so this is the closest thing I've got. It's still pretty archaic, but it's way more accessible and clever than Ultima V which was shit. So far it's the only '80s RPG I could see myself playing to completion--usually I can't stomach shit pre 1990.

 

[octavius]

I have an extremely limited area of expertise. I like to share it where possible.

Quite a lot of activity in the subforum at GOG now, with people asking advice.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

usually I can't stomach shit pre 1990.

Fucking millennials. Get off my lawn.

You had to play these games at the time to realize what a major leap forward they were. Although, ironically, PoR is best remembered as a tactical RPG, it was actually a step back from SSI's Wizard's Crown on that level. However, as a simulation of the overall P'n'P campaign experience it was unmatched. Dozens of separate dungeons, free roaming overland map exploration, detailed tactical combat, story-line recruitable NPCs, (very minimal) C&C, a real(ish) AD&D implementation, and all running on systems like the C64. What's actually remarkable, and fucking deeply depressing, to me is that so many post 2010 'RPGs' have less features than Gold Box games that ran on a crap with less processing power than a contemporary toaster.

 

[Jaesun]

What's actually remarkable, and fucking deeply depressing, to me is that so many post 2010 'RPGs' have less features than Gold Box games that ran on a crap with less processing power than a contemporary toaster.

CANT. BROFIST. ENOUGH.

 

[doggfookker]

Fucking millennials. Get off my lawn.

Interfaces are too obtuse, design was lazy and the designers were getting too big for their britches, implementing grand ideas in half-assed ways, putting the cart before the horse or a dozen or so other outdated proverbs. Games started to open up around 1990; before then they were turds. Awkward chicken scratches on a cave wall.

Got to respect the attempt, though, no doubt. Without unplayable shitfests like the first four Ultimas we wouldn't have our precious Dragon Ages of today or whatever the fuck.

Pool of Radiance is solid shit tho, that was my point. The interface is kind of shit but it works. I don't even mind having to memorize spells manually. At least at low levels I ain't got too many to worry about. The only thing that would make it better for me would be more text to read and more social interactions. The combats are pretty fun and the general world design is clever in a practical short of way. It makes me look forward to the later games.

 

[Tigranes]

Alright. I was not born for some of these, and in my native country in my youth nobody knew of them. Help me get into the Gold Boxes.

I've played and enjoyed newer, loosely connected things like M&MX and KOTC. I got some way into M&M6 and Wizardry 8. AD&D is great. I don't mind combat, but hundreds of battles one after another can get a little draining. I don't mind old graphics and the like, but sometimes the unique interfaces these older games have can really be a drag - that can be really subjective, though (E.g. UU and ROA were fine, BaK was a bit annoying, Darklands trying to real time combat it pissed the crap out of me), and I'll persevere if I know the game is good.

Which GOG set should I get, and what should I start with?

 

[Keldryn]

Interfaces are too obtuse, design was lazy and the designers were getting too big for their britches, implementing grand ideas in half-assed ways, putting the cart before the horse or a dozen or so other outdated proverbs. Games started to open up around 1990; before then they were turds. Awkward chicken scratches on a cave wall.

Many of these interfaces were not too obtuse at the time of their release. Ultima I through V had a somewhat obtuse interface, with each letter key having a command assigned to it and having to use the reference card until you memorized it.

Pool of Radiance did not have an obtuse interface. Neither did The Bard's Tale or Wasteland.

Design was no lazier than what came later. You had games like The Bard's Tale taking Wizardry and streamlining it, but you also had games like Wasteland and Ultima IV which took CRPG design in new directions.

Without these "half-assed" attempts at implementing a grand design, there would have been no progression of game design (the same is true regarding early CG work that people complain was used instead of models).

There are plenty of games from before 1990 that were much more than crude chicken scratches. Perspective needed.

 

[doggfookker]

Alright. I was not born for some of these, and in my native country in my youth nobody knew of them. Help me get into the Gold Boxes.

I've played and enjoyed newer, loosely connected things like M&MX and KOTC. I got some way into M&M6 and Wizardry 8. AD&D is great. I don't mind combat, but hundreds of battles one after another can get a little draining. I don't mind old graphics and the like, but sometimes the unique interfaces these older games have can really be a drag - that can be really subjective, though (E.g. UU and ROA were fine, BaK was a bit annoying, Darklands trying to real time combat it pissed the crap out of me), and I'll persevere if I know the game is good.

Which GOG set should I get, and what should I start with?

The second set is the one with all of the Gold Box games. It also has some bullshit called Hillsfar, but I don't think anyone fucks with that--it's like some sort of D&D themes lousy arcade shit. The other two sets are totally different games.

I think everyone recommends starting with Pool of Radiance, which is probably your best bet. I've been playing it for a few days now, and after getting past the interface--and having to look shit up on a PDF book for all the journal entries--it has been a pretty solid game. Interface is entirely keyboard, but by and large it's about the same as the Might & Magic Xeen games, which was my ideal keyboard interface, and, though PoR's is inelegant at times, it's not too bad.

