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"Max Wilco" posted:My thought was to try going through 4-7. With 4 and 7, I thought the best option would be to use the xu4 and Exult source ports to make things easier. If you want my 2 cents, unless you're the CRPG Addict, Ultimas 4-6 aged badly and will definitely be a chore to play. You will get burned out. Start with 7 instead and if you like it, go back and play the older ones.
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Aug 20, 2019 16:01
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U7 serpent isle is really good imo
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Aug 20, 2019 20:21
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Fair Bear Maiden posted:
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Aug 20, 2019 20:36
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Mad Wack posted:U7 serpent isle is really good imo When I replayed SI and U7 maybe 6 or 7 years after they came out I enjoyed both but slightly preferred SI's tighter focus. The combat is less awkward when the game is less sprawling. I do wonder how cringey the renfair dialogue is now. I loved that poo poo as a teen but I could imagine it being unbearable.
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Aug 20, 2019 23:02
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FuzzySlippers posted:
Extremely bad imo
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Aug 21, 2019 00:35
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It has extra comedy value in the intro of SI when Lord British does a super terrible job voicing Lord British.
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Aug 21, 2019 01:18
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atholbrose posted:Ultima 7 was amazing, back in the day. So many colors, so much dialog, so much detail! I rode a bus for an hour and twenty minutes to pick up a copy at Egghead Software. But man, it has not aged well, and is way too frustrating to try and play nowadays. But wait, there was a... ...Oh, uh...never mind. Lunchmeat Larry posted:Ultima 4 - 6 are the good ones imo. Still need to play Underworld Joe Chill posted:If you want my 2 cents, unless you're the CRPG Addict, Ultimas 4-6 aged badly and will definitely be a chore to play. You will get burned out. Start with 7 instead and if you like it, go back and play the older ones. Well, I have Ultima 4-7 on GOG, so I guess I could just install them all and try them all in order and see how I fare with each. Not to sound insulting, but what classic CRPGs are there that are worth playing nowadays? Like, I've thought about playing through the Ultima games before now (in fact, I think I might have asked about it in the thread before some time back). However, I never got to the point of actually installing them to play, probably out of reluctance to deal with Apple II era game design and controls. Ultima 7 seems like only game in the series that's relatively modern, while also not being terrible like Ultima 8 and Ult...uh...like Ultima 8. Today, I re-read this article series on the Wizardry series for the umpteenth time, and Wizardy is another set of games that
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Aug 21, 2019 01:56
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It feels like the only thing I post in this thread but might and magic 3-5 are pretty playable still imo. Built in automapping is a big help.
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Aug 21, 2019 02:05
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The Savage Empire is good. Martian Dreams probably too but I only played it way later in life and kinda forgot about it. Already highly recommended Underworld 1 & 2. There's a shitload of excellent old RPGs, it's impossible to list them all: Albion Avernum/Geneforge series Betrayal At Krondor Dragon Wars Lands of Lore series Might & Magic/Xeen series Quest For Glory series (Later) Wizardry series There's more but that should last you about 20yrs.
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Aug 21, 2019 02:12
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Chev posted:It has extra comedy value in the intro of SI when Lord British does a super terrible job voicing Lord British. Chev posted:Not to sound insulting, but what classic CRPGs are there that are worth playing nowadays? Also, let us not forget, Baldur's Gate probably fully counts as Old School by this point.
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Aug 21, 2019 02:41
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Might & Magic 1 and 2 are actually quite playable if you can get the Mac versions to run. Those have pleasant visuals and full mouse support. MM1 is actually in black and white, but it still looks better than any of the other versions. I will agree that 3, 4, 5 and Swords are all very approachable even to this day.
