• wIZARDRY ] 5 ordeals

    From Julian@j63840576@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Mon Jan 29 02:54:37 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like: Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1 character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem. I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.
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  • From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Tue Jan 30 21:22:25 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 02:54:37 -0800 (PST), Julian <j63840576@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better
    than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few
    Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like:
    Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel
    like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a >six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1
    character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then
    probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem.
    I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.

    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never
    really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of
    them fled to other games. And even though tile-based dungeon-crawlers
    have seen a bit of a resurgence - thanks mostly to nostalgia - they
    remain a tiny niche genre. So Wizardry is a small niche in a tinier
    niche; no surprise "The Five Ordeals" gets so little discussion.

    (that and because, you know, it's Usenet. There's nobody left to
    discuss things anyway. ;-)




    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Julian@j63840576@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Tue Jan 30 18:49:24 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 8:22:34 PM UTC-6, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 02:54:37 -0800 (PST), Julian <j638...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better
    than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few
    Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like:
    Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel
    like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a >six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1
    character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then
    probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem.
    I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.
    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never
    really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of
    them fled to other games. And even though tile-based dungeon-crawlers
    have seen a bit of a resurgence - thanks mostly to nostalgia - they
    remain a tiny niche genre. So Wizardry is a small niche in a tinier
    niche; no surprise "The Five Ordeals" gets so little discussion.

    (that and because, you know, it's Usenet. There's nobody left to
    discuss things anyway. ;-)
    That's not what I'm looking for. I mapped and solved Wizardry 6. Wizardry 7 on DosBox has horrible sound quality and is not playable.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Julian@j63840576@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Tue Jan 30 20:03:10 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 8:49:26 PM UTC-6, Julian wrote:
    On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 8:22:34 PM UTC-6, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 02:54:37 -0800 (PST), Julian <j638...@gmail.com> wrote:
    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better
    than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few >Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like:
    Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel >like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a >six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1
    character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then
    probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem.
    I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.
    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of them fled to other games. And even though tile-based dungeon-crawlers
    have seen a bit of a resurgence - thanks mostly to nostalgia - they
    remain a tiny niche genre. So Wizardry is a small niche in a tinier
    niche; no surprise "The Five Ordeals" gets so little discussion.

    (that and because, you know, it's Usenet. There's nobody left to
    discuss things anyway. ;-)
    That's not what I'm looking for. I mapped and solved Wizardry 6. Wizardry 7 on DosBox has horrible sound quality and is not playable.
    I misread some of this. Some Wizardry stuff in 5 Ordeals is worse than the Wizardry 1-7 puzzles they are based on. Any label on the switches would be better than total ambiguity. I am not 100% certain it is solvable.
    I didn't tell you before but these switches are each connected to a component in an ore-throwing system. It is partly based on a Wizardry 6 puzzle with five switches each labeled with 6 syllable words that you may not use at KFC. Then a paragraph of writing is discovered. Some say it is straightforward. I'll be alright. Those guys told me that shortcut key to throw the computer's power. If I use it sparingly it will get me through.
    --
    Julian Waldby
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Kyonshi@gmkeros@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Wed Jan 31 09:59:01 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On 1/31/2024 3:22 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never
    really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of
    them fled to other games.

    The game was created by a Japanese company for the Japanese Wizardry
    market. I think the problem is that this is not only for the die-hard
    Wizardry fans, this is for Japanese die-hard Wizardry fans and those
    might be in an age that doesn't intersect with that of other retrogaming
    fans. I think the western release might have been a bit of an
    afterthought just to get some additional bucks from potential western fans.



    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Spalls Hurgenson@spallshurgenson@gmail.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Wed Jan 31 20:19:26 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:49:24 -0800 (PST), Julian <j63840576@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    On Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 8:22:34?PM UTC-6, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 02:54:37 -0800 (PST), Julian <j638...@gmail.com>
    wrote:
    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better
    than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few
    Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like:
    Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel
    like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a
    six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1
    character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then
    probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem.
    I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.
    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never
    really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of
    them fled to other games. And even though tile-based dungeon-crawlers
    have seen a bit of a resurgence - thanks mostly to nostalgia - they
    remain a tiny niche genre. So Wizardry is a small niche in a tinier
    niche; no surprise "The Five Ordeals" gets so little discussion.

    (that and because, you know, it's Usenet. There's nobody left to
    discuss things anyway. ;-)

    That's not what I'm looking for. I mapped and solved Wizardry 6.
    Wizardry 7 on DosBox has horrible sound quality and is not playable.

