Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Johnny Pneumatic]

Hey, in the GOG pool of radiance, on character creation, is it normal if I can't move the keys down or up? I can only select dwarf, fighter, loyal good, etc.

There is a button that you can move. I don't remember exactly, but I think it is page up and page down.

It might be why I can't move it, I have a small Thinkpad keyboard. So this game can only be played on a full-fledged desktop keyboard?

Couldn't you use the FN keys? Or you could remap PGUP & PGDN to something like the "[" and "]" keys (or any keys that wouldn't conflict with regular gameplay) with DOSbox's built-in remapper. https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Mapper

 

[ProphetSword]

In my non-GOG version of Pool of Radiance, the UP key is HOME (also Numpad 7) and the DOWN key is END (also Numpad 1). Try those. Curse of the Azure Bonds uses the same setup, actually.

This might have been because some early keyboards didn't have the standard arrow keys we take for granted in this day and age, except for those that appear on the number pad:

 

[The Old Kiwi]

Very old thread here about a dear subject. A decade gone by since the OP asked for favorites votes. I'd found Curse of the Azure Bonds before finding PoR. Perhaps because it was the first Gold Box game I played, it continued to have that special glow around my memories of the gameplay. I liked all of those SSI games, but CotAB gets my vote (when they decide I CAN vote, assuming that function still is in effect after so long!

 

[octavius]

I'd found Curse of the Azure Bonds before finding PoR. Perhaps because it was the first Gold Box game I played, it continued to have that special glow around my memories of the gameplay.

Same here.
I think Dark Queen is overall the best game, though.

 

[ProphetSword]

I think Dark Queen is overall the best game, though.

I have never been able to finish Dark Queen due to a game breaking bug. I found a copy recently that is supposed to fix that issue, but I haven't gotten around to playing it again yet. Do you think it's worth playing? (For the record, I love all the Gold-Box games, even Secret of the Silver Blades).

 

[octavius]

I think Dark Queen is overall the best game, though.

I have never been able to finish Dark Queen due to a game breaking bug. I found a copy recently that is supposed to fix that issue, but I haven't gotten around to playing it again yet. Do you think it's worth playing? (For the record, I love all the Gold-Box games, even Secret of the Silver Blades).

Of course it's worth playing, especially if you're more into tactical combat than story. Story wise it's probably the weakest GB game, and it doesn't take place in a familiar place on Krynn. And I think the game proves that high level AD&D can be fun, and not in a cheesy way.

I never had problems with a game breaking bug. I first played it on the Amiga, and years later played the DOS version (either a big box collection or, because it was more comvenient, from an abandonware site).

 

[DavidBVal]

My first was PoR. Remains my favorite RPG of all time, not just GB.

However I have not played Dark Queen and a some others from the list.

 

[The Old Kiwi]

My first was PoR. Remains my favorite RPG of all time, not just GB.

However I have not played Dark Queen and a some others from the list.

All of them are worth playing. I have held onto an elderly PC, on which I planned to use DOSbox to replay those, although I always considered PoR slightly tedious!

 

[Dorateen]

Dark Queen of Krynn, like Treasures of the Savage Frontier, were bittersweet for me because they represented the end of the AD&D Gold Box series.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

In my non-GOG version of Pool of Radiance, the UP key is HOME (also Numpad 7) and the DOWN key is END (also Numpad 1). Try those. Curse of the Azure Bonds uses the same setup, actually.

This might have been because some early keyboards didn't have the standard arrow keys we take for granted in this day and age, except for those that appear on the number pad:

The engine was originally designed for the C64 which didn't have even have a number pad (the C128 did though). If an 8bit computer had a number pad it was marketed as a small/home business machine. I played it back in the day on a c128 and it used the number keys 1-8 in combat or the joystick. The joystick was really shitty to try and move around with though.

 

[The Old Kiwi]

In those days, I didn't get a Commodore early on. My first "home" system was an Apple ][, although I bought a CompuPro before that (CP/M OS). I had an early genuine IBM PC-XT when I played CotAB, and a couple of other games, but wasn't well served by any of IBM's various early graphics options, purchasing a C64, used, and ending up as a multi-computer household, a situation that grew from two to a whole lot of them.