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Aug 21, 2019 02:44
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Shame there aren't more source ports/remakes/whatever for 90s rpgs. I recently got my nephew into Doom and it was a lot easier without having to deal with dosbox or super old UI stuff. One of the few 90s rpgs with a port is Star Control 2 and that's a must play. Its rpg elements are light but it has a fantastic story and good gameplay. Otherwise, I agree that Might and Magic 3-5 are the most playable. I'd probably just jump to Clouds of Xeen though. I haven't revisited Dark Sun but I think it'd probably be easy to get into. The character creation is fairly simple compared to Wizardry and it has a nice mouse driven interface. It has a pretty decent story and its set in my favorite D&D setting. If story is important Quest For Glory is a good recommendation. The QFG1 remake is still a good looking game and has a solid interface. There's a QFG2 remake now which makes for a seamless movement from QFG1 through 4 and you can even import your character. I have not revisited Betrayal At Krondor but I recall it having fun fights and a good story. I dunno if the developers in goofy costumes for character art is fun bad or bad bad now. FuzzySlippers fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Aug 21, 2019 |
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Aug 21, 2019 03:45
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The Joe Man posted:Already highly recommended Underworld 1 & 2. I actually have picked up all of those, save for Dragon Wars and the Spiderweb Software stuff. Dragon Wars I'm not familiar with. With Avernum/Geneforge, the issue I've had is that there's so many of them, I don't know where to start, especially now that there's remakes of the Avernum games. JustJeff88 posted:Might & Magic 1 and 2 are actually quite playable if you can get the Mac versions to run. Those have pleasant visuals and full mouse support. MM1 is actually in black and white, but it still looks better than any of the other versions. I'm not familiar with Swords. I looked it up, and apparently it's a mod that add a new campaign based off Might and Magic 5? As to Might and Magic as a whole, I have thought about trying to play though those as well, though mainly the World of Xeen games and the later 3D ones (6,7, and 8, specifically; M&M9, not so much). FuzzySlippers posted:Shame there aren't more source ports/remakes/whatever for 90s rpgs. I recently got my nephew into Doom and it was a lot easier without having to deal with dosbox or super old UI stuff. Playing through Quest for Glory 1-5 while importing the same character all the way through is something that I've meant to do for many years. I have actually played the QFG2 remake, though it was quite a long time ago. I did download Star Control II The Ur-Quan Masters at one point, and the little I played was fun, but when it came to the time to start exploring outside of Earth, I wasn't sure where to go and dropped it. I don't have Dark Sun, but I did get Al-Qadim, and the Forgotten Realms Archive that includes Menzoberrazen and Dungeon Hack (more interested in Menzo than Dungeon Hack). Ravenloft looks interesting. With Betrayal in Krondor, I've felt like I should read some of Raymond E Feist Krondor books to have a grasp of the setting, though that's probably not necessary. There's also the sequel Return to Krondor, and the unrelated spin-off Betrayal in Antara; both of which I'm sure aren't that good, but I'm still interested in playing. I dunno what it is, but lately I've had this weird inclination to buy or play games that I know aren't that great, but are still sort of passable. For example, I've thought about playing King's Quest VIII.  There are some other miscellaneous RPGs I'm curious about, but I'll save asking about those for another post.
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Aug 21, 2019 04:52
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I had a lot of fun playing star control with a full resource map handy. That makes the game a lot easier and more enjoyable. then you can basically progress the plot by buying tips from the melnorme traders without too much resource stress. And regarding Albion, it kinda blew my mind how it's so similar to Avatar in so many ways but a lot more creative. The old-school fps view looks sorta good too. Combat is a bit punishing, but maybe I wasn't too good at it the first time around. I remember being thrown in a point of no return without enough preparation (a very long cave of some sort after getting arrested) and that kinda made me drop it, though. so if you plan on playing it make sure to save in a few separate slots and be aware of the genre trappings.
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Aug 21, 2019 05:11
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Play Stonekeep. Don't actually play Stonekeep But totally play Stonekeep
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Aug 21, 2019 05:13
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The only old school RPG anyone should play is Darklands. I haven't played it in a few years and I never really felt like I knew what the gently caress was going on but it sure was cool. I'd kill for a good modern version. Actually now that I think about it Battle Brothers kind of is: low fantasy Germanic-lore inspired game about a group of mercenaries wandering around the map loving poo poo up until your band plays a pivotal role in dealing with a realm shaking conflict.
