What Game Are You Currently Playing?

[Foxbat]

I'd forgotten how much text there was in these old style RPGs. Probably grown lazy with modern RPGs and voice acting. It looks like I've finally started the main quest in Skald (reached the island, took out a couple of Dire Wolves). Still enjoying it and there is definitely a nostalgia rush. Finding the combat a wee bit clunky. More than once I've moved instead of struck. Hopefully the more familiar I get the less clunky it will seem. Highlight so far? Learned how to make a ham and cheese sandwich. I'm starting to remember how many potions and recipes these old style Ultima-alikes have in them.

 

[Toby Frost]

Good point - I simply assumed that old PCs couldn't do 3D graphics very well, although we probably thought so at the time. That said, I was playing Tenchu on a big TV screen back in the days. There's definitely a problem with resolution, although I'm not sure what it is.

I deleted Shadow of Mordor. On top of everything else, it started introducing time limits, which are a cheap way of making things harder. One of the problems with modern action games is that one key does everything: you'll have one button for "attack" and another for "interact", which will include climbing, opening and so on. As a result, your man often does things that you don't want him to, because at that split second, "interact" means "murder" instead of "talk".

 

[Vladd67]

I deleted Shadow of Mordor. On top of everything else, it started introducing time limits, which are a cheap way of making things harder. One of the problems with modern action games is that one key does everything: you'll have one button for "attack" and another for "interact", which will include climbing, opening and so on. As a result, your man often does things that you don't want him to, because at that split second, "interact" means "murder" instead of "talk".

I had that problem playing Red Dead Redemption 2, a couple of times when I was on horse back I went to talk to someone but ended up shooting them.

 

[Foxbat]

I've put in a few hours of gameplay on Skald: Against The Black Priory and have to say I'm enjoying it. My eyes have grown accustomed to the old-style graphics and It's fair to say that it is indeed a homage to all the great RPGs of the eighties and early nineties. I'm still finding combat a bit fiddly and often I move when I mean to strike. That's the only real bugbear and, apart from that it's very playable. One thing I didn't expect was having to sit with a pen and paper at the PC. There is no mapping system so it's back to drawing out maps as you go. Personally, I think that's taking retro a bit far and I'd have preferred an automap system. It's not a deal breaker but perhaps the makers could have made it an option in the settings menu - that way the hardcore gamers could still use pen and paper if they wished and us namby pamby lightweights could just use the automap.

The game has actually inspired me to take a step further. I bought the entire Ultima series on GOG a while back. I've never played the first three but played four and five on Arari ST. Eight and nine I did not like but six and seven are thought to be the cream of the crop. Skald has given me the impetus to finally download and install Ultimas six and seven on to my PC so they're ready to go when I complete or (much more likely) feel I can go no further in the Black Priory.

The good old days are back

 

[Foxbat]

Just started chapter two of Skald and one of my earliest encounters was with a little girl in the town of Horryn. Everybody seems to have gone crazy and are killing each other so I asked her how she survived. She explained that the streets were too dangerous and she took to the sewers. The bad people, she said, they mostly come at night....mostly.

It left me wondering if the game creator was a fan of Aliens

 

[Rodders]

I just downloaded Star Wars: Outlaws.

It was half price on Steam and i wanted to play it to see whether the online things i've seen are true.

 

[Toby Frost]

I loaded up Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw, a space trading game. I've always liked these sorts of games, but I find most of them dry and slightly lacking in fun. This probably isn't the most sophisticated example of the genre, but you can paint your spaceship difference colours, and the whole setting has a run-down, dangerous feel as if a grotty bar in Texas has been relocated to space. I will probably get tired of the country-rock soundtrack, but so far it's pretty entertaining. Something of a spiritual successor to Freelancer, I suspect.