 

[ProphetSword]

The engine was originally designed for the C64 which didn't have even have a number pad (the C128 did though). If an 8bit computer had a number pad it was marketed as a small/home business machine. I played it back in the day on a c128 and it used the number keys 1-8 in combat or the joystick. The joystick was really shitty to try and move around with though.

Right. But that has nothing to do with how the controls were translated to the PC.

 

[Cael]

I have never been able to finish Dark Queen due to a game breaking bug. I found a copy recently that is supposed to fix that issue, but I haven't gotten around to playing it again yet. Do you think it's worth playing? (For the record, I love all the Gold-Box games, even Secret of the Silver Blades).

What game breaking bug? Do you mean the one in Hawksbluff where you get trapped in the temple forever because there is no way for you to get out? That isn't a bug...

 

[ProphetSword]

I have never been able to finish Dark Queen due to a game breaking bug. I found a copy recently that is supposed to fix that issue, but I haven't gotten around to playing it again yet. Do you think it's worth playing? (For the record, I love all the Gold-Box games, even Secret of the Silver Blades).

What game breaking bug? Do you mean the one in Hawksbluff where you get trapped in the temple forever because there is no way for you to get out? That isn't a bug...

No, I'm talking about this one:

WARNING: There is a bug in some versions of this game. If you confront Trandamere by going in through the front door of his room, you will not be able to leave Hawkbluff. You may be stuck in a situation where you cannot continue to play the game. It is a good idea to save the game before Hawkbluff and keep that save until you have completed the mission just in case you encounter this bug.


I essentially reached this point and couldn't progress any further back in the early 1990s, and had no idea what was happening or why I couldn't progress the game. This was before I had access to the Internet.

 

[octavius]

Ah, Hawkbluff!
First time I played I actually fought through the whole dungeon instead of being clever.

 

[Cael]

No, I'm talking about this one:

WARNING: There is a bug in some versions of this game. If you confront Trandamere by going in through the front door of his room, you will not be able to leave Hawkbluff. You may be stuck in a situation where you cannot continue to play the game. It is a good idea to save the game before Hawkbluff and keep that save until you have completed the mission just in case you encounter this bug.


I essentially reached this point and couldn't progress any further back in the early 1990s, and had no idea what was happening or why I couldn't progress the game. This was before I had access to the Internet.

That is the "bug" I was talking about. It is not a bug.

Spoiler

When you confront Trandamere in the temple, one of the generals threw the Book of Amrocar on to the dumbwaiter and cut the cord. You NEED that book to get out of the temple. In other words, you are now in a race to get to the kitchen and grab the book before the Thenols do. If you have the constant Search thing on, you will never make it (normal step = 1 min, constant search step = 10 min). Since there is no consequence of a constant Search until now, most people don't realise it and think it is a bug when they run to the kitchen and don't find the book, forgetting they have the thing on. Turn it off and get Davik to guide you to the kitchen immediately. After you grab the book, you can do whatever you want for as long as you want before asking Davik to guide you out of there.

 

[ProphetSword]

Pretty sure you're wrong about that, since the bug in question was addressed with the 1.1 patch for Dark Queen of Krynn. People playing 1.0 can reach a point where you cannot continue the game; because the event that makes it happen never fires.

Here's the text from the patch itself:
This is a patch for DQK. It fixes the bug with the book not being in the dumbwaiter and requires less RAM memory to install to EGA. May the quest continue.

 

[Cael]

Pretty sure you're wrong about that, since the bug in question was addressed with the 1.1 patch for Dark Queen of Krynn. People playing 1.0 can reach a point where you cannot continue the game; because the event that makes it happen never fires.

I never applied any patch to the game as it was well before the time of the Internet. I believe we were still mucking around with BBS at that point.

I must admit that I never knew which version I played at the time.

