Sacrifice is a game that's aged remarkably well. While yes, the environments look kinda crappy, the characters and effects are great!
Which games have aged best?
- Thread starter Fadista
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What I listed are almost all NPCs. Foes, mainly, but not all.
The "Dark Times" expansion box to TDE made the Grolms playable, I heard (I'm not entirely sure on that).
Grolms are like ... a little bit like Lefty from the Sesame Street, only much more serious.
You encounter ghosts of them in Drakensang 1.
Grolms are traders who always want to overthrow their "victims" out of a much, much btter position (like selling over-prices healing potions to gravely wounded people, or by using little, magical "persuation tricks"). In the "Dark Times", they have been normal, trading citizens in most towns. That changed after a so-called "Grolm-War" definitively.
"Nowadays", they are hard to find in Aventuria.
Myranor "Güldenland", the "sister-setting" of Aventuria, has a lot of rather "high-fantasy" creatures and playable characters.
Feline races (atop of them all the Amaunir) are regulars there, and playable, one Chamaeleon-like race, several so-called "maritime races" are playable (in contrast to Aventuria, where most of them are NPCs or even foes), and of course the "Optimates", descendents of a race of magic users which looked human, but had a third eye, as standard. Modern Optimates (which are exclusively aristocrats of some sort, and gathered together in so-called "houses") don't have the thiord eye open, normally, but they are constantly wearing mask that hides their faces and often hints towards a third eye as a symbol.
Creatures are as weird as they can be (like to be seen in the book "Codex Monstrorum").
You can see examples of playable Myranor characters here : http://www.dasschwarzeauge.de/index.php?id=459
Direct link : http://www.dasschwarzeauge.de/fileadmin/downloads/offiziell/flyer_html.zip
Tanno
Sentinel
it seems that you guys did miss a cyberpunk/adventure RPG I played some years ago. It's called Albion. I still remember its story, cuz I loved it.
Here are some screenshots...
It says about a faraway planet, where Tom Driscoll crashed with his spaceship. Unfortunately for him, his companion weren't in his spaceship, so he had to look for them himself. This planet inhabits with some aliens, who have had a war between the 3 kingdoms.
This game was an awesome RPG with FPS elements in the battle places, such as in dungeons(just like the new game Legend of Grimrock's gameplay video). It also have some puzzles to solve. I had hard time to solve them, because I didn't know well english back then to solve them.
When you guys have some time, you guys should try it out.
Here are some screenshots...
It says about a faraway planet, where Tom Driscoll crashed with his spaceship. Unfortunately for him, his companion weren't in his spaceship, so he had to look for them himself. This planet inhabits with some aliens, who have had a war between the 3 kingdoms.
This game was an awesome RPG with FPS elements in the battle places, such as in dungeons(just like the new game Legend of Grimrock's gameplay video). It also have some puzzles to solve. I had hard time to solve them, because I didn't know well english back then to solve them.
When you guys have some time, you guys should try it out.
The (turn-based) battles (second picture from the top) were imho the graphically worst parts of the game - the rest looked really nice.
I think it's now 10 years ago that I've played it ... I think I really shoul dig it out again ...
The 4th picture is from a cut-scene from the early part of the game, the last picture is from a journes through the local "jungle".
I once read that the team had invented a whole new languge for the new species ...
Everything is so nice and so detiled I have rarely seen from any other game.
I think it's now 10 years ago that I've played it ... I think I really shoul dig it out again ...
The 4th picture is from a cut-scene from the early part of the game, the last picture is from a journes through the local "jungle".
I once read that the team had invented a whole new languge for the new species ...
Everything is so nice and so detiled I have rarely seen from any other game.
Albion looks interesting - I like the art style and setting. It seems like the early-mid 90's was the time of the last great hand-drawn pixel art. After that it was all about pre-rendered 3D and real-time 3D. The pre-rendered 3D that came after it was often gorgeous (Baldur's Gate, etc), but I do miss hand-drawn art in games - it seems very rare these days.
Abion would make a great GOG title imo, and I'm hoping it ends up there. The original publisher, Blue Byte Software, was purchased by Ubisoft some time back, so GOG is a possibility.
Blue Byte were responsible for the "Battle Isle" series (turn-based combat strategy, plus the imho rather odd "Incubation" turn-based strategy shooter), the adventure game called "Chewie - Escape From F5"and for the original "Settlers" series.
I think I have read somewhere that several of the original "Settlers" developers split from them and founded the "Funatics".
The Funatics made the Cultures series (fans often say that the Cultures are "the better Settlers" - at least until a few years ago), the unique Zanzarah game and were involved in several other games - sometimes helping, sometimes teaming up with Blue Byte again … In fact, both have worked together on recent SEttlers games, if I saw this correctly - and both have similar online games running right now : The Settlers Online + Cultures Online.
Albion is unique in several ways, imho.
I think I have read somewhere that several of the original "Settlers" developers split from them and founded the "Funatics".
The Funatics made the Cultures series (fans often say that the Cultures are "the better Settlers" - at least until a few years ago), the unique Zanzarah game and were involved in several other games - sometimes helping, sometimes teaming up with Blue Byte again … In fact, both have worked together on recent SEttlers games, if I saw this correctly - and both have similar online games running right now : The Settlers Online + Cultures Online.
