Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Help with Blobbers

ItsChon

Resident Zoomer
Patron
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
5,381
Location
Երևան
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I've heard enough people rant and rave about games like BaK, the Wizardry series, Might and Magic, and other such games that I figured I give them a proper shot. What are some quality blobbers that people would recommend? Something to take into consideration is that I haven't ever really played a blobber before other than maybe Legend of Grimrock ages ago. I don't mind complexity, but nothing ridiculous. Also, some other side questions.

- Best blobber of all time, or at least some that immediately stand out?
- Best M&M game(s)?
- Best Wizardry game(s)?
- Any other good blobber series or games that are worth looking into?
- Any tips for enjoying blobbers, either game specific or not?

Thanks for the help.
 

octavius

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
19,185
Location
Bjørgvin
The best starting point for turn based blobbers are IMO Wizardry 1 and World of Xeen (MM4+5).
Wiz 1 is short and sweet, not too complex and not too hard, and is the original blobber.
World of Xeen is a good introduction since it has very nice graphics and UI, and is quite easy.

For real time blobbers Dungeon Master is IMO the best starting point.

Best blobber of all time?
Real Time: Chaos Strikes Back easily gets my vote.
Turn Based: Might&Magic 2

Best Wizardry games:
1, 4 and 6 (haven't played 8 yet)

- Any other good blobber series or games that are worth looking into?

The Bard's Tale
Lands of Lore
Eye of the Beholder

- Any tips for enjoying blobbers, either game specific or not?

Enjoy mapping, either with pen and paper or something like Grid Cartographer.
 

ItsChon

Resident Zoomer
Patron
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
5,381
Location
Երևան
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Is it fine to jump into M&M V without playing IV? What about the Wizardry games, does the order you play in matter? Also, is Grimoire a good game or not, all memes aside?
 

octavius

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
19,185
Location
Bjørgvin
I definitely recommend playing the combined MM 4+5, since the result is greater than the parts.
Or play 3 instead. It's a bit better, but also a bit harder and no quite as pretty.

You can transfer characters from Wiz 1 to 2 to 3 to 5, and from 6 to 7 to 8, so order definitely matters.
When you have become a Master Blobberer, play Wiz 4.
 
Last edited:

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,760
I've heard enough people rant and rave about games like BaK, the Wizardry series, Might and Magic, and other such games that I figured I give them a proper shot. What are some quality blobbers that people would recommend? Something to take into consideration is that I haven't ever really played a blobber before other than maybe Legend of Grimrock ages ago. I don't mind complexity, but nothing ridiculous. Also, some other side questions.

- Best blobber of all time, or at least some that immediately stand out?
- Best M&M game(s)?
- Best Wizardry game(s)?
- Any other good blobber series or games that are worth looking into?
- Any tips for enjoying blobbers, either game specific or not?

Thanks for the help.
Dungeon Master followed by Chaos Strikes Back, just download Return to Chaos in order to play them. Other good real-time blobbers include Perihelion, Black Crypt, Captive / Liberation: Captive II, The Eye of the Beholder trilogy, and the two Legend of Grimrock games.

For turn-based blobbers, the Wizardry and Might & Magic series each have several worthwhile entries, and there is of course the greatest turn-based blobber ever known to mortal sapiens, Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Exemplar

kA3m1cp.png
 

ItsChon

Resident Zoomer
Patron
Joined
Jul 1, 2018
Messages
5,381
Location
Երևան
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Got everything up and running for World of Xeen, excited to give it a try. Any reason why the cursor feels so weird on the screen though? It's jumping around and looks very choppy. Is this normal for a DOS game or?
 

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
That doesn't sound like normal behavior

I had a similar problem with Captive, until I found out that there are two versions around, and one of them doesn't work well in VGA with the latest Dosbox.

Do you use the GOG install?
 

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
Also, I think the best introduction to TB-based blobbers is W7, it's long, deep and starts quite easy, so not too frustrating
 

Generic-Giant-Spider

Guest
I still fuck with Might & Magic II: Gates to Another World. Sure Valla and The Hermit are real ones.
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,949
Pathfinder: Wrath
I'd recommend starting with MMX. "Heretic! Burn the witch!" etc. Really, though, blobbers are very specific monsters in a contemporary context, and starting with Wizardry 1 or MM3 is overeager. You'll quit very fast if you aren't in a specific mindset to enjoy them. I developed a love for blobbers with MMX, while I have almost boundless tolerance for old titles but couldn't get into them. Starting with MMX also has the advantage of starting with a somewhat mediocre blobber, so you can look forward to incline after that. Don't get me wrong, X is quite an enjoyable game, so don't be hesitant.
 

