Pool of Radiance, Eye of the Beholder, and others on GoG (soon)!
WELP! This hype!
http://www.pcgamer.com/forgotten-realms-the-archives-brings-13-dd-classics-to-gog/
Considering I just played through PoR I wouldn't mind getting the full set that works without me using Dosbox. Hopefully it doesn't require Dosbox.
http://www.pcgamer.com/forgotten-realms-the-archives-brings-13-dd-classics-to-gog/
Considering I just played through PoR I wouldn't mind getting the full set that works without me using Dosbox. Hopefully it doesn't require Dosbox.
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The games are already on the topsellers list on gog.com.
PS: However, those are really old games. I'd read the gog forums first to see any possible problems, compatibility issues and so on.
Obviously they got the license for all this stuff, but only released the Forgotten Realms related titles. Major titles from SSI that are still missing are the Dragonlance Krynn Trilogy of Gold Box games, both Dark Sun games, and the two Ravenloft games that are very similar to Menzoberranzan in every respect. Unless somehow they managed to NOT get the rights to those titles, which would be odd indeed.
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/21327/vote-for-gog-to-carry-the-ssi-gold-box-games#latest
ProTip: If these games run a little too fast or slow on your PC, use Ctrl+F11 and Ctrl+F12 to slow down or speed up the game.
But just in case anyone missed my 'sarcasm' tag, yes. I put that comment in to be snarky. I am finding that sarcasm is a language all it's own and not everyone speaks it.
[spoiler=Rescuing_Gold_Box_Games]With the trail running cold, GOG tracked down SSI’s original President and founder, Joel Billings. “As a huge fan of D&D he was willing to help walk us through a detailed history behind SSI mergers and narrow the search down to two potential candidates: Mattel, or Gores Technology Group (who had acquired The Learning Company). The latter was a hit. We had found the actual rights owners to the Forgotten Realms games, and after several more months of negotiations, they agreed to sell them to us outright.”
GOG managed to recover thirteen games this way. They are: the party-based RPG Pool of Radiance; its sequels Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades and Pools of Darkness; C&C creators Westwood’s minigame RPG Hillsfar; the RPG construction kit Unlimited Adventures; Westwood’s first-person Eye of the Beholder Trilogy; the roguelike FPS Dungeon Hack; the two Savage Frontier games; and the Ultima Underworld-like Underdark exploration game Menzoberranzan.
Then it they had the not-so-small matter of getting all thirteen running and bug-free for modern systems including Windows 10. Considering these were huge games—and not bug free in their release versions—that’s a massive task that the GOG team has been working on since April.
One of the stranger challenges has been to get the Code Wheels working—the nostalgia-inducing cardboard security devices that came in the SSI Gold Boxes. “We considered trying to remove the need to use these codes during gameplay (much like we've done with several of our games in the past) but instead decided to opt for leaving that mechanic intact for the sake of a cooler, more authentic old-school experience.” So each game has a printable DIY code wheel for players to construct and a software version as well.[/spoiler]
From the sounds of it, it might be just as difficult to recover the Dragonlance titles, and other SSI games. But, now that they have some help from Joel Billings perhaps it will be a bit easier. I imagine the folks at Beamdog can sympathize with the legal hurdles of getting the rights to older titles.
Tons of fun, though! I'm going to restart and re-build my party next time though and have some grid-paper with me to map things out n_n
http://www.gog.com/game/dd_stronghold_kingdom_simulator
I also have Secret of the Silver Blades but it works normally. Caveat: the overland maps outside New Verdigris and the Ice Crevasses are a *pain* to map or explore. "oh, look--I took five steps and got attacked by yet another group of ogres...or hill giants...or Banite Clerics...or Black Circle mages...or frost giants and mammoths". Yes, everyone is 12th or 13th level and the fights are easy but making progress towards my destination is really s...l...o...w...
It *is* possible to beat the 14 black dragons on top of Dracandros' Tower. It isn't easy, but it is definitely possible.
Pool of Radiance doesn't have much in the way of "epic" fights, being a low-level game, but making it through the sneak attack at Sokol Keep without losing any party members feels pretty epic.
@Vallmyr Is it worth going back and playing?
Whether you are 15 or 55 you should get the old Gold Box games when they come out just so you can say that you have been there and done that. Some of the fights can be a little challenging in Pool of Radiance because you probably won't be ready for them--spectres in the library? really? with level drain? really?!--but once you get a 5th-level mage it gets easier because Fireball is so over-powered compared to the foes you will face. Healing is problematic--you have access only to Cure Light Wounds and perhaps some potions, otherwise you have to save your money and head to the temples in New Phlan.
Curse of the Azure Bonds is probably the most difficult of the Gold Box games because your party is at the most difficult portion of the level-up curve from 7th to 11th level. It isn't as linear as SotSB after you clear Hap/Dracandros' Tower and by the time you get to Zhentil Keep the money is pretty Monty Haul-ish, especially if you search the surrounding area in every town to find the caves with the mini-quests. erm...be careful poking around the caves in the vicinity of Dagger Falls--there is an area down there with some special and *very* difficult set encounters. In fact, without the proper preparation you *cannot* win against these encounters.