Another BaK question

An article is posted by Raymond Feist, who is old and wise,
and with the following gibber, the Holy Lord Kalten replies:

> Depended on the situation and how you used it, but yes, it was a very
> effective spell.
> Likewise, the Horn of Algon-Kakoon (sp?--hey, it's been 20 years since
> I came up with that name), cause once you sic'ed the dogs on the bad
> guys, they couldn't cast spells, so you could just hammer away at them.
> Best, R.E.F.

Yes, that was the second thing that tipped the fight in favour of the player
especially towards the end where the spellcasters were fairly powerful - I
found that the horn came in very effectively.

I also loved the Invitation spell when there were traps on the field and I
thought it was funny once you got that Guarde Ravauche sword that you could
sell it and then buy it back multiple times! :0)

Those were the good old days. :0)

Kalten~!!!
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Kalten wrote:
>
> Does anyone feel that the game got really easy once you had obtained The
> Skin Of The Dragon magic spell?
>
> That spell pretty much tipped the balance in favour of the player once cast.

Actually, that wasn't the most unbalanced spell, Grief of 1000 Nights
was. Any character hit with that is dead for all practical purposes
(and Dragonskin *doesn't* protect against it). Made things real
challenging when the enemy chars capable of casting that spell
outnumbered your party. There was one fight at the end of Chapter
4(?) with six(?) moredhrel sorcerors that I replayed 48 times before
I finally won it without any chars near death.

I really loved the fact that the magnitude of the spell effect was
proportional to the mana you put into it. Did any other CRPG ever
do that?


--KG
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

An article is posted by Konrad Gaertner, who is old and wise,
and with the following gibber, the Holy Lord Kalten replies:

> Kalten wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone feel that the game got really easy once you had obtained The
> > Skin Of The Dragon magic spell?
> >
> > That spell pretty much tipped the balance in favour of the player once
cast.
>
> Actually, that wasn't the most unbalanced spell, Grief of 1000 Nights
> was. Any character hit with that is dead for all practical purposes
> (and Dragonskin *doesn't* protect against it). Made things real
> challenging when the enemy chars capable of casting that spell
> outnumbered your party. There was one fight at the end of Chapter
> 4(?) with six(?) moredhrel sorcerors that I replayed 48 times before
> I finally won it without any chars near death.

Ah, but with Skin of the Dragon, even if you're in a frozen state, the enemy
still can't hit you.

I never saw that as an essential spell. Still, it sounds like it was more
worthwhile than I thought.

I personally prefer using one of the horns to take out the enemies spell
casting capability although because that isn't a replenishable item through
resting, I didn't like to rely on it too much.



> I really loved the fact that the magnitude of the spell effect was
> proportional to the mana you put into it. Did any other CRPG ever
> do that?
> --KG

As someone else mentioned, Wiizardry 8 does. However, the magic system in
Wizardry 8 is nowhere near as good as BaK.

Again, this is where Raymond's fantastic labelling of the magic system helps
make is more fascinating. The different groups of magic, the different
symbols, the labelling and visual effects.

In Wizardry 8, it is the bog standard, fireball, etc. A lot of the time
when casting a spell, you might as well have said 'Yeah, spell number 51'.
The spells are pretty meaningless and don''t feel good when you cast them.

Cheers,

Kalten~!!!
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Kalten wrote:
>
> An article is posted by Konrad Gaertner, who is old and wise,
> and with the following gibber, the Holy Lord Kalten replies:
>
> > Kalten wrote:
> > >
> > > Does anyone feel that the game got really easy once you had obtained The
> > > Skin Of The Dragon magic spell?
> > >
> > > That spell pretty much tipped the balance in favour of the player once
> cast.
> >
> > Actually, that wasn't the most unbalanced spell, Grief of 1000 Nights
> > was. Any character hit with that is dead for all practical purposes
> > (and Dragonskin *doesn't* protect against it). Made things real
> > challenging when the enemy chars capable of casting that spell
> > outnumbered your party. There was one fight at the end of Chapter
> > 4(?) with six(?) moredhrel sorcerors that I replayed 48 times before
> > I finally won it without any chars near death.
>
> Ah, but with Skin of the Dragon, even if you're in a frozen state, the enemy
> still can't hit you.

True but IIRC, if your entire party is frozen, it is automatically
Game Over.

> > I really loved the fact that the magnitude of the spell effect was
> > proportional to the mana you put into it. Did any other CRPG ever
> > do that?
>
> As someone else mentioned, Wiizardry 8 does. However, the magic system in
> Wizardry 8 is nowhere near as good as BaK.

Now that people have mentioned it, I remember that Wizardry Gold
also had it (that's #7, right?).


--KG
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

One other one was Evil Seek - especially if you had an Infinity Pool.. I
remember having to fight the Pentathians. It's been so long since I've
played this game - I think we needed to use weed walkers to make sure we
got first turn. Then with Evil Seek/ Infinity Pool, they were pretty much
history.

