36 réponses à ce sujet

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

I've been playing a really old RPG from 1992 called Darklands and I also feel like sharing my experiences via an LP.  It's an open world sandbox cRPG and has been cited as an inspiration for the Elder Scrolls series. It combines a "do anything, go anywhere" gameworld with party based gameplay and RTwP combat somewhat like BioWare's games. (interested yet?)

I know it's not in the nature of most BSNers to consider playing really old computer RPGs, but I feel like the game deserves some recognition or discussion. Which seems easier to do through an LP, since most people don't know what it's like.

You can find information about Darklands, by visiting it's wiki page: here.

If you're interested in buying the game (or in reading some reviews), you can check it out on GOG: here.

I'll do a couple of chapters to gauge interest. I doubt I'll get it considering it's such an old and obscure game, but I'd be playing it either way. So, no harm in posting what goes on in my game, right?



Keep in mind this playthrough will be more about the LARPing elements for entertainment and showing off the game's features so I will do things like lower the difficulty level, add dialogues inbetween characters, not run an optimal party, or introduce new characters if current ones die (because permadeath for party members is in), etc.

Hopefully the realm of the Holy Roman Empire will provide a big enough stage for some adventures.

So, let's get to it.



Chapter 1:

I will be using the inbuilt DosBox screencap function, so the screenshots will come out at a small resolution, I manually double the size of every image, but it's still small.

We start our tale with the game's opening credits...





Before we go further, I must warn you, this game will tax your video card heavily with it's HD Protorealistic Next-Gen Graphics. Battlefield 3 ain't got **** on Darklands.



Before you say anything, yes. I know what you're thinking and I agree. (S)he makes me horny too.



I'll be skipping an in-depth explanation for character creation. It's a lot of fun (for me), is very unique and is an extremely important facet to the game. In fact, I'd say the character system (which CC is one part of), is the game's greatest strength. But because of this, it would take a significant amount of space to cover.

I could try and explain all of it another time if anyone asks for it, though.

Meet The Party:

Nobert and Albert Mendel. The Mendel Brothers.

Character Creation Path:
(Rural Commoners) Peddlers -> Bandits -> Soldiers, 30 years old (M).



Norbert and Albert serve as the party's Fighters.

Katrina Seidel

Character Creation Path:
(Nobility) Oblate -> Noble Heiress, 25 years old (F).



Katrina serves as the party's Intellectual and Leader.

Reinhart Cromberger

Character Creation Path:
(Town Trades) Oblate -> Student -> Alchemist (x3), 40 years old (M).



Reinhart serves as the party's Alchemist and Seasoned Adventurer.

Note that the character portraits were just pictures taken off google, the game's "portraits" are nowhere near as detailed.

Now, with the party created, let's get into the game.



You get dropped off into a random city when you start a new game. This time, we start in the city of Burglitz.

: Now that we have a goal, how shall we acheive it?

: Let's visit the market and the guilds in search of better equipment and training. I've also heard that the Churches and Monasteries may take on students.

: Spent five years learning from Monks and Nuns in a Monastery. I admire their dedication to the Lord, but there are better ways to achieve our goals. Much better.

: Once we have some teachers, we can just stay here and work at various things things until the money runs low!

: ......

: A wise plan Albert, but why not take action now? Thieves infest the back streets here at night. We can gain repute, experience and a bit of plunder by eliminating them.

: =|

: Don't give me that face, Reinhart. We can also listen to rumors and visit the market to learn about the tasks the merchants may have for us.

: ...Don't we need fine armor and good weapons, Norbert? Maybe the sale of one or two valuable items would give us the funds to help everyone here. I am loathe to venture in the dangerous countryside without good equipment.

Shouldn't the Alchemist be in favour of not selling valuable potions for chump change?



In Darklands, most of your interactions are presented in "Choose Your Own Adventure" type menus. You won't explore locations visually (outside of the overworld and combat maps), but through text based menus like this.

In general, they are well drawn accompanied by detailed prose. Not very "next gen" but very enjoyable nonetheless.

A positive side effect is that encounters are designed like this too. This means that there are always multiple ways to handle a situation (based on your party's skillset).

For now, let's head out onto the main street.



Let's head to the market... aptly named "Markt" in this city.