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Aug 21, 2019 06:17
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Max Wilco posted:
Wizardry 8 is one of the greatest RPGs ever and everyone should play it
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Aug 21, 2019 08:05
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Might and Magic 3 - 5 and Dark Sun were the games that really got me into pre-Fallout RPGs, they've aged well and are super accessible. A lot of people skip straight to MM4 but 3 is a bit smaller in scope and less overwhelming imo, plus with World of Xeen you run the risk of stumbling into the dwarf mines straight out the gate, which is the worst dungeon ever made and will turn you into an anti-video games campaigner
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Aug 21, 2019 10:37
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Haha seems everyone has responded what I wanted to: Might and Magic 3-5 all the way. Brilliant games that held up SO well. Really fun, with awesome charm and character. Also Fallout and Baldur's Gate are over 20 years old so is that old school yet? 🧐
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Aug 21, 2019 10:47
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I feel like there's an interesting cut off point for what's considered "old school". Like, to me, Daggerfall was old school long before it hit 10 years old and was released for free; on the other hand, Morrowind is nearly 20, hasn't been released for free and I wouldn't really call it old school. I guess a lot of it is based on your own relative age, I'm sure some of the young folk these days think Mass Effect is old school, but there definitely seems to be a cultural... tipping point somewhere around the late 90s. The advent of 3D is probably a big part, but again, a lot of people say Baldurs Gate doesn't really count and it's, er, not 3D. The demise of DOS based games maybe? All a bit arbitrary obviously, just interesting to think about.
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Aug 21, 2019 11:00
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You know, maybe the cut off is the late 90s, DOS or earlier Windows 95 stuff I reckon. Old old school to me is 1985-1988 Pool of Radiance, Bard's Tale era. Crazy old school is pre-1985. I played some but not a hell of a lot of RPGs from this time. Old school is 1989-1996, so Eye of the Beholder, Ultimas 6-7.2, Might and Magic, Star Control 2 etc. AKA the greatest era in gaming history. New old school is 1997-2001. Fallout series and the Infinity Engine games. But I'm a few months away from 40 years old so who knows.
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Aug 21, 2019 12:24
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Max Wilco posted:
Its been mentioned but reinforcing that Might & Magic 3-5 distills first-person dungeon crawling to a simplistic and accessible core and is extremely playable. It doesn't take itself seriously at all which adds to the charm. If they were released on a handheld like the Switch they would blend in fine with contemporary indie-budget games.
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Aug 21, 2019 12:39
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Chairchucker posted:Wizardry 8 is one of the greatest RPGs ever and everyone should play it  In my own mind Wiz 8 and Morrowind, which came out a few months apart and you could mod resources across, are the division between old and new. Chubby Henparty fucked around with this message at 12:48 on Aug 21, 2019 |
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Aug 21, 2019 12:42
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Chubby Henparty posted:
And Wizardry 8 is better in every way 
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Aug 21, 2019 13:14
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Max Wilco posted:I'm not familiar with Swords. I looked it up, and apparently it's a mod that add a new campaign based off Might and Magic 5? It's basically this. Wizardry 8, as others have said, is excellent to this day. I still very much enjoy the Eye of the Beholder trilogy too. Also, while they are rarely talked about, the Ravenloft/Menzoberranzan/Ravenloft trilogy is still very fun and accessible in my opinion. The graphics don't look too bad, the interface is easy to grasp, Baldur's Gate has kept 2e D&D relevant... they are very much worth a try so far as I see it.
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Aug 21, 2019 14:47
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Chairchucker posted:And Wizardry 8 is better in every way They're not really comparable beyond both being RPGs, and both rule in their own ways. One is an open-world RPG about plundering a huge wilderness and bizarre factions on a quest for powerful treasure so you can fulfill some weird prophecy, and the other is about exponentially stacking potion-boosting potions and ascending to godhood. Also Morrowind has the advantage that you don't need mods to make the combat bearable because the combat can't be made bearable lol.
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Aug 21, 2019 15:36
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Does Might and Magic 3 have an auto map, how about 4+5? I think I bought them all on GOG during a sale.
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Aug 21, 2019 15:40
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So speaking of old school, I'm playing through System Shock 1 Enhanced currently. This game is absolutely amazing in every sense of the word. It's easy to make the controls super smooth and "modern", it works flawlessly on an Ultrawide resolution and if it plays this well now I can't imagine how mind bending it must have been in 1994. I figure it counts more as an RPG than an old school shooter.
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Aug 21, 2019 15:41
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Skwirl posted:Does Might and Magic 3 have an auto map, how about 4+5? I think I bought them all on GOG during a sale. I believe that there is a mapping spell that's trivial to cast, but it's been a while for me.
