137 replies to this topic

[Chunder]

Time for some physical offense and defense. Armour would be nice - but that price is just a joke!

I can afford a stiletto, though - time for some bargaining...


Hmm - talked him down a bit. Not too bad going, I suppose.

Still no experience yet, though - and I'm starting to flag... but I just spent most of my money! Oh no!


Woo - a skelington! This stiletto is mean!

It dies, and the weather changes. Ominous... Shame it didn't have anything useful, though.


Another guild - starting to feel pretty good about myself - lots more encounters, but people just leave me alone. Being nice feels really weird!


An imp - lemme at it! A brief slug fest later ( *flexes biceps* ) and it's been pwned. And I find a potion - shame my wisdom is so low. All I can tell is that it's red and sweet... hmm... could it be? Really?



YAY!!! Awesome! Up a level, and I got some armour - it *looks* mundane, but then again, I'm not the sharpest sword in the smithy...

[Chunder]

Starting to suffer now, but I've got a gem - so if I can sell that I'll have loadsamoney for food and drink...


Curses - foiled by early closing on a Friday afternoon!

In the pub where it's safe; time to look over my spoils of war...

w00t!!! Magical armour! Sweet!

Time for some kip - a couple of close scrapes on the way there... in the words of Monty Python: "Run Away!!!"


Feeling slightly refreshed (my HP only went up to 8! Not good!), I step outside - only to be attacked by a thief. Fortunately, I tricked him into looking the wrong way - my, that's a nasty stiletto wound you have there, Mr. Thief...

And that's another level - *look at those hit points!* Nice! Can't wait to see what they're at when I'm fully refreshed...

Another creepy bonesman... not too tough - or bright - fortunately.

Just a couple of shields - not too exciting, but better than nothing. The jewel and gold are more than welcome, though!

A few more scraps later, and it's time for bed... again!

I wake up feeling *very* refreshed...


Off to get some nosh, and I bump into an acolyte (surprised him, in fact) - I did nothing, and he engaged me! I waited, and he cast a spell! What's going on?! I'm nice, me! Oh well - off with his head!

More potions, jewels and money. This treasure finding stuff is a right lark! I even get bumped up another level, which is nice.

[Chunder]

Off to another guild or two...


... and I get attacked by a commoner! Oh well - let him make the first move. Perhaps he just doesn't like my cheap grey breechcloth?

This guy had a whole bundle of stuff - strangely enough, he was attacking me with a dagger, but was carrying a sword. Stupid little man. Another encounter, another level, it seems...

A ways later, I'm travelling through all the secret doors at the north-west city wall, heading toward the Tavern when I'm savagely attacked by a dwarf. He wasn't much kop, and a quick snicker-snatch and he's down... *rummage* Is this a dagger I see before me? No!

(Note: I've never had one of these before - only a cursed version; w00t! Shame the word "Magical" blinked off at the wrong time...)

Another level, too - climbing fast... hope that I don't fall fast, too!

Get there eventually - why is it that when you're busy concentrating on keeping count of the magic doors you've gone through, you get loads of encounters?? Weird...

With my new-found wealth, I decide to treat the other patrons...

*basking in the warmth of friendship*

(Look - he even says "Dear friend"... how cool is that!?)

Right - I've got to go out, so time to save progress, just outside the tavern.


Not bad going for 1.25 hours worth of playing!

Stay tuned for the next instalment!

[Xebec's Demise]

axewater, on Sat Jun 25, 2005 4:53 PM, said:

Xebec's Demise, on Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:12 AM, said:

Yes, your weapons and armor do wear out.  I think I read about that in the cluebook.  I tried to look it up but don't have time at the moment.

You are talking about Black Slime right?  I am not sure about them wearing out armor and weapons with acid, but it makes sense.  I don't think anyone has studied that, would be interesting to know.

What level did you make it to? 

I didn't get past level 8, so my last screenie is 'the one'.
I think when the slime attacks, sometimes it says something like 'the slime attacks with corrosive acid' ... or something along those lines ... I bet that screws with your equipment....

No doubt, I'll have to test that. Some of those monsters have terrible attacks. Especially a Specter attacking with a Soul Wrenching Grasp which supposedly steals away a whole Level! Or a Nightstalker and It's Blood Sucking Fangs which is supposed to steal 2 points of Strength with every hit! Never experienced them myself though, thank goodness!