We don't have much money for buying new supplies, so let's check out the local bankers and financiers, see if they need help with anything. They're a bunch of Fuggers, just like bankers today.



Not only is he shifty looking, but he obscures the text too! Bankers are teh evul!



Mr. Staupitz offers the group 8 florins to take out a Raubritter (Robber Knight) who is extorting (too much) money from their group.

: A raubritter? That seems a bit too difficult for us.

: A bandit is a bandit, knight or not. Norbert and I can take him out.

: No, we can't. We aren't apart of a trained battalion with dozens of soldiers fighting at our side anymore.

: We'll talk about this back at the Inn, but we're not just walking away. I used my family's influence to get us this meeting. I won't shame our good name by refusing their request. We're not walking away.



Mind you, there are no aids to track Quests in Darklands, so if I forget about this quest or if I don't know where the Raubritter and his band of merry men are, then he's free to terrorize the Fuggers in Burglitz all he wants. No floating markers or instant GPS trackers to show me the way.

Afterwards, back at the Inn...

: I don't understand why we aren't going after this raubritter right no-

: We won't be able to defeat him.

: And why would we be unable to do so? Just because you made a living of being poor and weak, does not mean that w-

: >=(

: We should bring the raubritter to justice. God wills it. How could He not?

: Whether God wills it or not, we still need to do the work ourselves, m'lady. I advise against it, for now at least. If we need work, we can check for any rumors or jobs, here in the Inn.

: Exactly. Let us start small and undertake the easier tasks.

: =| ... Fine. But I will decide what we do next.

A Raubritter quest is too much for a party of greenhorns. Besides, I'd rather work within the city for a while before expanding the horizon and leaving it.

That ends the first chapter.

In the next chapter, I'll focus on doing the odd job or facing a random encounter within the city. I'll be able to showcase how Darklands handles it's encounters with it's CYOA menus and I may also get to showcase the combat system.

It's been described as an RTwP system which may be the predecessor to the RTwP combat system BioWare created for the first Baldur's Gate game.

So, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it.

Modifié par mrcrusty, 01 janvier 2012 - 01:54 .

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

So ancient game ...where is the download link? Am I supposed to pay for THIS?!

[Lotion Soronarr]

You'll need DOSBOX for it. Tried playing it myself, but I didn't last long.
Some games just don't age as well. The character creation is very interesting tough.

[Leinadi]

It's a game with more ambitious design than games today which is a damn shame. It doesn't take that long to get into it, main hurdle is probably the interface.

Not a fan of the combat though (not a fan of RTwP generally) but the rest is absolutely ace. Finished a replay of it a week or so ago, played the GoG version.

[Jonp382]

Woah, nice. People should post stuff like this more. I'll have to look at it after I finish up U7. I've looked at Darklands every now and then but didn't do much beyond that due to lack of reputation.(Which to me meant that it probably wasn't well designed)

[Lotion Soronarr]

I'm personally waiting for this game:
www.gamersgate.com/DD-AEFPM/avernum-escape-from-the-pit-mac

Old school quality questing!

[Kaiser Arian XVII]

I believe in Dos era, Ultima and Might & Magic series are superior in Fantasy RPGs. But this game doesn't seem fantasy related.

[Dominus]

That was very educational, thanks Mr. C. I remember you mentioning that briefly in your reccomendations, though it was closer to the bottom back then. Still trying to work on the rest.

Before we go further, I must warn you, this game will tax your video card heavily with it's HD Protorealistic Next-Gen Graphics. Battlefield 3 ain't got **** on Darklands.

Bah, I'll definitely have to YouTube it, looks like it's using DirectX -1, I don't think it's gonna be able to crank out the good stuff.

I'm surprised they didn't make either of the mendel brothers a monk. You know, because of that. Just saying.

Ich möchte mehr sehen. Not like Off-Topic is that exciting at the moment anyways, unless ponies, NWN scams, and dissapointing games are your thing.

[Dominus]

Edit: I am Error.

Modifié par DominusVita, 01 janvier 2012 - 06:57 .

[Leinadi]

Jedi Sentinel Arian wrote...

I believe in Dos era, Ultima and Might & Magic series are superior in Fantasy RPGs. But this game doesn't seem fantasy related.

The point of the Darklands setting was to present the world in a way that people at the time believed it to be (with all the supernatural stuff people believed in as well). At first glance, it looks like a straight historical fiction but once you play a bit you realize that there are indeed a lot of fantastical elements to the game.

[SOLID_EVEREST]

DominusVita wrote...

That was very educational, thanks Mr. C. I remember you mentioning that briefly in your reccomendations, though it was closer to the bottom back then. Still trying to work on the rest.

Before we go further, I must warn you, this game will tax your video card heavily with it's HD Protorealistic Next-Gen Graphics. Battlefield 3 ain't got **** on Darklands.

Bah, I'll definitely have to YouTube it, looks like it's using DirectX -1, I don't think it's gonna be able to crank out the good stuff.

I'm surprised they didn't make either of the mendel brothers a monk. You know, because of that. Just saying.

Ich möchte mehr sehen. Not like Off-Topic is that exciting at the moment anyways, unless ponies, NWN scams, and dissapointing games are your thing.

... or Skyrim (poor excuse of a roleplaying game) discussions. Anyways, Mr. C, this is definitely one of the cooler threads. We need more dedicated to oldschool games in general. Darklands has the best plot of any RPG I've ever seen. I mean going around in a somewhat historical RPG is just epic.

[bussinrounds]

Farkin sweet Crusty !! You incline this place. Too bad most BSN members won't be interested due to the lack gay elf sex/being able to romance everything that has a pulse.

[HoonDing]

<channeling RPG Codex> Betrayal at Krondor is better than this turd in every way. Save maybe graphics.

[bussinrounds]

Yea,  too bad Darklands didn't have turn based combat, like BAK did. Same goes for the Infinity Engine games.

Turn Based > Real Time

Not saying it's a bad game or anything.  (haven't played it myself)

Modifié par bussinrounds, 01 janvier 2012 - 09:46 .

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Thanks for the responses guys! I'll probably get the next chapter posted later today.

@Jon: I think the reason why it wasn't popular when it came out was because it suffered from some massive bugs on release. As for later on, well, MicroProse isn't known for it's RPGs. The equivalent today would be if Firaxis released a unique and ambitious, but very buggy RPG today. Who would remember in 20 years?

(It's the literal equivalent since MicroProse is where Sid Meier and IPs such as Civilization & Pirates got their start.)

@Arian: Leinadi explains it pretty well, the setting of Darklands is essentially 15th century Germany as the people believed it to be. So, it's part historical with fantasy elements (there are demons, monsters, etc). You can find it on GOG: here. It's 3 bucks, but you don't have to deal with having to downloading and setting up DosBox manually. Just install and play. IMO, it's almost worth it for the manual & cluebook alone.

@Dom: Nice spot mate. Didn't know that. But he's 19th century. Maybe these brothers are ancestors? It would give me a motivation not to let them die.

@Solid: I'd have to say that the actual plot is one of Darklands' weakest elements, if not it's weakest. But in turn, it's also a strength since the game is really more about the sandbox and adventures. It's similar to the Elder Scrolls in that way. However, instead of the Elder Scrolls method of beautiful environments and world design, Darklands draws you into the world through your character's skills or abilities in dealing with problems and the narrative prose that accompanies it. The text and menus really make up a lot of the experience. Guess that sucks for people who don't like reading. But whatever.

@virumor:

Funnily enough, once I'm done, I'm considering trying out Betrayal at Krondor next.

@buss: Yeah, I guess. I mean, the combat did kind of fall flat for me and with the whole "choose your own adventure" book vibe the interactions have, I think turn based would've been better for the game too. That said, aside from how slow and unsatisifying it is graphically, it does a decent job. Flanking is vital, so is equipment and stats. You can camp and ambush enemies in the overworld map, and because of the way encounters are designed, it makes almost any kind of skillset useful for combat, even if not in combat (prayer, alchemy, sneaking, etc).

So yeah, there are a lot of downsides to the combat, but there's a lot of good and (especially) ambitious design there too. How many other games can have you avoid combat with a pious character through the power of prayer and not just have that in your head, but actually apart of the game's mechanics and character system?

Modifié par mrcrusty, 02 janvier 2012 - 01:50 .

[bussinrounds]

That's the great thing about alot of these old school RPGs. The Depth. With all this fancy voice acting and shiny graphics nowadays taking up resources and time, they've sacrificed all of that complexity. Such a shame. Years ago, I envisioned games looking great and having all of that good stuff too. What a fool I was.

[Beocat]

Ahhh, I absolutely loved this game (and still do) back when it was still new and even just aging. If my CD hadn't been tossed by some twit over a decade ago I'd probably still be playing it today. I never actually even finished the main storyline though I considered it a few times...the adventuring and building up my party and riches was just too fun

It's actually quite nice and refreshing to see Darklands getting some cheers here. I was beginning to think it had been lost to the forgotten realms of time and obscurity.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Been sitting on this for a day since I was tempbanned. Thanks to Chris Priestly for helping to sort things out.



Chapter 2:

Wow, something that takes like 5 minutes of actual gameplay pads out easily to a lot of writing and a long LP chapter. Especially since I'm still explaining basic elements. Enjoy!





: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.



: Tch! I already knew that...

: So, has anyone given thought to my suggestion yet?

: I have Norbert... and I think it's a good one. It's the only course of action we have, really. The only one that doesn't have us doing menial tasks, at least.

: It's decided then. We will hunt bandits in the dark of night. A splendid plan... =\\

: Heh. Finally. I can't wait.



We take the side streets and head towards the Docks, hoping to find some ruffians to slaughter.



No luck. Though I think it's kinda cool that one of the options is basically "strip and skinny dip your way out of town".

: We have been walking around this city all night, and there has been nothing for us. Perhaps we should try again tomorrow.

: This is a good plan, m'lady and we will find something. That said, maybe a rest would do us some good. What do you say, lads?

: Tch.

: You want us to go back to the Inn?

: No, not the Inn. There is a grove nearby with a fantastic view of the city. Perhaps a few minutes rest there would do us some good. It may also help us spot some bandits and thieves from afar.

: Sounds agreeable enough, let's go.





DUN DUN DUN.



Bandits! Ugly, ugly bandits! The Bandits are the dudes to the right of screen, btw. I mean, it's so hard to tell right, because the game is so photorealistic, it's almost too much for your eyes to handle. Right?

OH I TOTALLY FORGOT, THIS IS THE GAME'S COMBAT SCREEN, YEAH.



Controls in combat are a bit unwieldy, the fact that you left click to select and move your characters, instead of the left click -> right click combination still annoys me. It uses hotkeys and you can eventually get used to it, but RPGs since have made many improvements in making the controls easier and more intuitive.

To move a character, select them using the mouse and left click onto their destinations. They can either (W)alk there or (F)lee to the position. You can also (A)ttack enemies, obviously.

So, left click to highlight character -> hotkey -> left click.

Make sure to click the character on the screen, not the sidebar, that opens up the character sheet. Oh, and did I mention... once you give an order, it stops highlighting the character, so if you accidentally give a bad order, you have to reclick -> hotkey -> left click again. -___-



In Darklands, you've got two Attributes to watch in combat: Strength and Endurance. Both of which you decide on character creation and can't be altered through normal means. These two Attributes are the game's most important. They determine things like weapon & armor requirements, encumberance and the game's form of "HP".

You want ideally to keep both of them at least at around 30 for all characters, and your Fighter(s) with 35-40.

Most of the time when you get hit, you lose Endurance. Go down to zero and your character is knocked out. However, you can also get hit for Strength Damage. Lose all your Strength and your character is dead. Blue bar on the side is Endurance, Green is Strength.

To add to that, you have a couple of combat stances to "enhance" the tactical feel, you get (B)erserker mode (+ attack, - defence) and (P)arry mode (- attack, + defence).

You recover both STR and END if you survive combat, naturally and by resting. At inns, at camp, whatever. The party's rate of recovery is tied to a Healing Skill (which you can build up during character creation and during the game).

It was all going well for a while, but after a couple of brutal hits...



: Oh God! Lord, please help me!

: Run for it!



: Ughh.... I... I need to get out of the fray... don't let them get Miss Katrina.

: HELP!

: Heheh, you ain't gonna get far "m'lady".

: EEK!!



: Albert!

: I'm on it!