    From what I understand, the fault for that is more with the original
    developers - SirTech - than with DOSBox. They essentially recoded
    their sound-drivers for the PC Speaker to work with the SoundBlaster's
    OPL3 chip, in ways that chip really wasn't intended to be used
    (essentially speeding up or throttling its performance to get it to
    make sounds). Even in the era, it was known to cause some flakey
    sounds unless you were using 100% compatible hardware.

    Oddly, you get better sound effects using the PC Speaker (there's some crackling, but it's not that noticable). Being able to use Roland
    music in DOSBox does greatly allieviate some of the pain too.

    As for the gameplay, I'm hardly the one to judge. By the time I got
    around to playing "Crusaders of the Dark Savant" in the mid '90s, I
    had a lot more, better CRPGs under my belt, and my memories of playing
    it 'back in the day' largely consist of angry intolerance for its
    'old-school' mazes and gameplay. Unfortunately, my opinion of the game
    hasn't improved over the years, and - despite a few lackluster
    attempts - I've never gotten very far into the game since then (read:
    never left the forest in which you begin). So if there are any
    problems with the gameplay caused by running it though DOSBox, I'd
    never be able to tell. ;-)

    But it seems to run well enough. In the forest, at least. ;-P

    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Mike S.@Mike_S@nowhere.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Thu Feb 1 09:34:28 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:49:24 -0800 (PST), Julian <j63840576@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    That's not what I'm looking for. I mapped and solved Wizardry 6. Wizardry 7 on DosBox has horrible sound quality and is not playable.

    Make sure you choose Internal Speaker in the configuration window for
    Wiz 7. The sound effects, believe it or not, will be better if you
    choose Internal Speaker instead of SoundBlaster. They won't be great
    mind you, but better.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Mike S.@Mike_S@nowhere.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Thu Feb 1 09:38:10 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Wed, 31 Jan 2024 20:19:26 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

    As for the gameplay, I'm hardly the one to judge. By the time I got
    around to playing "Crusaders of the Dark Savant" in the mid '90s, I
    had a lot more, better CRPGs under my belt, and my memories of playing
    it 'back in the day' largely consist of angry intolerance for its >'old-school' mazes and gameplay. Unfortunately, my opinion of the game
    hasn't improved over the years, and - despite a few lackluster
    attempts - I've never gotten very far into the game since then (read:
    never left the forest in which you begin). So if there are any
    problems with the gameplay caused by running it though DOSBox, I'd
    never be able to tell. ;-)

    But it seems to run well enough. In the forest, at least. ;-P

    I hope I have a better impression of the game. I only played the
    Wizardry games up to 5 as of right now and other then the fourth one,
    I completed and loved them. I actually like making my own maps, so
    that won't scare me away from Wiz 6 or 7.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From rridge@rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge) to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Fri Feb 2 02:40:08 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
    I hope I have a better impression of the game. I only played the
    Wizardry games up to 5 as of right now and other then the fourth one,
    I completed and loved them. I actually like making my own maps, so
    that won't scare me away from Wiz 6 or 7.

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games. There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7. In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area. I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played. I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I
    never played under DOSBox. On the other hand I played it at least once
    without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.
    --
    l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
    [oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    -()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
    db //
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Mike S.@Mike_S@nowhere.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Fri Feb 2 13:54:24 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 02:40:08 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games. There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7. In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area. I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played. I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I >never played under DOSBox. On the other hand I played it at least once >without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.

    I already have Wiz 6 and 7 installed and they both work fine in
    regards to sound. I just have not played them yet.

    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Finally, I do not mind a bit more story in my dungeon crawlers as long
    as they don't go overboard. I am sure I will like Wiz 6 and 7 just
    fine. It is actually Wiz 8 I am more concerned about. That one uses
    level scaling which I do not like.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From rridge@rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge) to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Sat Feb 3 01:32:56 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Yah, you do need to put points into the skill (and get special map item)
    but there's really only the starter dungeon where you'd really benefit
    from mapping it yourself before you have automapping working.

    Finally, I do not mind a bit more story in my dungeon crawlers as long
    as they don't go overboard. I am sure I will like Wiz 6 and 7 just
    fine. It is actually Wiz 8 I am more concerned about. That one uses
    level scaling which I do not like.

    The big problem I had with Wizardry 8 is ranged combat attacks just
    taking too long as the missiles fly through the air.
    --
    l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
    [oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    -()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
    db //
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Mike S.@Mike_S@nowhere.com to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Sat Feb 3 08:37:25 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    On Sat, 3 Feb 2024 01:32:56 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    Yah, you do need to put points into the skill (and get special map item)
    but there's really only the starter dungeon where you'd really benefit
    from mapping it yourself before you have automapping working.

