Game News Bard's Tale 1 Remaster Released

[Naraya]

I never played the originals but honestly... more games like this, InXile! I love this remaster, it just feels great!

Now I'm sure I'll try the originals at some point - on Spectrum preferably as I owned this machine, also I'll take a look at Amiga and DOS versions

edit: actually Apple II/gs version looks nice! (http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/pc/bardstale1/versions.shtml)

 

[Mortmal]

I never played the originals but honestly... more games like this, InXile! I love this remaster, it just feels great!

Now I'm sure I'll try the originals at some point - on Spectrum preferably as I owned this machine, also I'll take a look at Amiga and DOS versions

edit: actually Apple II/gs version looks nice! (http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/pc/bardstale1/versions.shtml)

No point playing the originals now, although the amiga graphics has their charm, this version is clearly superior to any previous ones and highly recommended. Unlike GOG lazy dos box packages, that's something really worth the purchase, with just enough discreet modern improvements and faithful to the original. I wish those guys would remaster fate gates of dawn , if a game is in need of a journal and automap its that one, much more than gold box or wizardry.

 

[Darkzone]

The beta patch also includes a setting so that all the combat options are shown, with the ones that are unavailable greyed out, which means they're always in the same position. It's called "Mouse Friendly Combat".
Don't use it myself (hotkeys all the way), but it's there.

I have discovered just after my last post that the arrow keys are also used for the movement. Since then i play it most just with the Hotkeys: left hand for most of the actions and right hand for the movement. Nevertheless thank you.

 

[Invictus]

Kind of off topic here, but shouldn’t GOG license DosBox to give the people who made the program something? I mean as things are they are profiting from what should be free software to allow their licensed legacy games to run

 

[Bester]

One minute in google. Dosbox is GNU. You can sell GNU.

 

[vonAchdorf]

Considering all the GOG links on the dosbox website (which earn them commission), their relationship seems to be amicable. Maybe GOG is donating money and/or contributing patches.

 

[Darkzone]

Holy shit! Can we just name this RPG of the Year and be done with it?.... hell I think it might even beat out the upcoming Bard’s Tale 4

BT 1 was my first RPG in 1985 and in 2018 that this version clearly deserves to be the RPG of the year. Fuck i cannot wait to play the remastered BTII and BTIII. Krome will also make the WL remastered and this will be perhaps the RPG of the year in 2019.
Fargo in my eyes has redeemed himself by putting out this remastered RPGs and i can forgive him the Torment that he put us through.

 

[Naraya]

F5 is QuickSave, F6 is QuickLoad.

MIND.BLOWN.

 

[Dungeon Lord]

Honestly, this is the proper way how you do a remaster of a classic game. Great work!

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

damn, the video looks pretty incline. Was not expecting them to re-do it it like this, I might actually buy it now..looks really good. I played the old version on my Commodore 64 back in the day, but the graphics and music and other upgrades looks great

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

From the Kickstarter update sent out yesterday:

Finally, the original games are very challenging. We encourage you to band together to pass along advice and discoveries, whether on the Steam or GOG forums or our own official forums. I think that I can safely speak for many older players that while we fondly remember having to figure stuff out on our own, it certainly would have been nice to have the internet back then to help with some things!

I finished #1 & #3 back in the day without assistance. #2 I folded and bought the cluebook because some of those riddles were ridiculous and completely blocked further progress if you couldn't solve them. I would argue Grimrock 2 was far more difficult than even that with regards to esoteric puzzles (But I guess that had the advantage of the interwebs being available to help out...).

me too, could not finish 2 without help. These games are way, way harder than games are today.

 

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

I cant recall, but if you play all three games using same characters do they keep gaining levels thorough all three games, or does it re-start you back at low level?

 

[Dehumanizer]

I cant recall, but if you play all three games using same characters do they keep gaining levels thorough all three games, or does it re-start you back at low level?

They keep gaining levels, which can mean you can do the first 30% of the newer games with your eyes closed, and basically skip the starter dungeons both include (I say "basically" because you will still have to teleport to the boss and kill him, but you can do both in a couple of minutes). I'd suggest importing the old party, but starting with a bunch of newbies anyway, keeping the veterans in store for when the game gets tough.

 

[Darkzone]

I cant recall, but if you play all three games using same characters do they keep gaining levels thorough all three games, or does it re-start you back at low level?

They keep gaining levels, which can mean you can do the first 30% of the newer games with your eyes closed, and basically skip the starter dungeons both include (I say "basically" because you will still have to teleport to the boss and kill him, but you can do both in a couple of minutes). I'd suggest importing the old party, but starting with a bunch of newbies anyway, keeping the veterans in store for when the game gets tough.

Who would skip the fight against Brilhasti ap Tarj ??? I would suggest in BTIII to kill Brilhasti with the old party and 1 or 2 newbies so that you can start with 35Lv "newbies". I think that it only worked with 1lv characters.

 

[Sceptic]

I would suggest in BTIII to kill Brilhasti with the old party and 1 or 2 newbies so that you can start with 35Lv "newbies". I think that it only worked with 1lv characters.

Nope it worked with any level party below 35, I did it a few years ago on a party imported from BT1 to BT2 to BT3 and their level got set to 35 or whatever it was (including my Archmage-turned-Chronomancer, who was level 1 Chronomancer going in).

 

[Sacibengala]

Update today. Now you can see the glorious window in half of the screen.
https://imgur.com/a/Hj1UeWo

 

[Darkzone]

I would suggest in BTIII to kill Brilhasti with the old party and 1 or 2 newbies so that you can start with 35Lv "newbies". I think that it only worked with 1lv characters.

Nope it worked with any level party below 35, I did it a few years ago on a party imported from BT1 to BT2 to BT3 and their level got set to 35 or whatever it was (including my Archmage-turned-Chronomancer, who was level 1 Chronomancer going in).

I did it some~exact 30 years ago, therefore i will trust you expertise and "recent" experience. But i just think to remember that after i have beaten Brilhasti i had to make new chars, because on my C64 version they didn't recieved the experience to raise them to the 35lv. And therefore i had to go several times down and cast MAMA (after the first time killing him, before that i have used WIZW, DMST and NILA) at Brilhasti and his gang of 4 and replace nearly my entire Party, because they were still below the 35lv. Which version did you play? It would be real odd if only i had such a specific error. I think that the only party members that i have not made new were the casters, because Brilhasti's death has raised them to 350 HP and 350 SP with only the 4 standard caster classes.

 

[Sceptic]

I did it some~exact 30 years ago, therefore i will trust you expertise and "recent" experience. But i just think to remember that after i have beaten Brilhasti i had to make new chars, because on my C64 version

Ah, that might be it. I was on the PC version. I should always remember to specify what version I was using before contradicting other people's statements, it's amazing how much some of the old series varied wildly between version (just look at Phantasie).

 

[Country_Gravy]

Phantasie remake would be an insta-buy if it was like these.