Albion is unique in several ways, imho.
I played it - as far as I could. But it was really demanding.
By the way, I have found my old "Bestseller Games" version of Albion ... I guess I should search for a boxed version of it ... Hopefully there are still some available and not entirely gobbled up by collectors like with the Discworld Noir game ...
By the way, I have found my old "Bestseller Games" version of Albion ... I guess I should search for a boxed version of it ... Hopefully there are still some available and not entirely gobbled up by collectors like with the Discworld Noir game ...
Fnord
SasqWatch
Alrik, you have really made me interested in getting the core rules for TDA. Just one thing, I noticed that the rulebook is only 184 pages (according to amazon). With the rather heavy ruleset presented in Drakensang & Realms of Arkania, it would seem like there is not a whole lot of extra room for fluff in that book. Is there any extra fluff book that is recommended (and translated)?
Incubation was more like a puzzle game than anything else, with many of the levels requiring you to figure out rather complex solutions, based around the predictable AI and locations meant to abuse this. Many TBTs (turnbased tactical) take on a slightly puzzle-like nature, but Incubation did managed to take that quite a lot further than most others in the genre.
Incubation was more like a puzzle game than anything else, with many of the levels requiring you to figure out rather complex solutions, based around the predictable AI and locations meant to abuse this. Many TBTs (turnbased tactical) take on a slightly puzzle-like nature, but Incubation did managed to take that quite a lot further than most others in the genre.
Uh, there are more than enough "fluff books" [whereas I must say that I don't like the term "fluff" at all - it always makes an impresion of negativity in me], but unfortunatel almost nothing is translated yet.
This book should give you at least an overview : http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eye-Worl...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314615585&sr=1-2
These seem to be earlier adventures : http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Tower-...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314615585&sr=1-3
I wish the "background book" for Drakensang 2 was translated … It is absolutely excellent, and both in layout and everything a kind of small masterpiece among all of the TDE "background books".
TDE players call them "Spielhilfen" (SHs) [plural, singular would be "Spielhilfe"], by the way, with "spiel" = "play" and "hilfe" = "help".
If you want to know what's available, both in SHs and in adventures (solo and group), go to the "F-Shop" (half official) www.f-shop.de , and in the menu on the left side, click on "Das Schwarze Auge" - "Aventurien".
Myranor is basically TDE as well, but a completely different setting, with partly different rules as well.
Unto the release of Myranor (2003 ? or so), there was the rule of "1 setting = 1 rule system", or rather, that there was only one TDE setting : Aventuria.
Unlike (A)D&D, where you have "x settings = 1 rule system".
Thus, Myranor was the only exception of this rule (apart from fan-made rules).
Edit : Apart from Tharun, which was a different setting, but only in part a new rules set (magic was cinjured differently). It was in a box called "DSA Professional", and it was meant to be for high-level characters/heroes. It was neglected and forgotten for a long time but will see a re-release soon.
The third different setting is the aventurian "Dark Times" setting, which appeared late last year as a box (nd instantly won a role-playing prize for it).
The next setting will be Uthuria, or "the south continent". I don't know much about it, however.
After that, box is planned for the extinct High Elves of Aventuria - which coul become another new setting, I guess, but that's only speculation.
Edit . Besides, I can reccommend the online games as well; they are rather like text-adventures, though : http://www.chromatrix.com/html/tde-mobile.html
This book should give you at least an overview : http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eye-Worl...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314615585&sr=1-2
These seem to be earlier adventures : http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Tower-...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314615585&sr=1-3
I wish the "background book" for Drakensang 2 was translated … It is absolutely excellent, and both in layout and everything a kind of small masterpiece among all of the TDE "background books".
TDE players call them "Spielhilfen" (SHs) [plural, singular would be "Spielhilfe"], by the way, with "spiel" = "play" and "hilfe" = "help".
If you want to know what's available, both in SHs and in adventures (solo and group), go to the "F-Shop" (half official) www.f-shop.de , and in the menu on the left side, click on "Das Schwarze Auge" - "Aventurien".
Myranor is basically TDE as well, but a completely different setting, with partly different rules as well.
Unto the release of Myranor (2003 ? or so), there was the rule of "1 setting = 1 rule system", or rather, that there was only one TDE setting : Aventuria.
Unlike (A)D&D, where you have "x settings = 1 rule system".
Thus, Myranor was the only exception of this rule (apart from fan-made rules).
Edit : Apart from Tharun, which was a different setting, but only in part a new rules set (magic was cinjured differently). It was in a box called "DSA Professional", and it was meant to be for high-level characters/heroes. It was neglected and forgotten for a long time but will see a re-release soon.
The third different setting is the aventurian "Dark Times" setting, which appeared late last year as a box (nd instantly won a role-playing prize for it).
The next setting will be Uthuria, or "the south continent". I don't know much about it, however.
After that, box is planned for the extinct High Elves of Aventuria - which coul become another new setting, I guess, but that's only speculation.