    Ok, I will keep this in mind. I just assumed the automap feature was
    going to be next to useless.

    The big problem I had with Wizardry 8 is ranged combat attacks just
    taking too long as the missiles fly through the air.

    I think I remember there being a mod for Wiz 8 to speed up the combat animations? Maybe? I might have the wrong game.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From rridge@rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge) to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Sat Feb 3 17:38:57 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca (Ross Ridge) wrote:
    Yah, you do need to put points into the skill (and get special map item)
    but there's really only the starter dungeon where you'd really benefit
    from mapping it yourself before you have automapping working.

    Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> wrote:
    Ok, I will keep this in mind. I just assumed the automap feature was
    going to be next to useless.

    I've beaten the game a number of times without making maps. Even that
    starter dungeon isn't so complex that you need to map it. There is
    one part late in the game where all the walls are invisible where the
    automap becomes useless and you'll probably want to get out your graph
    paper for that, but its possible to get through with just a mental map.

    I think I remember there being a mod for Wiz 8 to speed up the combat >animations? Maybe? I might have the wrong game.

    I'd assume so by now, but I've only played the base unmodified game.
    The ordinary combat animations are fine, it's only shooting long range
    weapons and spells at distant enemies where it becomes a real problem.
    It wouldn't be too bad if they had disconnected the animations from the
    game logic, so multiple shots could fly through the air at once, but you
    have to wait for each of your character's shots and each of the enemies'
    shots one at a time.
    --
    l/ // Ross Ridge -- The Great HTMU
    [oo][oo] rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    -()-/()/ http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/
    db //
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Lane Larson@lnlarson@stoat.inhoin.edu to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Tue Feb 20 19:08:43 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Mike S. wrote:
    On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 02:40:08 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games. There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7. In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area. I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played. I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I
    never played under DOSBox. On the other hand I played it at least once
    without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.

    I already have Wiz 6 and 7 installed and they both work fine in
    regards to sound. I just have not played them yet.

    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Finally, I do not mind a bit more story in my dungeon crawlers as long
    as they don't go overboard. I am sure I will like Wiz 6 and 7 just
    fine. It is actually Wiz 8 I am more concerned about. That one uses
    level scaling which I do not like.

    I played up to level 8 characters with mostly the guys from the roster
    at the beginning. Pentas is a lemon, because he has VIT 8. You'll have
    to watch both him and your mage because of it, and I started over and
    threw him out.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Lane Larson@lnlarson@stoat.inhoin.edu to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Wed Feb 21 12:05:28 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Lane Larson wrote:
    Mike S. wrote:
    On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 02:40:08 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become
    less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games.  There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7.  In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area.  I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played.  I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I >>> never played under DOSBox.  On the other hand I played it at least once >>> without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.

    I already have Wiz 6 and 7 installed and they both work fine in
    regards to sound. I just have not played them yet.

    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Finally, I do not mind a bit more story in my dungeon crawlers as long
    as they don't go overboard. I am sure I will like Wiz 6 and 7 just
    fine. It is actually Wiz 8 I am more concerned about. That one uses
    level scaling which I do not like.

    I played up to level 8 characters with mostly the guys from the roster
    at the beginning.  Pentas is a lemon, because he has VIT 8.  You'll have to watch both him and your mage because of it, and I started over and
    threw him out.

    It was pretty good with sam thi pri in front, had a ranger to backup and
    two rage casters. But then Pentas went down when I was facing a big group.

    The new party is
    SAM NIN MON RAN MAG PSI

    Psionic is kind of new to me, I want to see how he does. These front 3
    are much more potent, and I like it. The MON only has 8 VIT, I hope
    this goes up. Him being a monk and all he gets pretty good HP gain. Of
    the original six I have only kept TREON. He is a good caster.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Lane Larson@lnlarson@stoat.inhoin.edu to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Mon Feb 26 18:35:28 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Mike S. wrote:
    On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 02:40:08 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games. There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7. In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area. I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played. I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I
    never played under DOSBox. On the other hand I played it at least once
    without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.

    I already have Wiz 6 and 7 installed and they both work fine in
    regards to sound. I just have not played them yet.

    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Thieves or Fighters don't have anything better to do than Mapping.
    Unlike Mythology, Mapping seems to be based on one character, the one
    holding onto the map. Therefore it doesn't help to put multiple
    characters learning Mapping, unless it is for backup. To have backup
    Mapping, I'd suggest having a second character at Mapping 10, because
    that's about when the map becomes civilized.