[Chunder]

OK - it's bedtime, so I've saved off my progress so far. To summarize, I've just achieved level 7 and have had a couple of scary run-ins with tough small green dragons, and guards... the only two "creatures" that seem to be able to cause me any difficulty.
At one point, I was down to 1 HP - out of over 70... not good!

I've just carefully crafted a detailed post illustrating my progress, and I'm told that I've already posted too many images. Boo sucks!

I've got the post saved, ready for when I can re-apply it, but in the meantime the images are stored here...

G'night all

[Xebec's Demise]

Chunder, on Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:03 PM, said:

Woke up this morning, rolled out of bed...

...and was abducted by aliens and deposited within a medieval city, or is it all in my dreams.

You lucky SOB! You are one of those guys that pisses of all of his friends because your luck is neverending, huh?

A Treasure Finding potion, weapons and armor, gems, Magical Flame Sword all within a couple of hours on a single character!

What a fun story to read!

Thanks for all the screenshots, was it Atariage that limited the images you could post or your image host? Oh, just thought of something, maybe it's just because you tried to put too many images within a single post - try splitting it up into two seperate posts, I have had to do that a couple times myself.

That is interesting that you are fighting a skeleton in the daytime and then it started raining again after killing it. Was it raining when you encountered the skeleton initially, then stopped raining and then started again after you killed him? Or, were you just fighting him for so long that the sun eventually came up? Weird.

If you are wondering why you became somewhat evil, it's probably because you were tricking thieves. Even if thieves or warrior types attack you, you cannot Trick or Charm them as such acts are considered evil. The only beings that you can Trick or Charm, without becoming evil are Evil creatures. Yeah, it sucks, you have to fight fairly if you want to be a good guy.

"Get there eventually - why is it that when you're busy concentrating on keeping count of the magic doors you've gone through, you get loads of encounters?? Weird... "

Amen, I hear you! Maybe it's because you are making lots of noise? "doo, too, doo," doo, too, doo," "doo, too, doo"...

Nice write up. It was fun to see all your pictures.

Congratulations on making 2nd Place!

Edited by Xebec's Demise, Sun Jun 26, 2005 10:06 PM.

[Chunder]

Let's try again... round 2... *ding*

First off, some *real* armour...


Next, some more guild visits:




"Buy" some friends


First City Bank tell me that both my gem *and* jewel are totally worthless. Right - I'll get them appraised elsewhere...



Hmph - so much for that. They're both worthless at the Granite bank, too




Acquire some more friends, on the understanding that wealth is fleeting, but friendship is longer lasting...

Edited by Chunder, Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:15 AM.

[Chunder]

I sell off all my gems and jewels, and put 30,000 copper pieces into a medium risk account... one of my jewels was worth 80 gold - groovy!


The funny thing is, though - now that I'm not carrying loads of money, my friends in the Tavern think that I'm down-and-out (thirsty, hungry, no apparent money) - and nicely they buy me food and drink! Fooled ya!



Wouldn't it have been good to have taken my 30k copper into here? What would you have put it all on - red or black?


EEK! My Magical Flamesword isn't hurting this Small Green Dragon much! (I nailed it eventually, though... *phew!*


Treasure Finding eventually wears out...


... so I wander to the nearest Healer where I start going through my stash of potions, acquired whist TF'ing... (near the healer in case I get badly poisoned or something - I'm not totally daft!)
After a couple of boring ones, I find a red one... hmm...


Yup - you guessed it! TF *again*!

This is getting pretty surreal - never before have I had a game which has run as well as this; decent weapons, good treasure, nice potions, easy encounters... when this one goes wrong, I think it will do so *big style* (Knowing my luck there'll be a power cut or something!)

A bit more wandering around, and I found Acrinimiril's Gate - I remember this from the Dungeon, but didn't realise that there was a counterpart in the City. Shame it's closed, though... as soon as I exited, though, I encountered a guard - a very relentless guard - a very *tough* relentless guard. Damn near killed me. Definitely a heart-in-mouth moment!


Need sleep to recover HP...

Edited by Chunder, Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:17 AM.

[Xebec's Demise]

If you end up staying in a bank past closing time, then you will not be able to re-enter. I posted the bank hours here: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...ndpost&p=878507

Of course, using save states and character edits also causes strange things to happen like being unable to enter establishments and corrupted characters, because character info is saved to disk 2 side 1 during play, but I know you were not doing that!

I've never seen this before! Too cool! Still finding out new things about the game after 20 years! You actually got kicked out of the bar!