Grauken

Gourd vibes only
Patron
Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
12,787
MMX is pretty good for a start, especially if you've only played modern games
 

zwanzig_zwoelf

Graverobber Foundation
Developer
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Messages
3,086
Location
デゼニランド
If you're a modernfag and aren't afraid for some Japanese goodness, trying Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey and Shin Megami Tensei I is a good idea.

Otherwise jump into Wizardry I and enjoy it while it lasts.
 

Covenant

Savant
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
343
I've heard enough people rant and rave about games like BaK, the Wizardry series, Might and Magic, and other such games that I figured I give them a proper shot. What are some quality blobbers that people would recommend? Something to take into consideration is that I haven't ever really played a blobber before other than maybe Legend of Grimrock ages ago. I don't mind complexity, but nothing ridiculous. Also, some other side questions.

- Best blobber of all time, or at least some that immediately stand out?
- Best M&M game(s)?
- Best Wizardry game(s)?
- Any other good blobber series or games that are worth looking into?
- Any tips for enjoying blobbers, either game specific or not?

Thanks for the help.

- Best Blobber
Too subjective to say. For general recommendations, see below. My own favourite is Wizardry V. World of Xeen is probably a great start for someone new to the genre.

- Best M&M
World of Xeen. M&M VI and VII are also excellent, but not quite as good as WoX in my opinion.

- Best Wizardry
It's a toss-up between Wizardry V and Wizardry VII. I'd give it to V, personally. A simpler, but much purer and better balanced experience.

- Other good series/games
Eye of the Beholder (both I and II are excellent, stay away from III), Lands of Lore I, Betrayal at Krondor, Dungeon Master, Stone Keep, the Etrian Odyssey series (if you have a DS/3DS). The Bard's Tale series is also well-regarded by some, but I personally dislike it.

- Tips (general)
Expect a steep learning curve, but at the same time, don't force yourself to endure something that seems unfair or unenjoyable. I love blobbers, but it's undeniable that many of them are poorly balanced and waste the player's time. And obviously, we're all looking for different things in terms of challenge. I like difficult combat where, if I'm cautious and play well, I can make it through the game without needing to reload. I think I've seen octavius before saying that he enjoys games with mapping challenges like spinners, teleporters, etc - I dislike that kind of stuff, which is probably partially why I'm not a fan of the Bard's Tale games (they're full of that kind of thing).

So if you find yourself hating something that lots of monocled people here are saying is good don't start to doubt your patrician taste, just move on to the next one. We all enjoy different things about the genre.

-Tips (specific)
World of Xeen: Save frequently, and look up a chart of what item materials/prefixes are better than others. Otherwise it'll annoy you no end having to pay the blacksmith to identify the same gear over and over because you keep forgetting whether Freezing is better than Cryo.
Wizardry V: Don't go in the Playhouse. The SNES version has the best music and graphics, but guts the conversation system.
Wizardry VI-VIII: Bards are strong in the early-game thanks to their ability to put monsters to sleep with their music. In VI, you'll want to start characters with as high a strength as possible due to a bug with Carrying Capacity. In VII, you can cure any status - even death - at the fountain at New City's Temple, but only if you donate all of your gold to Father Rulae.
Eye of the Beholder: If you're having too much trouble in combat, be aware there's a commonly used tactic called 'hack and back'. Basically, you attack and step back quickly. Typically, to conserve space, people do it in a 2x2 square e.g Attack, back, turn left, back, attack, turn left, back', etc. It's quite cheesy, but probably necessary in quite a few fights.
Lands of Lore: Practice your skills - particularly magic - as often as you can, as they raise through use.

Got everything up and running for World of Xeen, excited to give it a try. Any reason why the cursor feels so weird on the screen though? It's jumping around and looks very choppy. Is this normal for a DOS game or?
That's not normal. Try lowering or speeding up your CPU cycles (control F11 and F12, I believe).
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Graphics are going to put you off, since you can't play original BG and need Beamdog mod (personally I can't see much difference) then these older games'll really not be your cup of tea.

Is BaK a blobber now?
 

TigerKnee

Arcane
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
1,920
Is Dark Heart of Uukrul not considered a Blobber because it has Tactical Combat? Because if not I'm going to shun everyone for not mentioning it already.

(Betrayal at Krondor was listed in the OP post so the battle system clearly doesn't need to be standard Wizardry style)
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom