Wizardry Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord remake by Digital Eclipse

[KeighnMcDeath]

I knew some people who shared disks at Wizardry parties for the weekend. They have like 3 computers going (appleii or c64) and switch off with their own parties. Seemed silly but it was mostly drinking and shit.

Now solo, a more crazy fellow might create a random table and roll who he takes out each session and how far or how long? Or you might cycle loonies and power level slowly up. Beat a few dead Murphy ghosts to get the newb up then take ‘em down a few trips. Or Murphy cycle peeps. The OCD there. Again, I forget if you got the big bonus for killing Werdna and if you could retrieve multiple amulets. On PC, and c64, and Amiga I could cycle Mangar every trip. My dos peeps now long had levels I could tell just being double asterisks. C64, I forget as them loading times were brutal but damn that music made up for it.

 

[Strange Fellow]

If the navigational obstacles aren't challenging enough to make you think, I don't see the point in mapping either. But figuring out the logic of a dungeon floor can be like solving a riddle or an adventure game puzzle or a maths problem. You're given the tools to poke and prod at the machinery to see what the different parts do, and you're asked to figure out what the rules are. It's pure problem-solving.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, partial automap that turns itself off when the challenging bits appear is the perfect solution.

 

[octavius]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, partial automap that turns itself off when the challenging bits appear is the perfect solution.

Any examples?
I know the Gold Box games had Area View switched off in some dungeons.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, partial automap that turns itself off when the challenging bits appear is the perfect solution.

Any examples?
I know the Gold Box games had Area View switched off in some dungeons.

Dark Heart of Uukrul comes closest to what I'd consider an ideal automap.

Note of the Outskirts does an interesting thing by having a Mapping skill that lets you use the automap, but with a chance for your party to lose its bearings when stepping on a special tile like a spinner or a teleporter. A higher Mapping skill decreases the chance of getting lost. Unfortunately it's easy to exploit by just going back and forth between two empty tiles until you find your position again.

 

[Grauken]

Note of the Outskirts does an interesting thing by having a Mapping skill that lets you use the automap, but with a chance for your party to lose its bearings when stepping on a special tile like a spinner or a teleporter.

Mordor did the same back in the day, with the same exploit of moving back and forth after getting disoriented by a spinner. When you fell through a chute down a level the automap stopped working entirely if you hadn't been on that floor yet

 

[Brozef]

Skimming through the thread quickly lead me from moderate excitement to despair. So the usual
But having recently played Etrian Odyssey for the first time, I can't understand why no one tries to copy the mapping system. It so easy to implement and increases the enjoyment by magnitudes. Especially for something like early Wizardry where mapping is arguably half the gameplay.

 

[Infinitron]

DE devs Jeff and Justin/JxRK demo and discuss the newly reimagined Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord, now in early access!

 

[Jaesun]

In watching a bit of that video, I give the team a thumbs up. How they are approaching this I feel is the right way. I like that the game is based off of the actual PASCAL code for the Apple version and that was then converted into C++. And then integrating Unreal with art and animation and UI. I also like that as you are playing you can see a small version on the right side of the original game. Was also amusing to hear that many of the spell descriptions in the original manual don't actually match what is in the game. lol I also liked that the spell interface is using the text from the games original manual. Just me personally, I like what I am seeing so far.

 

[d1r]

Even in other games, everything that is being associated with Prosper looks like shit.

 

[JBro]

Idk, I think it looks sick so far. I'll buy it when it comes out.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

it is out! It’ll just get more expensive as time goes on. Maybe it is the first of its kind to keep raising in price. Who knows, maybe by 2025 it’ll cost $79.99 to purchase it.

 

[Casual Hero]

Welp...

 

[mondblut]

But having recently played Etrian Odyssey for the first time, I can't understand why no one tries to copy the mapping system.

The one where you have to manually draw walls in a separate map window, dragging your cursor up and down? Yeah, I totally can't see why no one has ever tried to copy that mindblowingly, ludicrously retarded idea.

 

[mondblut]

Welp...

The Brothers War. Somehow, I like the guy without the "I DID MY 69TH VAX, BEHOLD MY VAX POWERS" avatar better.

 

[Be Kind Rewind]

The Brothers War. Somehow, I like the guy without the "I DID MY 69TH VAX, BEHOLD MY VAX POWERS" avatar better.