The reason that your images are not showing up is because your image host has case sensitive folders. In the new images you posted you have the folder as "Alternate_reality" when it should be "Alternate_Reality"

See:

You like to live your alternate reality life dangerously!

Congrats on Number 1!

Edited by Xebec's Demise, Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:19 PM.

[Chunder]

Xebec's Demise, on Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:46 AM, said:

The reason that your images are not showing up is because your image host has case sensitive folders.  In the new images you posted you have the folder as "Alternate_reality" when it should be "Alternate_Reality"

Ack! Good spot - I thought I'd checked that!

Quote

You like to live your alternate reality life dangerously!

Nah - not that dangerously! Admittedly, quaffing random potions is somewhat foolhardy, but after visiting every guild, tavern and shop, I was getting a bit bored!

[Chunder]

- except they didn't go up much because I was so hungry and thirsty. Off we go to a tavern... "Hello Mr Guard. Nice day, isn't it? Ouch! What was that for? RUN AWAY!"
Damnit - look at those HP!!! Back to the inn!


OK - now I'm really starting to feel the pain!

My friends in the tavern help out again. Sorted.

Wandering around for a while and TF wears out again, so back up to a healer to quaff some more dodgy stuff from unlabelled bottles. (If this game was released nowadays, parents would be in uproar!)


How unlikely was that?! Some vinegar, a couple of healing potions, one that vanished, and then TF again! Sweet!

Not seen one of these guys before, so I figure that he'll have some cool stuff... he didn't succumb to my trickery (I wanted to hurry... a little evil isn't *too* bad, is it? ) so I had to pound him... and he pounded me a bit in return.
Fortunately, he succumbed first, and gave me yet another level.



And with that, it's time for bed...

[Chunder]

What a frickin' nightmare day!

It all started off OK, but went downhill rapidly... not long after depositing 52000 coppers into a medium risk bank account, I find that I am unable to enter any banks! Everything else is OK, but all three banks go from "Entering..." to "Leaving..." in the blink of an eye. Not even a "We are closed" message! Argh! (It has been pointed out that this is due to being in a bank at closing time... which I was - trying to sell/appraise my jewels. Not good - this is something that *everyone* should be aware of!)

I haven't seen one of these guys before (apart from in the Dungeon) - just like the standard Mugger/Thief model in a different colour...

Not too hard fortunately!

My TF then ran out, leaving me with no money, and no way of getting any money... so I started quaffing my stash of potions - my wisdom being too low to readily identify them from a sip.
I found a few TF potions (one after the other! Typical!) :




Unfortunately it wasn't all good - there were about 4 alcohol based potions (including a potion of inebriation) involved too, as well as some strong poisons, and some acid! That was me totally screwed! I couldn't afford the healer's rate for cleansing alcohol, all the encounters were giving me weapons or jewels (not much use if you can't go into a bank...!) and I couldn't see or walk straight

I slept for ages in the nearest inn (the green boar, IIRC) but I didn't sober up... unfortunately I became very (very, very!) hungry and thirsty. I staggered off to the tavern at the city square, but I got the following message.


Great.

Back to sleep, watching my stats drop steadily, and then a frantic run back to the tavern before I died of starvtion. Phew! They let me in this time. Saved!

Some more TF'ing again... and another level! Yay!


...and a scary encounter with a wraith - haven't seen one of those for years. He wasn't very tough though - I even stood there and let it have 6 free attacks to see if it would do anything exciting!
(The answer is no - it only attacked with a claw, or a bone-crushing grip IIRC)


Later on, I discovered that Small Green Dragons are nasty! They can hit me through my magical plate mail, and my magical flamesword didn't do much damage to it! Definitely ungood.


Bizarrely, I spotted my hit points gradually dropping whilst walking around- but no sign of disease or poison (I'd quaffed a cure poision potion earlier, fortunately)... the healer couldn't diagnose any diseases, so I figured that perhaps if I caught a disease that he *did* recognise, then I could get that cured and hopefully stop the problem (thinking that maybe the game was confused or something).

Soon enough I found some brown mould, and let it sporulate all over me. Nice - but at lease now I was identifiably diseased. The healer spotted it, but now I couldn't afford the cure! Argh!


(Strangely, the price charged by the healer varies both by what else you've had done whilst in that "healing session", and also seemingly at random. Each time when I went in whilst diseased it was too expensive, but later on the price was down to a reasonable 800 coppers. Bah!)

