Ok, so Realms of Arkania…

…Is it worth it? I mean, I'm considering to pick up both 1+2 from GOG.com, 'cause Drakensang still doesn't catch me (maybe one day I'll try to replay it, but not now) but I find Dark Eye ruleset interesting enough and I'd like to play another game based on it. What do you suggest?

Yes, they are worth it. The first game feels rather clunky by today's standards, but the later games are great. I found 3 to be the best game in the series, but most people seem to prefer 2.

Well thanks Fnord and did you find these games superior than Drakensang 1 & 2? I know, it's a bit tricky question, but I appreciate if you can answer.
E.g. how's the story, combat, if there're any C&C and all that stuff.

The games require imho definitively much more tactical thinking when performing the (turn-based) combat.

And please keep in mind that they are based on the 2nd/3rd editions (I read somewhere that both games are a mixture of both, but I can't say for sure).

If you have any questions, you can ask at "Crystal's DSA-Foren" , there is a small English-language section there as well :
http://www.crystals-dsa-foren.de/for…lay.php?fid=56
This is the board with imho the far, far best knowledge over the games, some people there even analysed them even on the hexidecimal level.
If there's a group who knows practically EVERYTHING about these games : It's them. I'd almost say that they know even more than the programmers did , but that's nonsense, of course - but fact is that Attic doesn't exist anymore (since 10 years ago or so already).

If you write there, you could write that I had sent you.
Some there might still remember me.

He he I knew you would answered me Alrik, everytime we mention the Dark Eye there'll be always your answer .
Thanks a lot for the info, I'll go and check it out now.

You should understand that the old TDE games were made when players still had patience.

The 2nd had some of the most interesting wilderness exploration ever. However the combats were just mind numbingly boring. We are talking endless random encounters that take an hour to finish and never put you in danger. Because of that I could never get anywhere in it. The third had much better pacing but sadly no wilderness exploration.

Overall it's an interesting series, but I think it suffered from trying too hard to follow the rules of the original P & P game whether they made sense in a CRPG or not. But a lot of people do love the series.

I prefer the first (large world that can be roamed around at will, akin to the old Pool of Radiance) and disliked the second. It had some neat locations, but those were too few. We're talking about 4-5 dungeons. There were also a few instances where you lost all your gear to ambushes without warning, and I dont enjoy that at all.

Both games also suffer from having a ton of useless skills and spells, with the odd one tucked in that you need exactly ONCE to get past a puzzle. This is very poor design and kills your game if you havent built up that spell.

Havent played the third installment much.

+1 for all three games though I enjoyed the second and third one the most.

Be careful when selecting spells. I heard that a few of the more obscure sounding spells didn't do anything at all. Never got around to testing that theory since I chose spells that fit my style of play (summoning demons and other darker spells ).

Indeed, the games does require a lot of patience and there are too many skills that were there simply because they were there in the pen & paper RPG, so pick whichever ones seem useful, and skip the rest.

Well thanks Fnord and did you find these games superior than Drakensang 1 & 2? I know, it's a bit tricky question, but I appreciate if you can answer.
E.g. how's the story, combat, if there're any C&C and all that stuff.

Story felt a bit scattered. Not bad, just poorly focused. Combat was fun and tactical, though also a bit frustrating at points. The 3rd game was the one with the best pacing, and it was also the most well written (and probably also the one that has the best translation), though if you play them in order you can transfer your characters between the games. Better than drakensang? Hard to say, the games are quite different, even though they follow a similar ruleset, due to the turnbased combat and different character creation system (here you create your entire party rather than just your main character), though I did not feel that they managed to overstay their welcome, like Drakensang 1 did.

Just make sure you dress properly. My whole group got sick from some disease and died right at the start the first time I played because I didn't wear hats or something.

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
Be careful when selecting spells. I heard that a few of the more obscure sounding spells didn't do anything at all.

Actually, there are several spells where you can put points into, but they are never used, hence useless, as far as I know.
And yes, these are some of the more exotic ones (like the "rainbow bridge", for example).

Originally Posted by BillSeurer
Just make sure you dress properly. My whole group got sick from some disease and died right at the start the first time I played because I didn't wear hats or something.

Right. This game is really unforgiving !

If winter comes, make sure that your party has really warm clothes ! And at least shoes or boots ! I often let my party carry a second pair of shoes with them, because they can wear down, too !

Plus, they need to eat and drink - and in the first game, you must do everything manually …

Sharpening the blades is also a good idea : The chance that they'll break is lowered with the use of a sharpening stone …

Wasn't Rainbow Bridge useful in ROA 1? From what I recall the spell description for that one was like a portal? Sounded good on paper, but never put any points into it. I was too busy upgrading Heptagon, evil eye and Bambaladin (had to check my manual for that name ). I pretty much loved all the domination spells. Lightning and paralyze were really useful as well.

Man I miss these games. A lot of people were put off by the micromanagement, but I was in heaven. All the little extra details like hunting for food, searching for herbs, wearing appropriate clothing, wear and tear on your equipment, needing to eat and drink and all the skill checks for random things like getting pickpocketed in town was just amazing.

@Ball_Breaker One really helpful tip for you. Find as much whirlweed as you can. Don't worry yourself too much with healing potions. IIRC, each bottle takes one equipment slot while whirlweed will heal you and you can stack them. It's just not practical to carry around a bunch of bottles. You'll run out of storage space quickly.

Yes, I loved this micromanagement as well. THe only thing I was really greateful it became changed was the automatic hunting/feeding/searching for herbs/guarding the camp mechanism in the second and the third games.

Regarding the herbs : There are others with good results as well - and a few can be used as weapon poison (or how it is called) …

And : Try to save only in temples - especially in the first game ! Because in the first game (and only there) experience points are substracted each time you save your game outside of a temple !

And another thing : Praying to the Twelvegods and donating something to them really has its benefits ! But don't call for a miracle too often, because that makes them rather angry or so !

If nothing else I would say that Drakensang does a much better job with the whole pen and peper to CRPG conversion. It has a lot of different skills as well, but it managed to ensure that they all actually do something.

I also think the first is by far the best - the large free roaming map - ample dungeons and a real feeling of character progression. The third, while having the best graphics, has many frustrating design decisions and very much feels like a lower level adventure than the previous 2 games. You very much get pigeon holed into resolving the majority of quests in a single way - the most annoying one being the pirate ship.

Personally, Iliked the second most.

The first game, by the way has a time limit … Although a very broad one …

I remember buying either the second or third game as a budget release, well over a decade ago. I had no idea what I was doing! Apart from Lords of Midnight (I think that's the name), I haven't felt so lost in a game without direction. I've got a feeling I must have been missing something fairly obvious.

I had forgotten all about these games. I had the third one, IIRC, and seem to recall that I enjoyed playing it quite a bit. Can't remember much of it though. *sigh* So many games that've been out to try, and so little time…

GOG still doesn`t have rights for CD version of Star Trail as far as I know.