    With Mapping 10 I was able to resolve New City and to get to every
    locked door available.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Lane Larson@lnlarson@stoat.inhoin.edu to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Thu Feb 29 16:33:26 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Lane Larson wrote:
    Mike S. wrote:
    On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 02:40:08 -0000 (UTC), rridge@csclub.uwaterloo.ca
    (Ross Ridge) wrote:

    If you don't like Wizardry 6 or 7, I think it'll because they become
    less
    of a dungeon crawl than the earlier games.  There more of story in 6,
    and even more of one in 7.  In 6 you're no longer exploring a simple
    dungeon, and in 7 the game finally becomes non-linear, with fairly
    extensive outdoor area.  I expect you'll like these games anyways, as
    the game is basically just catching up with what Might and Magic had
    done years earlier.

    Wizardry 7 also has automapping so I never bothered making my own maps
    when I played.  I don't recall having any problems with the sound, but I >>> never played under DOSBox.  On the other hand I played it at least once >>> without any sound, so that's an option if you don't like what DOSBox
    does with it.

    I already have Wiz 6 and 7 installed and they both work fine in
    regards to sound. I just have not played them yet.

    I think you need to put points into the automap skill to get anything
    useful out of it for Wiz 7 IIRC. I need the map to be useful right
    from the get-go. My own maps will be.

    Thieves or Fighters don't have anything better to do than Mapping.
    Unlike Mythology, Mapping seems to be based on one character, the one holding onto the map.  Therefore it doesn't help to put multiple
    characters learning Mapping, unless it is for backup.  To have backup Mapping, I'd suggest having a second character at Mapping 10, because
    that's about when the map becomes civilized.

    With Mapping 10 I was able to resolve New City and to get to every
    locked door available.

    You wouldn't be able to do it with mapping at 9 or below. With 10, it's
    easy to see unusual places on the map, which indicate you haven't been
    there before. Below 10, you just see terrain and blank for unvisited
    and nothing else. An unusual looking area could just be a path around a building that is inaccessible. Walking around with 0 mapping, you
    better get out pen and paper and map yourself.

    A change from Wizardry VI to Wizardry VII, going back to Wizardry VI
    isn't possible for me because the map is well-known and no long drawn
    out mapping process. All that time spent mapping was moves taken that
    could trigger a random encounter. To get that now, I have to spin
    around in circles or some equally inane holding patrol that runs enough
    turns for a random encounter to occur. Basically, the pattern of
    Wizardry VI is easy to remember, while New City is a random jumble where mapping is necessary every time through.

    I'm putting more points into Mapping and am eager to see what happens at 20. --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114
  • From Lane Larson@lnlarson@stoat.inhoin.edu to comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg on Wed Apr 17 17:58:45 2024
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

    Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
    On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 02:54:37 -0800 (PST), Julian <j63840576@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    Should still be talking about this. I've decided I like it better
    than the remake of Proving Grounds of ] Mad Overlord. Quite a few
    Quality of Life improvements. My quest into PGMO looks like:
    Dlvl 3 has a bunch of traps I've fallen into the same one twice feel
    like a brute beast. If you're an expert at dlvl 3, look out for a
    six-legged insect. My quest into Five Ordeals looks like: 1
    character lvl 9, damn good!, level the rest up to 8 and then
    probably get two more to level 9 then go after that switch problem.
    I'm taking it personally and haven't looked up an online solution.

    From what I can tell, "Wizardry: The Five Ordeals" is a game mainly
    aimed at "Wizardry" die-hards. Which is fine, except that game never
    really had the biggest audience, and as years went by more and more of
    them fled to other games. And even though tile-based dungeon-crawlers
    have seen a bit of a resurgence - thanks mostly to nostalgia - they
    remain a tiny niche genre. So Wizardry is a small niche in a tinier
    niche; no surprise "The Five Ordeals" gets so little discussion.

    (that and because, you know, it's Usenet. There's nobody left to
    discuss things anyway. ;-)




    I got past this area. Part of the problem was tough creatures attacking
    me left and right. When my guys were all level 8 or level 9 these
    weren't really a threat anymore and I could sit down and solve the
    puzzle. I'm having a similar issue in Wizardry VI where we jump in the
    pit and fight the giant serpents. They hit like 3 times, and if they
    target my mage it's basically over. Considering using the amulet of
    life here. Nothing else thus far has engaged it.
    --- Synchronet 3.20a-Linux NewsLink 1.114