On Sun, 25 Mar 2018 17:53:18 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2018 09:30:22 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson ><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Honestly, I'd just prefer a proper remake of the originals; updated >>graphics, sound and slight improvements to the interface but that's
it. Maybe a little less reliance on spinner puzzles in the dungeons.

How about a lot less reliance on spinner puzzles? I stopped playing
the second game because I got sick and tired of that game fucking
around with my maps. Spinner puzzles, darkness squares, and no magic
zones all at the same goddamn time. No thank you. Wizardry and Might &
Magic (both better series) weren't stupid enough to do that.

The first Bard's Tale is good. I finished it and enjoyed it a lot. The >sequels.. not so good.

I seem to recall Bards Tale 3 used fewer spinners than the earlier
games, but it's been decades since I played so I'll not swear to the
fact. I certainly have fonder memories of the third game, since it
tried harder at world-building and story than the first two, which
made it much more enjoyable. The earlier games were just too much
focused on dungeon-crawls. The second was worse; at least the first
game was limited to a single city so its limited worldbuilding seemed
the richer for it. Destiny Knight was just too expansive for its own
good, and felt lackluster and repetitive for it. Bards Tale 3 took
some effort into making its different realms memorable and different.
It even encouraged me to right some (truly horrible) fan-fiction based
on the game, which fortunately has been lost to the mists of time.

After the Bards Tale series, I happily jumped to "Dragon Wars", which
I always felt was the pinnacle of tile-based dungeon-crawl games.
Might & Magic, Eye of the Beholder, Lands of Lore; they were okay, I
guess, but Dragon Wars was - in my eyes - the best of them all.

(And yeah, I wrote fan-fiction for that one too).

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On Mon, 26 Mar 2018 10:36:55 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I seem to recall Bards Tale 3 used fewer spinners than the earlier
games, but it's been decades since I played so I'll not swear to the
fact. I certainly have fonder memories of the third game, since it
tried harder at world-building and story than the first two, which
made it much more enjoyable.

The Bard's Tale 3 had different problems. I did not like that one
either. It had too much combat. Entirely too much combat. And your
characters hitting max level very quickly did not appeal to me at all
as it made all the combat pointless! I just gave up on this series at
that point.

After the Bards Tale series, I happily jumped to "Dragon Wars", which
I always felt was the pinnacle of tile-based dungeon-crawl games.
Might & Magic, Eye of the Beholder, Lands of Lore; they were okay, I
guess, but Dragon Wars was - in my eyes - the best of them all.

I never played Dragon Wars, but I do hear good things about it. I own
it though, so I will play it at some point probably. A mix of the best
features from both Bard's Tale and Wasteland if I am remembering what
I read correctly.

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Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

I seem to recall Bards Tale 3 used fewer spinners than the earlier
games, but it's been decades since I played so I'll not swear to the
fact. I certainly have fonder memories of the third game, since it
tried harder at world-building and story than the first two, which
made it much more enjoyable. The earlier games were just too much
focused on dungeon-crawls. The second was worse; at least the first
game was limited to a single city so its limited worldbuilding seemed
the richer for it.

Ehh... even for the time The Bard's Tale games weren't known for
their story. If you want something like a story you were better off
with Ultima IV than The Bard's Tale III. As far as world building goes
Might and Magic I easily beats BT3.

The problem with BT3 was it was just a repeative grind of casting the
same spells over and over in combat.

After the Bards Tale series, I happily jumped to "Dragon Wars", which
I always felt was the pinnacle of tile-based dungeon-crawl games.
Might & Magic, Eye of the Beholder, Lands of Lore; they were okay, I
guess, but Dragon Wars was - in my eyes - the best of them all.

I'd probably like Dragon Wars better if I didn't get stuck having no clue
how to progress both times I played. For me the best of these games was Wizardry VII, it had the most fun gameplay and a pretty decent story.
Lands of Lore had the best story (not counting Dragon Wars, since I never experienced much of it) and some really cool magic effects for the time. Honourable mention goes to Dungeon Master for being so innovative,
but it got too difficult for me to complete.
--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rridge/
db //

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Am 25.03.18 um 15:30 schrieb Spalls Hurgenson:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2018 06:42:50 -0400, DMP <DMP@mungemaid.com> wrote:

Has anyone seen the alpha playthrough of BTIV?

I took a few moments yesterday and watched a guy play it. Geez, it looks
to be a lot of fun; HUD is pretty different.

D.

Not until you menioned it, but then I immediately went off and found a playthrough on Youtube.
(here's the one I watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0WjWznFD3k)

Personally, it's not what I was expecting. I get what they are trying
to do, but it doesn't feel anything like Bards Tale. The Grimrock
series captured the essence of those games far better than this one
does. I really don't like the interface, if only because vital
information isn't readily available at all times. The combat system
has been made overly complicated, and only four characters in a party?

I might have been more forgiving if it hadn't borne the Bards Tale
name, but there are certain expectations that come with the franchise,
and this game isn't satisfying any of them. I was moderately
interested in the remake when I first heard of it; this playthrough
has made me much less excited. Fortunately, it's still in alpha so
there's opportunity for them to make changes ;-)

Honestly, I'd just prefer a proper remake of the originals; updated
graphics, sound and slight improvements to the interface but that's
it. Maybe a little less reliance on spinner puzzles in the dungeons.

What essence did Bards Tale really have? You had a city and various
dungeons with small puzzles and endless encounters.
In the end you had to handmap the dungeons and you needed a bard in your
party to beat the game. That was about it.
So the interpretation of what a real modern bards tale Successor is
Nowadays is pretty much endless.

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Werner Punz <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:

What essence did Bards Tale really have? You had a city and various
dungeons with small puzzles and endless encounters.
In the end you had to handmap the dungeons and you needed a bard in your >party to beat the game. That was about it.
So the interpretation of what a real modern bards tale Successor is
Nowadays is pretty much endless.

I haven't played it, but Might & Magic X sets the example of what I
would have expected The Bard's Tale IV to be like. Or like The Legend
of Grimrock but with turn-based combat. Or even like the Etrian Odyssey
games on the Nintendo handhelds.

So a version of the first three games, with basically the same gameplay
but updated to modern standards. So maybe not quite as many spinner,
darkness, anti-magic, teleporting squares, and more thought put into
balancing the game's mechanics. More story and character interaction,
but still not a lot. A bit of humour but not a parody. Mostly old-school killing monsters, leveling up your characters and outfitting them with
better magical goodies.

--
l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
[oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
-()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/~rridge/
db //

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