The bandits are finally dead. During the battle, Katrina copped a couple of hard hits and fled from the scene, only to get knocked unconcious by the pursuing Bandit. Weirdly enough, even though Katrina was KO'd, Reinhart was the closest to dying because his Strength was dangerously low.



Giggity giggity. Awwww right.

: Here, let me help you up...

: It's okay, I'm fine... thank you. Thank you, everyone. Is Reinhart okay?

: Don't worry about me, I'll live. Albert, colour me impressed, lad.

: =D



Darklands doesn't have "levels" like most RPGs, it has age. Your characters all age, with your bodies strong and skills improving in your prime, and the opposite in dotage. It's part of why character creation is so important.

During character creation, you can age a character through 5 year occupations, which raises related skills and allocates extra skill points for you to distribute. It also can give small attribute bonuses/deductions.

Too young a character, and their skill levels are weak off the bat (Katrina is a good example). On the other hand, their attributes are at maximum levels, plus they have longevity on their side. Too old a character, and despite their initial prowess, the negative effect on their attributes and skill growth means that they get comparatively weaker the longer the game goes on.

Learning to balance youth and experience when creating your party is absolutely vital to getting the most out of the game. My party isn't particularly well put together, but meh. I knew it coming in, I'll live with the consequences.

As for the skills themselves, they use the "raise by use" system popularized by the Elder Scrolls series. Your skills get raised at the end of combat though, not instantly. In this particular case, Albert's (Weapons)Impact skills went up. This roughly translates to Blunt Weapons, like Clubs (which is his equipped weapon).



What's an RPG without PHAT LEWT? The Bandits drop really basic barebones stuff, but that's good too. Random thugs and bandits on the street don't have the best equipment. If they did, I'd be ending the LP with a party wipeout, not a victory screen. Some moniez too. Always nice.



: =>

: =>

: =>

: =>

And so, with the party satisfied with their work, they turn back towards the Inn for a good night's rest after a good night's hard work. Taking out the trash. There are worse ways to earn a living.

...

And that ends Chapter 2. Tune in for the next one! I should try to do the odd job/quest (if they're available) and trigger some encounters that show off how the game handles it's skill based multiple approaches/choices to situations. I may also get the party to earn money via "normal" jobs and introduce that feature if nothing interesting comes up.

Thanks for reading!

Modifié par mrcrusty, 04 janvier 2012 - 07:41 .

[naughty99]

Lots of fun to read, Crusty, thanks for posting this one!

[HoonDing]

An avant-garde version of Kirkwall.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been busy recently but I'll try to get a new chapter up today!

[Dominus]

: Ooh m'lady, do you happen to be an alchemist too? I can already tell we've got plenty of chemistry.

: Excuse me?

: Oh nothing, just plotting more ways of finishing these menial side quests within a quasi-historical exposition. You know, business as usual.

So far so good, Mr. Crusty.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Okay, so much for "I'll get the update done today!" but as I said, I've been pretty busy lately. Plus, it's hard to dedicate my free time on writing an LP of a game I enjoy rather than actually playing it. Add to that I had to focus on a different aspect of the game instead since I didn't get the encounters I had hoped for.

So, here goes:

Chapter 3:

The party rested for a few days (though they barely got back any health) at the Inn.



We head to the Church District.



Into the Kirche we go.



: I don't really see the point in going to Ma-

: We're poor with no jobs and still recovering from injury. Surely it wouldn't hurt.

: No, I mean that right now, we wouldn't be abl... hey! Wait up!



Unfortunately, it looks like there is no Mass going on at the moment.

: Unfortunately, it looks like there is no Mass going on at the moment.

Didn't I just say that? =\\

: Yes. Mass is not currently taking place. Which is something you would know, had you stopped to let me finish talking.

: Let's go to Confession, then. I certainly have a few things to get off my chest.



So, the party decides to go to Confession. You may notice here, or in a picture previous, that the option to donate money to a beggar has been given to the party. We can give him money, hopefully gaining Divine Favour (game's version of MP) and possibly increasing the Virtue Skill. It's only slightly more than a night's rest at the Inn, but for now, let's ignore the poor bastard ().



10 hours? Folks take their penance seriously in the Middle Ages.



: I think it would be a good idea to converse with the local Monks in hopes of learning from them and their ways.