 

[Foxbat]

I'm still playing Skald: Against The Black Priory and, on the whole, I'm still enjoying it. I'm finding the combat is becoming a bit of a grind as the enemies get progressively more difficult. This isn't unusual for me. I'm somebody who rarely finishes an RPG because I just find the final chapters (levels?) a bit above my skill. My philosophy is that as long as I can make some decent progress and enjoy the advances I make into the game then that's a win. I definitely put Skald in that bracket so I'd highly recommend it to any fan of CRPGs, and it won't break the bank buying it.

For anybody interested in my progress, I've landed on a new island and have been making my way through (I think it's called) the Tower Of Ash. I'm trying to save a mage who is busy holding off some kind of foul creature that he summoned and lost control of. I have finally crafted the required reagent that will help subdue the beast but after a lot of battles getting to this point, I'm very short of arrows for my two expert archers. My swordsmen are pretty decent but probably not enough without archer backup. Magic is pretty poor in this game and I don't even have a decent heal spell and only have a couple of potions left. The best I can do is summon some creatures but that uses up a lot of attunement (mana).

As they say in the movies, I've got a bad feeling about this one and the upcoming encounter might be my bridge too far. Ah well, it was good while it lasted. I'm not sure but I think I'm near the end (perhaps the penultimate chapter).

In other news. I fired up Ultima VI but I don't think I'll be playing it much. The graphics are bad (worse than Skald) and - my god! - that music! It's driving me nuts. I can't turn it off without also turning off the sound so I'd have to go into silent mode to play this. I think this one is just too retro for me.

So next, I'll be trying Ultima VII. I'm hoping for better sound control at least.
Stay tuned.
Same Bat time. Same Bat channel...

 

[Foxbat]

So much for my premonition. All I had to do was throw the reagant at the beast and that was that. Now I've got a new problem. I'm sailing around all these islands and I can't find the Black Priory anywhere. I knew I should have turned left at Albuquerque

 

[Bugg]

Trails Into Reverie rocks (so far, 25 hours in). The way they've structured the story in this one has done wonders for the pacing. There hasn't been a dull moment so far. And the new characters are brilliant. Nadia has made me laugh out loud a few times, plus she's a little scary

 

[Foxbat]

I've finally made it to the black priory and it's been quite a grind getting there. Up until recently I've been enjoying this game but the last couple of days it's been battle after battle after battle....after battle. Low supplies and the constant grinding have sapped my will to continue. But there it was - the gates of black priory. The final chapter in this saga. One more push... I sighed and led my party onwards only to be met by some foul serpents and then again by the reanimated remains of the missing miners (using the mines being the only way to reach the priory). The screen had its usual banner..Begin Combat..I sighed once more and simply said 'no' and exited the game. This wasn't rage quitting. This is what happens when you push the player with too much tedious combat.

Still, it was enjoyable up to this point and there seems to be some other adventures to download for this game so maybe I'll try some of them.

But, I hear you ask, what about the black priory? Will Furuneo ever lead his band of heroes to defeat the menace from the unknown?
Will GRRM ever finish A Song Of Ice And Fire?
These are questions best left unanswered.

 

[Toby Frost]

It's interesting what becomes "too much" in a computer game. I've enjoyed what I've played of Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, but I've already tired of the music (there's only so much country a man can take) and I don't know how far into the story I'll get before I get bored. You spend a lot of time doing similar missions, and everyone seems to be a hick/cowboy of some kind. It makes the game feel quite small and limited. It's not so much that it's doing anything wrong, but that it's doing the same thing a lot.

 

[Foxbat]

Well this is a surprise. After spitting the dummy somewhat yesterday, I decided to give Skald one more try as I waited for the rugby on TV (posting this at half-time). I had to fight a few more battles and then there were a couple of puzzles, which I eventually solved. Then I had another battle, which I won (only just). I thought I was pretty close but didn't realise that I had actually just faced off against the final boss. The rest of the story unfolded inside the strange structure to complete the merging of medieval fantasy with Lovecraftian cosmic horror.