[Chunder]

I got into a few fights, lost loads of HP (ulp!) and didn't have much money to spare - nor any more potions to quaff!


Not only are my HP decreasing, but my stats are too! Stamina, strength, wisdom - all taking a pounding. Nasty stuff - but I get some more interesting encounters, and get some *more* treasure finding!



Finally I get shut of the brown mould disease, but unfortunately all my stats are still knackered - no bringing them back apart from hard work and potions


Time to save and go to bed (notice that my HP has dropped by one in the time it took to take a screenshot! Scary!)

[Chunder]

Greetz all - today was a bit better than yesterday; no close calls with the Grim Reaper

First off, I discovered that since I'd saved and restarted, I could now re-enter the banks. *Phew*
I flogged off my gems and jewels - one of which was worth a tidy sum:


Soon I realised my assets - and decided to actually carry around all my money, rather than leaving it in the bank (although the interest was pretty... um... interesting!)

(In case you miss it, that 1,138 GOLD - w00t! )

Now that I'm rolling in moolah, I figured that I can join some of the exclusive clubs - the Misty Mountains, for example. Shame it's so expensive to buy a round of drinks in here, though!!


More friends are always welcome - although I'm starting to get concerned that if I have so many friends in all the different taverns, the liklihood of me encountering them - and most likely killing them - is beginning to increase. Not a nice thought - how to become evil instantly!

To advertise my richness, I decide to splash out on some tasteful clothes:

I was originally trying to get all white stuff, but nobody had more than the two I got (a jerkin and a cloak) - until, of course, I bought some gold things... then *everyone* started selling white clothes! Argh!

I find some more potions - no treasure finding this time around, but I suspect that somebody is trying to tell me something...



... and so I'll call it a night.


Still no resolution to the depleting HP, though. I stacked up on 30+ water flasks and 20 food packets, and tried sleeping for days on end. I'm now midway through the month of "First Fruits", having slept for most of the month of "Sowings"... and I'm still not right. Ah well, at least it ensures that I sleep regularly!

It's getting obvious that it's harder to increase in level now - this one session acquired 13k experience (a whole load of encounters - mostly outside the two shops in the south-west corner) but I'm still level 8... *must try harder*

[Xebec's Demise]

Now lets see if you can get all gold clothes in Fine Dragonskin quality!

And in a robe, a cloak, pants and a vest!

[Xebec's Demise]

Since you have done so well, here is a tribute to Thoreandan by flute.

http://www.jb.org/thoreandan/

[Xebec's Demise]

Maybe these can be opened up in the cartridge version!

A casino and House of Ill-Repute is all that The City is missing! Somewhere to blow all your gold.

[Chunder]

Xebec's Demise, on Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:00 PM, said:

Now lets see if you can get all gold clothes in Fine Dragonskin quality!

And in a robe, a cloak, pants and a vest!

Hmm - you almost caught me there! I had a quick play around this lunchtime (I only live 5 mins from work! ) and - as well as achieving level 9 (will post pix this evening) I visited almost every shop.

"Fine" quality clothes appear to be pretty rare.
"Gold" coloured clothes are reasonably rare - even more so when you're after something that is both "Fine" and "Gold".
Dragonskin clothes seem to only be green (?)

I've also never seen the clothes items "pants" or "vest" - the closest would be a toga or robe, and jerkin or blouse respectively.

Interesting to see what everyone else finds...

[Chunder]

Xebec's Demise, on Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:15 PM, said:

Maybe these can be opened up in the cartridge version!

Hang about - wouldn't that change the nature of the game beyond what PP originally intended?

The locations are obviously there, but I strongly doubt that the establishment graphics are present, nor the logic to make the places run...

If you slept at a HoIR would your HP accumulate slower or quicker? Would you become more susceptible to disease from staying there, or would your immunity build? Would you run more risk of being infected if you stay there frequently?
Would the prices be higher or lower if you've got high STA? What about CHR?
What "options" would be available? *cough* (Pick your partner - would they all be female? Pick what you want to pay for? What age group is this game aimed at, anyway??!)

In a casino, would the gamble be driven by your own skill (i.e. the player) or your char's SKL? What about INT and WIS - would they have any effect? Is there a hidden "Luck" stat, and if so, would it have an effect? (I think that there *must* be, as I've never seen as many TF potions in my entire life, let alone on one character!)
What options would be available in the casino? (Blackjack, poker, roulette?)