I did run into the problem of never getting the book and never able to get out of the temple. It took me a second read of what happened when I walked into the room to realise that there was a race happening and after that, it worked every single time.

 

[ProphetSword]

I must admit that I never knew which version I played at the time.

You were probably lucky enough to be playing the 1.1 version. Some of us weren't. It was a legitimate game-breaking bug.

 

[Cael]

You were probably lucky enough to be playing the 1.1 version. Some of us weren't. It was a legitimate game-breaking bug.

Probably. I won't be able to tell now, unfortunately. My original copy has long been lost.

 

[Grauken]

Started to play Gateway to the Savage Frontier over the weekend, as I remember I only played the sequel when it came out, and had an itch to do play some gb. I'd forgotten how enjoyable the core gameplay of the gb games is. Combat is just great, finding better items is just so satisfying and reaching a new level feels more meaningful, at least at low levels.

Also I remember the UI was somewhat terrible, but it was quite easy to get into this time and it feels well designed if you only play via keyboard.

 

[Cael]

The UI is pretty intuitive, as were most old RPGs. Most of them are basically mapped on to your keyboard.

Of the ones set in the Forgotten Realms, Gateway and Treasures always did stand out, for some reason. The rest less so.

However, my pick for the GB games has always been the Krynn trilogy. I like where they went with it, not your party specifically, but what was happening around the party. All three games had things that were going on that had little to do with the party and gave an impression of a world that is living, which is pretty impressive given the complete lack of visible characters in the games.

 

[Grauken]

I only played the Forgotten Realms games back then and Treasures, but I plan to do Buck Rogers and Krynn at some points. I remember I wanted to do Buck Rogers years ago, the setting seemed a cool update to BR in general, but then I went ahead and read M. S. Murdock's Martian Wars trilogy, and that was so bad it soured me on playing the games. I actually want to read the Dragonlance novels for Krynn as well, but I wonder whether that is a good idea or not.

 

[Cael]

In only played the Forgotten Realms games back then and Treasures, but I plan to do Buck Rogers and Krynn at some points. I remember I wanted to do Buck Rogers years ago, the setting seemed a cool update to BR in general, but then I went ahead and read M. S. Murdock's Martian Wars trilogy, and that was so bad it soured me on playing the games. I actually want to read the Dragonlance novels for Krynn as well, but I wonder whether that is a good idea or not.

The original couple of book trilogies (Dragons and Twins) are not bad as primers for the setting. The rest of it tend to range from OK to bad, with a lot of things being Flanderised, including entire races. There are precious few good novels set in Krynn, and the more recent it is, the worse it has been. Don't even bother with the War of Souls books. Those are an unmitigated mess and complete disaster.

Play the games for what they are: good old fashioned puzzle solving, tactical combat and exploration. There isn't all that much role playing in the GB games, in any case.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I only played the Forgotten Realms games back then and Treasures, but I plan to do Buck Rogers and Krynn at some points. I remember I wanted to do Buck Rogers years ago, the setting seemed a cool update to BR in general, but then I went ahead and read M. S. Murdock's Martian Wars trilogy, and that was so bad it soured me on playing the games. I actually want to read the Dragonlance novels for Krynn as well, but I wonder whether that is a good idea or not.

The original Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy was written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman as a novelized version of the 12-module series of Dragonlance adventures published by TSR, with the characters of the novels being the pre-generated player-characters in the adventure modules. They were a surprise commercial success for TSR, taking advantage of the turn of fantasy writing towards Tolkienesque epic novel series that began before the end of the '70s, and sparked what would ultimately become many dozens of setting-related novels spanning virtually every D&D setting published by TSR. As Cael noted above, the writing by other authors ranged from mediocre to bad, and the average quality of TSR's fiction publishing tended to become worse over the years. The Krynn trilogy of Gold Box games does tie in to plot and setting of the early novels, so you might benefit from reading the original Chronicles trilogy and possibly the sequel Legends trilogy also written by Weis and Hickman, though if you find that you don't particularly care for the former then you might as well skip the latter and just read a plot summary.