Game holds up real well--a lot better than the '80s Ultima and Wizardry games, which I was complaining about earlier in the thread (I've got a chip on my shoulder about those games in particular--they are shit). The combat is fairly simple but has some fun wrinkles in terms of positioning and shit. Also D&D spells are there, which is good. There's a decent number of fights, and it's a big focus of the game, but so far it hasn't felt grindy. Maybe a little bullshit at times, but that's only been for a handful of battles.

I definitely recommend using the gold box companion http://personal.inet.fi/koti/jhirvonen/gbc/ if only for being able to see all your dudes' hit points at all times, which is real helpful for combat.

Also the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures--which is included in the same bundle as PoR and is essentially a PoR toolset--actually seems really cool, and it looks like there's a good number of user-made adventures, including adaptations of a lot of old AD&D modules. I'm really excited to try some of those out.

Buy the shit and play it. It's got elves and shit. I don't think you can fuck them tho.

 

[Agesilaus]

Android gold box works great. I played gateway to the savage frontier on my flight, and made it through a few cities. I'm busy culling the owlbear population so that I can save the captured wizard.

Got to respect the attempt, though, no doubt. Without unplayable shitfests like the first four Ultimas we wouldn't have our precious Dragon Ages of today or whatever the fuck.

Hmmm, what? I played Ultima 3 when it came out and I thought it was terrific fun. I understand not being eager to pick it up today, but when these games came out the interface and graphics really didn't hurt the overall experience. (Edit: Actually, I played it for the first time about five years after its release; it was still awesome).

There is an 80s game that remains one of the most accessible and easily enjoyed titles ever, though. It's not a popular choice here, but whatever:

The Crescent Hawks Inception.

It plays very smoothly, the graphics are easy on the eyes, the writing is quick and vibrant, and it successfully implements some great plot twists and a bit of C&C. If you go into this game blind, like everyone did in the 80s, you will enjoy being caught off guard by the plot developments.

The only downside is the ending, and I think this game is probably why I hate all mazes and lever/button puzzles. I just pretend that Jason Youngblood is shot in the face and dies immediately upon entering the final maze.

 

[Inspectah]

Sorry if this is the wrong place, but is the spiritual hammer spell in pool of radiance useful?
Does the hammer count as +1 or is it just a normal hammer?

 

[octavius]

Sorry if this is the wrong place, but is the spiritual hammer spell in pool of radiance useful?
Does the hammer count as +1 or is it just a normal hammer?

It counts as a magic hammer, not sure about the excact plus.
Personally I didn't find the spell useful; it was more useful in Baldur's Gate IMO.
But I haven't really tried it much, though.

 

[Inspectah]

Oh ok, thanks.
Yeah, doesn,t look like that useful, specially since I found a plus 2 mace pretty early in the game

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Spiritual Hammer was considered almost a waste of spell even in the tabletop version. It sometimes helped if fighting a creature that could only be injured by magical weapons, but your DM shouldn't be throwing one of those at you until more party members start gaining such weapons.

Spiritual Hammer
Debuted in the Player's Handbook as a cleric spell.

Level: 2 School: Invocation
Components: V, S, M (a warhammer, hurled at an enemy, with a plea to the gods -- the hammer disappears as the spell takes effect)
Range: 3" Casting Time: 5 segments
Duration: 1 round/level Saving Throw: Special
Target: One opponent
Creates a magical hammer that fights alongside the caster, attacking any foe the caster designates within range. The hammer strikes as a magical weapon (+1/3 caster levels) for the purposes of hitting creatures that can only be hit by such weapons (it does not gain any actual attack bonuses). It strikes as the cleric controlling it would strike, and it deals damage as a warhammer. The hammer gains flanking bonuses as the caster would, as well.

 

[Malignant Manor]

Spiritual hammer is awesome in Eye of the Beholder 3. It is a ranged weapon that returns automatically making it pretty much the best weapon (although I think you do find some returning hammers). I don't remember ever using them in the gold box series.

 

[octavius]

Even the venerable old Gold Box games are not safe from certain people. Apparantly the designers were "sexist" according to some really tiresome person on GOG sub-forum.

 

[Excidium II]

Even the venerable old Gold Box games are safe from certain people. Apparantly the designers were "sexist" according to some really tiresome person.

What for? Female stats?

Come on you can even make some gender defying characters with the portraits in PoR.

 

[octavius]

Yes, people can't have a female with 18(00) STR, and it's like the end of the world.

 

[Inspectah]

i can only imagine the shitstorm that would be if the game was released nowadays

 

[Excidium II]

Yes, people can't have a female with 18(00) STR, and it's like the end of the world.

But those women even with stat hindrances ultimately achieve the same goals as the men, doesn't that make them superior?

 

[Jaesun]

Let's keep the GD shit in GD thanks.