Also, once Gorath got the Guarde Ravauche sword, the hit points were
amazing - 100+.

Before I go - Once again, I have to say - BaK is one of the classics. To
this day, and we have played hundreds of games, BaK is still one of our
favorites.

--
Opus007
"Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler"
"Kalten" <LordKalten DeleteThis @pandion.chapterhouse.eos> wrote in message
news:410a701b$0$6449$cc9e4d1f@news-text.dial.pipex.com...
> Does anyone feel that the game got really easy once you had obtained The
> Skin Of The Dragon magic spell?
>
> That spell pretty much tipped the balance in favour of the player once
cast.
>
> Kalten~!!!
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

> One other one was Evil Seek - especially if you had an Infinity Pool.. I
> remember having to fight the Pentathians. It's been so long since I've
> played this game - I think we needed to use weed walkers to make sure we
> got first turn. Then with Evil Seek/ Infinity Pool, they were pretty much
> history.
>
> Also, once Gorath got the Guarde Ravauche sword, the hit points were
> amazing - 100+.
>
> Before I go - Once again, I have to say - BaK is one of the classics. To
> this day, and we have played hundreds of games, BaK is still one of our
> favorites.

It came out of nowhere and made into a legend

Yes, BaK is one of my favorite games ever, too. BTW, I just find time to
play Return to Krondor and I did liked the game actually.

But, there is some thing that was done wrong - camera/movement should be
better, also weapon and magic was not acquired as in BaK - yes you have
lousy weapon from the start but when you reach end of the game you didn't
tried everything, same for the magic. In BaK - game was much longer and all
magic and weapon where put during the game to keep wanting more. My Solon
character never learned all path till the end because he didn't have enough
levels to go up and learn spells... But, it's a very good game. BaK is still
best RPG ever made.

Morrowind? Hahaha, don't make me laugh, combat in BaK is 1000 miles ahead of
Morrowind...



Mario
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Just to add, BaK is one of the rare games that I finished 3 times, and I
could play it again to the end. But, first time was best experience - do you
remember when you first time entered Sewers below Krondor and stumbled into
Nighthawks or got killed in those holes? ) Amazing.


Mario
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

In article <ceil7g$mlf$1@sunce.iskon.hr>, Gizmo
<george.washington DeleteThis @microsoft.com> wrote:

> > One other one was Evil Seek - especially if you had an Infinity Pool.. I
> > remember having to fight the Pentathians. It's been so long since I've
> > played this game - I think we needed to use weed walkers to make sure we
> > got first turn. Then with Evil Seek/ Infinity Pool, they were pretty much
> > history.
> >
> > Also, once Gorath got the Guarde Ravauche sword, the hit points were
> > amazing - 100+.
> >
> > Before I go - Once again, I have to say - BaK is one of the classics. To
> > this day, and we have played hundreds of games, BaK is still one of our
> > favorites.
>
> It came out of nowhere and made into a legend
>
> Yes, BaK is one of my favorite games ever, too. BTW, I just find time to
> play Return to Krondor and I did liked the game actually.
>
> But, there is some thing that was done wrong - camera/movement should be
> better, also weapon and magic was not acquired as in BaK - yes you have
> lousy weapon from the start but when you reach end of the game you didn't
> tried everything, same for the magic. In BaK - game was much longer and all
> magic and weapon where put during the game to keep wanting more. My Solon
> character never learned all path till the end because he didn't have enough
> levels to go up and learn spells... But, it's a very good game. BaK is still
> best RPG ever made.
>
> Morrowind? Hahaha, don't make me laugh, combat in BaK is 1000 miles ahead of
> Morrowind...
>
>
RtK was a strange story. The fact the game even made it to the store
was nothing short of amazing, and that it had any playing enjoyment was
miraculous.

It's been long enough that I suppose it won't hurt to let out a little
truth about that project.

I was contacted by a young lady while on tour in Dallas, who along
with her husband was a fan of mine. She worked for a start-up called
7th Level. I spoke on the phone with her boss, George Grayson, and
then met with the other partner, Bob Ezrin.

To make a very long story short, in an attempt to be innovative, 7th
Level made a lot of very bad design choices, among which was to start
developing assets (art, music, voice) before the final game design was
finished, so suddenly the code guys were being told, 'You have to make
them walk down these streets and here's what they see, and where they
can go and when they have these encounters, here's what the player can
and can't do.'

Suddenly 7th Level fell apart, and the partners weren't speaking to
each other. They had purchased a small art house that had done a lot
of work with Sony, Pyrotechnix, in Cincinnati and turned the game over
to them, then when 7th Level died, Pyrotechnix (along with Krondor) was
turned over to Sierra.

Sinjin Baine (who now runs SIMS for Electornic Arts) deserves a huge
amount of the credit for keeping the game alive.