: I distinctly remember rejecting this idea.

: No offence m'lady, but it is not like we have more important business to attend to.



: Oh! The library! I must see if they have added new materials to their collection!

: I thought you hated this place...

: I dislike the Monks and their rigid way of life. Not the knowledge they possess or the faith they profess.

: ....





: I am loathe to disappoint you, Sir Monk, but I don't believe we will be making a donation today.

: Indeed, we apologise in advance, but our own financial situation leaves us unable t-

: Here! Our thanks for your assistance and access to your library.

: =|

: =|

: >=|

: =S ...what?



: This book about Saint Catherine certainly is fascinating. Did you know that she...

...



When the party leaves the Kloster, it's already nightfall.



OH NOES!! IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING BAD IS GONNA LIEK, TOTALLY HAPPEN!



: Get behind us! Albert and I shall cover the flanks!

: Block them off! Catch them off guard!



: Take that, you fiend!



: Haarrgghh! That's another one down!



: Your ambush has been foiled. Surrender now!

: Uhh... umm...

: Very well, no quarter!!



Albert was able to raise his Impact Weapons Skill from 30 to 32 in this battle, good on him.

: Yes, good on you Albert.

Again? You're not supposed to be acknowledging the narrator or sharing my lines. Just because I'm tired doesn't mean you get to break fourth wall, Reinhart. >=(



Victory!!



Now some of you may be thinking, damn that battle was so much easier on the party than the previous one, where one person KO'd and the other almost died. The real big difference inbetween the two battles was not the strength of my units or the enemy's, but tactics and strategy.

I used my melee fighters Albert and Norbert to occupy most of the battlefield's real estate. Because of how the map is drawn out (corridor), there's a limited amount of space that can be occupied by the characters. I positioned Albert and Norbert to force a bottleneck knowing that they could easily handle individual bandits.

Katrina and Reinhart, the physically weak characters, would then be free to attack a single bandit at the same time, since other ones wouldn't have the space to manuever. This is important because of the massive advantages the game gives to many-v-one combat situations. It also helps that the AI isn't that smart either, since one of the bandits could've just outflanked one of my characters (the strategy wasn't executed perfectly).

In any case, the end result in both battles is significantly different despite having the exact same party and exact same enemies. Because unlike the previous one, where I was happy to let 1v1 duels occur (exposing my weaker characters in the process), I tried to utilise both positioning and terrain to my advantage. It's not exactly a plan to write in the history books, but it demonstrates quite handily the advantages of playing to your party's strengths and executing a solid battle plan.

And that ends Chapter 3, somewhat short compared to the first two, but I'll try to get a new Chapter up tomorrow. I'll once again try to find some good quests (actual ones), but Burglitz is a surprisingly quiet place. I'll also do some menial tasks to earn some cash and rest up some of the characters.

Thanks for reading!

Modifié par mrcrusty, 12 janvier 2012 - 01:54 .

[SOLID_EVEREST]

Man, Crusty, hurry up with this stuff. Seriously, you have the heart of an adventurer. If I were interested in playing PnP games, I would totally ask you to be the Game Master. Great job on the last battle as well, nice use of strategy and tactics.

[A Crusty Knight Of Colour]

Lol, thanks for the compliments Solid. I don't think I'd make a good GM though. I've played Pen & Paper games before and I'm sure I'd suck at GM'ing. I'll try and get an update up today, but no promises.

RE: the tactics, what I did was nothing special. It's really part LP, part explanatory since I want people to get a good grasp of what Darklands is like, and how good it was for it's time. That's why I usually add a new element of the game in each chapter. I don't want to say I intentionally got whooped in the first battle (I didn't expect Katrina would be KO'd or that Reinhart would almost die), but I did want to showcase how the different approaches, playing to your strengths and "roleplaying" (would a religious noble really want to get into the fray like that?) actually is acknowledged by the game through the differences in how battle plays out.

But it's something I like about the game (the tactical element), because of the quasi-realistic setting, the combat itself is quasi-realistic or at least logical in how it approaches it's combat mechanics. It's sort of the same mindset that M&B takes for it's combat, although obviously the type of combat system it has is vastly different.

Modifié par mrcrusty, 14 janvier 2012 - 06:36 .