Edit . Besides, I can reccommend the online games as well; they are rather like text-adventures, though : http://www.chromatrix.com/html/tde-mobile.html
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Fnord
SasqWatch
The word sounds like it should have a negative meaning, but originally it was just a way to differentiate it from "crunch" (being rules). So you had the hard crunchy part (rules) and the soft fluffy part (setting and background information).
Thanks, that sounds like exactly what I was looking for. Bummer they won't ship to Sweden, but now I do at least know what book to look for. On Amazon.co.uk, that book does not show up when you search for "the dark eye" (they don't want to ship it to Sweden from amazon.co.uk either
). I knew that TDA was big in Germany, but darn it, that is a whole lot of books!
That is quite surprising to hear. Most companies usually create a single rule system that they modify for all of their games (the only company that I can think of that always tried new things was FASA, with Earth Dawn and Shadowrun having completely different rulesets, even though the games were made by the same people). Were these rule systems similar at all, and was anything apart from TDA even translated to English (or Swedish)?
Oh nice! I'll be sure to check those out (I hope my cellphone can handle them).
There are a lot of novels there as well !
I don't exactly know what you mean.
TDE - all of the editions - were the "core rules" of exactly 1 setting . Aventuria.
There simply was nothing else.
"DSA Professional" was seen rather as an expansion, than a new rules set. Due to the setting, a "hollow world", in which completely different Gods rule (and they have nothing to o with the so-called "Twelvegods"), magic as one is used to throughout Aventuria simply does not work there - there simply is no magic there. Instead, everytjhing "magic"-related works with so-called "rune-shards", which are said to come from the destroyed hollow world sun, which was said to be a work of Ingerimm (the dwarven "smith-god") himself, and which was called "Glost". "Magic" can only be "cast" through the help of these "rune shards".
There were other elements as well, for example the very first occurrence of the so called "hit zones" model in TDE.
But the core of it all was still the TDe rules set.
Myranor has been a largely new rules set.
Later it turned out that Myranor had been a "pre-release" of TDE's 4th edition.
Kind of a "test-field", so to say. And it works relativly goo, I hear (I have played only once in siuch a group during a convention).
Myranor has since been updated from … I call the first release "1.0" to a current "1.1" edition, and the TDE's 4th edition has been updated to an (inofficially called) "4.1" edition.
I cannot say how different The Dark Times are, since the box is actually very expensive for me (60 Euros) and I don't have it right now.
And I don't kno how much different Uthuria will be, either, because that's set in the future (Uthuria still hasn't been released yet).
The rest is speculation, right now.
Apart from that there's the fan-made "Riesland-Projekt", which covers the continent next to Aventuria, of which ou can see on the maps only the closest mountain rtange in the far upper right corner. I have the basic rules of this, and things are different again (don't remember much anymore right now: I must re-read it again).
Hope that answers your question ?
You can play them online, too : They are available as browser-games there. Just look through the linked pages.
You can click on the button "play TDE" there to see the browser games main page. You need to log in to see all of the available games.
They are commercial, though (although cheap).
D
Deleted User
Guest
I think Morrowind has aged well. Not just because it has pretty graphics. But because the role playing systems in place were so deep and rich that they just get better over time. It's still fun experimenting with creating a new character with a different race and class structure.
Whereas a game like Oblivion I feel has aged horribly. Oblivion was a game that was fun the first time and had absolutely no replay value (to me). And the longer you played it the more flaws came out. Looking back on that game now I look at it as an abomination that I couldn't possibly believe I actually had fun playing. Yes I think it's aged that poorly. It's really the poster boy for games aging poorly in my opinion.
Aside from those 2 games, all the 2d games have aged nicely. Chrono Trigger is still as classic as ever, and Final Fantasy 6 isn't far behind. I would say even the first 3d games aged well, like Final Fantasy 7. I don't mind the graphics in that game as much as some (blocky polygons). I think some of that games art style still looks great today, like Midgar and the mako reactors. The cutscenes are sweet too.
But basically name any classic game from the SNES, and chances are it's aged well. I'm talking about RPGs but the same can be said for any genre of game. I still have fun playing all types of 2d games to this day.
Whereas a game like Oblivion I feel has aged horribly. Oblivion was a game that was fun the first time and had absolutely no replay value (to me). And the longer you played it the more flaws came out. Looking back on that game now I look at it as an abomination that I couldn't possibly believe I actually had fun playing. Yes I think it's aged that poorly. It's really the poster boy for games aging poorly in my opinion.
Aside from those 2 games, all the 2d games have aged nicely. Chrono Trigger is still as classic as ever, and Final Fantasy 6 isn't far behind. I would say even the first 3d games aged well, like Final Fantasy 7. I don't mind the graphics in that game as much as some (blocky polygons). I think some of that games art style still looks great today, like Midgar and the mako reactors. The cutscenes are sweet too.
But basically name any classic game from the SNES, and chances are it's aged well. I'm talking about RPGs but the same can be said for any genre of game. I still have fun playing all types of 2d games to this day.
Fnord
SasqWatch
That answered it and a lot more. Thanks for all the information!
Nice! I'll add this to the top of my priority list, and play at least one as soon as I actually have the time to sit down and play video games again.