We had great voice actors, a great music house, and wonderful artists,
but the game play took a huge hit. No the fact there is an RtK at all
is, as I said, miraculous.

Best, R.E.F.
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Raymond Feist wrote:
> We had great voice actors, a great music house, and wonderful artists,
> but the game play took a huge hit. No the fact there is an RtK at all
> is, as I said, miraculous.
>
> Best, R.E.F.

Appreciate the inside peek.

--
chainbreaker
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Thanks a lot for this comment on RtK development. Looking forward to another
Krondor game!


Mario
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

On that special day, Kalten, (LordKalten@pandion.chapterhouse.eos)
said...

> In Wizardry 8, it is the bog standard, fireball, etc. A lot of the time
> when casting a spell, you might as well have said 'Yeah, spell number 51'.
> The spells are pretty meaningless and don''t feel good when you cast them.

In contrast to the Wizardry games six and seven, the number eight has
its preferences on the protective and group enhancing spells. Bless,
Bubble of Fresh Air and the like. You should concentrate on these, and
just whack away or use instruments and some gadgets.


Gabriele Neukam

Gabriele.Spamfighter.Neukam.DeleteThis@t-online.de


--
Ah, Information. A good, too valuable these days, to give it away, just
so, at no cost.
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Konrad Gaertner wrote:
>
> I really loved the fact that the magnitude of the spell effect was
> proportional to the mana you put into it. Did any other CRPG ever
> do that?

Master of Magic, a classic from Microprose, let you dump more mana into
a spell to make it more powerful.

Craig J. Ries
 >> Stay informed about: Another BaK question 

Raymond Feist <raymond.DeleteThis@bittersea.com> wrote in message news:<010820040724114410%raymond@bittersea.com>...
> In article <ceil7g$mlf$1@sunce.iskon.hr>, Gizmo
> <george.washington.DeleteThis@microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > > One other one was Evil Seek - especially if you had an Infinity Pool.. I
> > > remember having to fight the Pentathians. It's been so long since I've
> > > played this game - I think we needed to use weed walkers to make sure we
> > > got first turn. Then with Evil Seek/ Infinity Pool, they were pretty much
> > > history.
> > >
> > > Also, once Gorath got the Guarde Ravauche sword, the hit points were
> > > amazing - 100+.
> > >
> > > Before I go - Once again, I have to say - BaK is one of the classics. To
> > > this day, and we have played hundreds of games, BaK is still one of our
> > > favorites.
> >
> > It came out of nowhere and made into a legend
> >
> > Yes, BaK is one of my favorite games ever, too. BTW, I just find time to
> > play Return to Krondor and I did liked the game actually.
> >
> > But, there is some thing that was done wrong - camera/movement should be
> > better, also weapon and magic was not acquired as in BaK - yes you have
> > lousy weapon from the start but when you reach end of the game you didn't
> > tried everything, same for the magic. In BaK - game was much longer and all
> > magic and weapon where put during the game to keep wanting more. My Solon
> > character never learned all path till the end because he didn't have enough
> > levels to go up and learn spells... But, it's a very good game. BaK is still
> > best RPG ever made.
> >
> > Morrowind? Hahaha, don't make me laugh, combat in BaK is 1000 miles ahead of
> > Morrowind...
> >
> >
> RtK was a strange story. The fact the game even made it to the store
> was nothing short of amazing, and that it had any playing enjoyment was
> miraculous.
>
> It's been long enough that I suppose it won't hurt to let out a little
> truth about that project.
>
> I was contacted by a young lady while on tour in Dallas, who along
> with her husband was a fan of mine. She worked for a start-up called
> 7th Level. I spoke on the phone with her boss, George Grayson, and
> then met with the other partner, Bob Ezrin.
>
> To make a very long story short, in an attempt to be innovative, 7th
> Level made a lot of very bad design choices, among which was to start
> developing assets (art, music, voice) before the final game design was
> finished, so suddenly the code guys were being told, 'You have to make
> them walk down these streets and here's what they see, and where they
> can go and when they have these encounters, here's what the player can
> and can't do.'
>
> Suddenly 7th Level fell apart, and the partners weren't speaking to
> each other. They had purchased a small art house that had done a lot
> of work with Sony, Pyrotechnix, in Cincinnati and turned the game over
> to them, then when 7th Level died, Pyrotechnix (along with Krondor) was
> turned over to Sierra.
>
> Sinjin Baine (who now runs SIMS for Electornic Arts) deserves a huge
> amount of the credit for keeping the game alive.
>
> We had great voice actors, a great music house, and wonderful artists,
> but the game play took a huge hit. No the fact there is an RtK at all
> is, as I said, miraculous.
>
> Best, R.E.F.

You could see that it was a game half finished. It started off
fairly well actually and was pretty entertaining until the game left
Krondor and then it went downhill quickly from there.
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