This is one of the very few RPGs I've actually completed and there's only one other question remaining.
Now that I've done my bit, will GRRM ever finish A Song Of Ice And Fire?
Perhaps that saga is for another day

 

[Foxbat]

Skald has given me inspiration to continue my odyssey through retro RPGs so I bought the Avernum series and started Avernum 1. It's a subterranean adventure with your usual group of characters and goblins, bandits etc. It's done in the isometric style (which I really like for multi-character RPGs) but this one is incredibly clunky. Take walking through a door for instance. According to the manual, you just walk up to a door to open it and then walk through.
Seemples?
Aye, right.

Here's what often happens - you just can't quite get your party leader to stand precisely next to the door, meaning that it stays shut. It can take a dozen attempts to get this right. I suspect the underlying grid used for movement is not precisely lined up to the triggers for things such as opening doors. When this happens the world of Avernum is oft time rocked by the great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

What it means in RPG terms is that the battle to open a door can be more epic and long lasting than facing down a horde of hungry lizard men.
It does get good reviews from RPG hardcore fans so I'm going to move on and try the rest of the series (I think there's seven in all). Most of them are only around 30 or 40 megs but I notice the last two are a couple of hundred so maybe they'll work a bit more smoothly.

The great and good Furuneo defeated by a door. How can this be? Who will sing songs of his heroism in the world that lacks ajar? Where are the bards and story tellers? Drunk as usual...

 

[Toby Frost]

It occurs to me that Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw is based on a loop: get mission, do mission (which usually involves much the same thing), return, improve equipment and go and do slightly harder mission. What that means is that the process of doing the missions and moving on the loop needs to be enjoyable and engrossing. Because RGO has quite a limited feel (a galaxy where everyone is a cowboy or similar) it has started to feel repetitive.

It's a subterranean adventure with your usual group of characters and goblins, bandits etc.

I find that the standard, sub-Tolkien feel of a lot of fantasy games really puts me off, especially in RPGs. I find the settings in SF games (and novels) are often much more unusual and interesting - which is weird given that, technically, anything could happen in a fantasy story. I would love to see a game as weird as Morrowind but with the playability of modern games.

 

[Foxbat]

I find that the standard, sub-Tolkien feel of a lot of fantasy games really puts me off, especially in RPGs. I find the settings in SF games (and novels) are often much more unusual and interesting - which is weird given that, technically, anything could happen in a fantasy story. I would love to see a game as weird as Morrowind but with the playability of modern games

I agree. You'd think (or it least I did) that a subterranean setting would be something different but, in reality, it's just a method to account for the limitations of the world avalable to would-be adventurers.

Anyway, I've started Avernum 2 - Crystal Souls. It looks a bit less clunky but, more importantly, I can get through doors. Nae Bother!

 

[Toby Frost]

I suspect that the whole fantasy-setting issue is lowest common denominator stuff, especially in games that cost a lot to make. These days, anyone on Earth with an uncensored internet connection would probably recognise a bog-standard Tolkien rip-off, but basing a game on a weirder and more interesting setting would risk losing viewers. When I look back to some of the mad settings on the Amiga and early PC, it seems like a real loss of creativity.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Been playing through Baldur's Gate 3. That is a delightful game.

 

[Foxbat]

I'm enjoying Avernum 2 - Crystal Souls in a kind of 'leave your brain at the door and just accept the cliches' kind of way. Not as advanced as BG3 and only takes up 0.2% of its disk space but a nice way to pass the time.

 

[Toby Frost]

I've loaded up Shadowrun: Hong Kong again. I'm actually playing a fan-made campaign called The Caldecott Caper, which turns out to be just as good as the original game. It really is a very impressive piece of work, and I'm enjoying it a lot.

I'm always impressed by the quality of some modding work. Thief 2 and Morrowind had some amazing mods, back in the day. I suppose part of me finds it strange that someone would spend so much time on something and just put it out there, earning nothing from it, owning no rights to it and often never even having their real name credited. That feels like a strangely selfless thing to do.