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Aug 21, 2019 15:44
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M&M 4+5 definitely has an automap and I strongly recommend those two. They are excellent old school first person gridcrawlers. 5 gets a little silly when the game balance just kinda jettisons out the window as stats and such balloon out of control but it's still a ton of fun.
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Aug 21, 2019 15:51
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Big Mad Drongo posted:They're not really comparable beyond both being RPGs, and both rule in their own ways. One is an open-world RPG about plundering a huge wilderness and bizarre factions on a quest for powerful treasure so you can fulfill some weird prophecy, and the other is about exponentially stacking potion-boosting potions and ascending to godhood. Wait which one of these descriptions doesn't apply to morrowind
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Aug 21, 2019 16:06
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Skwirl posted:Does Might and Magic 3 have an auto map, how about 4+5? I think I bought them all on GOG during a sale. In 2-3-4-5, automapping is available through the cartographer skill, which you'll have to learn (usually pretty close to your starting point) if none of your party members have it from the get go (Sorcerers do in 3-4-5). Conversely, if all of your cartographers are KO, your automap won't update. There's also the wizard eye spell that offers you a top down view of the surrounding squares but doesn't actually add them to the map.
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Aug 21, 2019 16:14
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andrew smash posted:Wait which one of these descriptions doesn't apply to morrowind It can be played like a sprawling epic adventure of dungeons and looting, but in your heart you know the true game is giving yourself permanent 100% chameleon and robbing every shopkeeper blind.
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Aug 21, 2019 16:25
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I really want to play U7 one day, but I've heard nothing but bad things regarding the combat. I mean, Planescape torment has universally panned combat but I love that game and the combat is fine. Is it true that U7's combat is a fast, non-pausable, chaotic mess?
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Aug 21, 2019 16:33
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It's real-time, but I don't remember it being particularily hectic or hard. Just give your party decent gear and make sure they're trained up. Sentri in Britannia and Menion in Serpent's Hold are the best trainers for Dex and Str respectively. Play it with Exult.
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Aug 21, 2019 18:20
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chaosapiant posted:I really want to play U7 one day, but I've heard nothing but bad things regarding the combat. I mean, Planescape torment has universally panned combat but I love that game and the combat is fine. Is it true that U7's combat is a fast, non-pausable, chaotic mess? It's so bad that Ultima 7 would be a significantly better if monsters and combat were just removed from the game entirely. Combat is not hard--for the most part it's actually pretty easy--but it serves as, at best, a distraction. Because so much of it is controlled by (very stupid) AI, it's not even interactive for a lot of the game. Most of the time, monsters show up, your party rushes in and kills them all (sometimes before you can even see them), and that's it. Maybe you'll get a click or two in yourself if you're lucky.
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Aug 21, 2019 18:24
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chaosapiant posted:I really want to play U7 one day, but I've heard nothing but bad things regarding the combat. I mean, Planescape torment has universally panned combat but I love that game and the combat is fine. Is it true that U7's combat is a fast, non-pausable, chaotic mess? Best to thing of U7 as being a hybrid open world graphic adventure. It's not a game you play for the combat anyways.
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Aug 21, 2019 19:07
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The best thing about U7 combat is all the gibs laying around after that look like a bloodpocalypse. Everything up to that point is like throwing a bunch of action figures into a bucket and shaking it all around and whichever ones are left inside are the winners
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Aug 21, 2019 19:32
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chaosapiant posted:So speaking of old school, I'm playing through System Shock 1 Enhanced currently. This game is absolutely amazing in every sense of the word. It's easy to make the controls super smooth and "modern", it works flawlessly on an Ultrawide resolution and if it plays this well now I can't imagine how mind bending it must have been in 1994. I figure it counts more as an RPG than an old school shooter. System Shock is absolutely amazing. I have no idea why it wasn’t a mega hit back in the mid-nineties. There’s a reason SHODAN is one of the most fondly remembered video(PC) villains in history. Okay, admittedly, that reason is mostly System Shock 2, thanks to its amazing sound design, but the first part laid the foundations for that.
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Aug 21, 2019 19:37
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Tarquinn posted:System Shock is absolutely amazing. I have no idea why it wasn’t a mega hit back in the mid-nineties. It wasn't Doom. (See also: Half-Life - Deus Ex)
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Aug 21, 2019 20:09
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