Werdna is indeed the evil villain.

 

[MerchantKing]

$30 is expensive even for a shitty japanese porn game.

So why did they think $30 was a good price for a game that's literally just a remake with some new graphics and an interface?

 

[Filthy Sauce]

I bought this on gog launch back when it was 20% off. It's a lot of fun. Admittedly I don't have experience with older wizardry games, as I only played 6-8. Spent a lot of time at Elminage games though.

This game feels 'clean & crisp' I don't know how to really explain it. Its now my favorite blobber.

I spent my my first major cash stash on a single potion of cure poison and went to level 2 when half the guys leveled to level 4. First encounter with slimes, the party survived, but everyone got poisoned and all except the lucky potion drinker survived before I could reach the surface.

The inn is full of dead level 1 thieves.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Short promotion. Price will go UP UP UP! At least that is what they promised. Is Andrew upset about this release?

 

[Kwota]

Thrown some moneys for the game if only for possibility of Wizardry 2-5 scenarios remakes.

Played just once, got partywiped by a group of five highwaymen on my second fight in the room just right of the start - true Wiz experience if you like this kind of things.

 

[sebas]

Yeah I bought it not so much for the game itself but to hopefully support them doing the rest of the Wizardry games.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Yeah I bought it not so much for the game itself but to hopefully support them doing the rest of the Wizardry games.

Hopefully not at $30+ per scenario. The large + is this is appleII version and not the damned DOS. I will say that. I’d like to see other graphical overlay options from the other ports though.

 

[mondblut]

Thrown some moneys for the game if only for possibility of Wizardry 2-5 scenarios remakes.

We've had fuckton of their remakes already.

Unless Siroteks rehire Bradley to make the real Wizardry 8, I'm not interested.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Sacibengala]

https://www.digitaleclipse.com/media/wizardrypartners

Drecom, SirTech, and Digital Eclipse Partner on WizardryTM: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord Revival
‍
‍Wizardry trademark and copyright holders have licensed the IP to California-based game development studio
‍
First published by SirTech in the 1980s, Wizardry is a series of Dungeons & Dragons–style video games. With eight main installments released through 2001 and almost forty Japanese spin-offs published to date, Wizardry is one of the most prolific game series ever and is widely recognized as the inspiration for the modern role-playing game (RPG) genre. The series was a World Video Game Hall of Fame finalist in 2023.
‍
In 2020, Japanese entertainment company Drecom acquired the copyrights to Wizardry 6, Wizardry 7, Wizardry 8, and Wizardry Gold, as well as the domestic and international registered trademarks to the series title Wizardry. SirTech retained the copyrights to the first five Wizardry games. Digital Eclipse, an independent game studio dedicated to video game preservation, has now licensed the registered Wizardry trademark from Drecom and the copyrights to the series’ debut game Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord from SirTech, in order to develop a new version built directly on top of the original Apple II code base.
‍
"It’s an honor to partner with Drecom to bring the official Wizardry name back to its roots and help make this seminal work available again to a new generation of gamers," said Justin Bailey, Head of Publishing for Digital Eclipse.
‍
"We’re happy to support Digital Eclipse in their endeavor to restore this iconic game back to its rightful place,” said Yuki Naito, Representative Director & CEO of Drecom. "As custodians of the Wizardry franchise, we’re excited for fans to get a chance to experience the original game."
‍
An Early Access version of WizardryTM: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord for PC was unveiled on September 15 on Steam and GOG, giving fans of the long-running franchise an opportunity to sample the work-in-progress and offer feedback ahead of the final release. Separately, Drecom has two Wizardry games under development, Wizardry Variants Daphne™ and Eternal Crypt - Wizardry BC - ™.

The Wizardry trademark remains under Drecom's sole ownership, and the title Wizardry™: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord uses Wizardry™ with permission from Drecom.
‍
Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord has been licensed to Digital Eclipse Entertainment Partners Co. by SirTech Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved.

 

[octavius]

"It’s an honor to partner with Drecom to bring the official Wizardry name back to its roots and help make this seminal work available again to a new generation of gamers," said Justin Bailey, Head of Publishing for Digital Eclipse.

Finally I will be able to play this game that has been unavailable for so long.