As these establishments are of a slightly "seedy" nature, is the risk of encountering thieves, muggers, etc. higher nearby?
I have a feeling that the game has something like this in it already - I certainly encounter more noblemen on the Royale Walkway, warrior-types outside the arena, and have more encounters in general outside a shop, bank or tavern...

[Chunder]

Ok - some lunchtime progress, including the aquisition of level 9...

Firstly, get some more friends - I've lost track of how many inns that is; can't be many left now...


Hit level 9 - yay!


Get some *more* Treasure Finding!!


Meet a stranger - don't see these very often; must be an endangered species... not that I've helped things much by killing this one!


Even *more* friends - I'd love to know how much I've spent overall in buying these friends... and whether I'll *ever* be able to recoup the cost by sponging back off them when I'm hungry, thirsty and poor!



...and time to go back to work...

[Xebec's Demise]

Chunder, on Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:25 AM, said:

Dragonskin clothes seem to only be green (?)

I've also never seen the clothes items "pants" or "vest" - the closest would be a toga or robe, and jerkin or blouse respectively.

Interesting to see what everyone else finds...

Here is a list of all the different selections:

Quality      Color        Fabric         Articles

  Cheap        Black        Dragonskin     Blouse
  Simple       Blue         Fur-lined      Breechcloth
  Fine         Brown        Linen          Cloak
               Gold         Satin          Dress
               Green        Silk           Hat
               Maroon       Wool           Jerkin
               Orange       <blank>        Pants
               Pink                        Raincoat
               Plaid                       Robe
               Purple                      Scarf
               Red                         Shirt
               Silver                      Skirt
               Striped                     Socks
               White                       Tie
               Yellow                      Toga
                                           Vest

This is from eobet's FAQ at http://www.eobet.com...reality_FAQ.txt

But I know there are even more! A recent one I've noticed is that there is also a whole line of Violet colored clothes.

And yes, recently I found the following Dragonskin clothes for sale in various colors:

Cheap Violet Dragonskin Robe - even this cheap version was 7537 gold!
Cheap Violet Dragonskin Toga
Fine Gray Dragonskin Vest - this was 3154 gold.
Simple Purple Dragonskin Cloak
Simple Green Dragonskin Toga
Simple Orange Dragonskin Cloak

Ever seen Plaid?

Edited by Xebec's Demise, Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:03 PM.

[Xebec's Demise]

Philip Price actually put these establishments into the game, I don't think he would want to add establishments to his game that you could not enter - the whole point of adding something into your game is so that it can be a part of the game. It was likely Datasoft that said no way and had him Close them off.

HOIR interesting that the abbreviation is pronounced like the commodity thereof.

Just like with anything else, I think your "price" and bargaining ability would be lower if your CHR was high.

Hmm, what purpose would it serve - everything in the game seems to have a purpose. Maybe you would sleep much better, but at a risk of disease? The graphics for that sure would be funny! It would likely only show the bar downstairs though, I imagine.

The Casino could be really awesome. What kind of medieval games where there. Did they have poker back then? I suppose your ability to win or your luck could be slightly affected by your skills. The more WIS and INT you have the better you should do, but for the most part, it should probably be based off the real odds. That way you could lose your house.

Speaking of which, I always wondered if those empty buildings along mainstreet were meant to be homes that you could eventually buy from The Palace and move into - a place to sleep, store your equipment and relax.

Edited by Xebec's Demise, Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:37 PM.

[Chunder]

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

How frustrating!

<Darth Vader> Noooooooooooooooo! </Darth Vader>




Ah well - back to the drawing board!

(Actually, I had the character backed up from ages ago when I first got the Flamesword, IIRC... I could upload it if anyone wants to have a play around to see if they experience as much luck as I did... )

*sigh*

Edited by Chunder, Thu Jun 30, 2005 2:24 PM.

[Xebec's Demise]

Is that the first time that happened?

I would not play with 1088k. The game only makes use of 128k Maximum. It may be safer to use the XE 128k option for compatibility.

Yes, post that character, I would like to check it out.

Edited by Xebec's Demise, Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:19 PM.

[Chunder]

A couple of recent screenshots prior to the "incident":

Don't get mny of these guys... had a couple of potions including this nasty one!



...I don't think that I've ever survived for this long before! I wonder what the other months are called...

Here is the most recent character disk, in case anyone is able to ressurect a dead character...

and here is the last point at which I actually backed up the character... a *long* time (subjectively!) ago

Edited by Chunder, Fri Jul 1, 2005 12:04 PM.