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Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures (FRUA) thread

Jaesun

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catfood said:
Just post here, and I'll show you how to remove them, and have them use their defaults.

Good thing you threw in that little tip about keeping those files safe. When I saw a grey background, with pink coloured characters I thought my eyes were going to melt. Luckily the default one is easy on the eyes. :thumbsup:

Yeah. As much as I fucking love Ray's modules, occasionally his artistic ideas on a custom frame or font or font colors just made me RAGE... So I turned them back to the defaults.

And Yeah, Dungeon Craft is still in very early development stage. Their main goal is to be able to import all the old FRUA modules. Once that is done, further optimizing the interface and anything else I assume will come later. It is personally, something I am keeping my eye on.
 

Quilty

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How long is an average module? I like my rpgs long and hard, with oodles of dungeons. I don't even mind too much copy-pasta if the combat is fun enough.
 

Jaesun

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Quilty said:
How long is an average module? I like my rpgs long and hard, with oodles of dungeons. I don't even mind too much copy-pasta if the combat is fun enough.

They all vary in length. Some only took me a day while for example, I am playing his version of TOEE and have been playing it for 3 days now. Granted most of the time is spent on mapping the dungeon.

When I followed the Recommended Order for going through the Realm in the West, the first 3 mods only took me a day each to complete, then when I got to B11-12, King's Festival/Queen's Harvest, that took a bit longer as it has 4 actual "chapters" to it. B3, Palace of the Silver Princess took a long time to finish, again due to all the mapping.
 

Quilty

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Thanks for replying. Do you know if there's a way to transfer your party from one module to the next?
 

Jaesun

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Quilty said:
Thanks for replying. Do you know if there's a way to transfer your party from one module to the next?

Yes, read the last part of my instructions on my first post. I detail how to save then update and then transfer your characters to the next module.

If that isn't clear enough, then ask. I'll try to explain it more clearly?

I currently took a break from doing a campaign West, and started a new Codex BRO Squad and are now on our 3rd Module, Temple of Elemental Evil. I have been transferring the same characters module to module.

Oddly, I came upon the Codex while within the temple...

TOEETroll.png


:lol:

Also, if you are going to play The Realm series, make sure to make a party with 1 of each class AND Race. Ray loves to do lots of Class/Race/Stat checks.

I currently have:

Human Paladin
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric
Dwarf Cleric
Elf Ranger
Half Elf Thief
Human Mage

Keep in mind also, some races can only go so high in levels for some classes. For example Dwarves can attain any level of Cleric, but thy are limited to Level 9 for fighters.Elves can only attain Level 11 as a Magic user etc.. so be sure to RTFM.
 

Quilty

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Oh cool, thanks for the info. I failed at reading your first post.

I really like when devs make use of all the classes, races etc. because in the Infinity engine games I never felt like there was a lot of difference between my characters.
 

Jaesun

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Hey Jaesun you faggot! Just give me some reviews and tell me what games to play!

Play a campaign of games, staring with this suggested list:

http://therealm.flopsyville.com/west.html

This was the most "fun" campaign. This is a good start into playing with FRUA. When you are going to play B8, Journey to the Rock, get the SECOND EDITION version. It improved a lot of the pictures and interface over the original. There is a GAME STOPPING BUG (due to a bug in FRUA) is B11-12, King's Festival/Queen's Harvest. To avoid the bug, there are 2 female NPC's that can join the party in the "Basement". DO NOT LET THEM JOIN THE PARTY. Other than that, I had no other problems.

OR:

http://therealm.flopsyville.com/south.html

This one was a LOT more challenging. Also his ToEE version was pretty good. But jebus fuck there were some nasty nasty fucking battles. But over all this series of modules were more challenging. I7, Baltron's Beacon is my single favorite module he has done so far. It was really interesting what he did with that.

Make sure you have LOTS of graph paper handy. And I recommend at least TWO clerics in your party, as Ray does not like you resting. (I used 2 Dwaven Cleric/Fighters).

I am currently adding ALL of the modules from the "West" into one gigantic Dungeon Craft mod here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=64440 So you then can play any of them in and damn order you wish. I have 3 modules "merged" together so far. But Dungeon Craft still has a LONG WAY before it is the same as FRUA currently. But most of t is pretty good so far. AI and Magic are the 2 things it is severely lacking at the moment. Nut it is still playable just fine.
 

Elwro

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Jaesun, I have a request. What we have here thanks to you is a very nice guide to FRUA, fantastic for anyone who'd want to play e.g. Dyer's modules.

But there are people who want to play the Gold Box games since they heard they were among the classics of the genre. I played some of them a very long time ago. From time to time I'm considering firing some of them again. But then I remember the bad things, mostly UI related. I also notice there are numerous versions available, for various platforms. And some of the games have been remade for FRUA. But e.g. in that category I can only find the first two games of the original tetralogy. Does it mean that if I finish Curse of the Azure Bonds in Dyer's version I won't be able to transfer the party to any version of Secret of the Silver Blades? Lots of similar questions arise...

...and here's the request: could you give some advice on what the definitive way of playing the Gold Box games would be now?
 

Tripicus

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Is there a general map space that works well for mapping Ray's modules? Or even simply something such as an upper-bound on the sizes for the FRUA engine.
 

mariog

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How's "The Sect"? I've heard good (actually, great) things about it but I still haven't tried it yet.

Also, since it looks like there are hundreds of modules out there, are there any offering choices and consequences/multiple ways to solve quests and, you know, something else than endless combat encounters?
 

Jaesun

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Elwro said:
Jaesun, I have a request. What we have here thanks to you is a very nice guide to FRUA, fantastic for anyone who'd want to play e.g. Dyer's modules.

But there are people who want to play the Gold Box games since they heard they were among the classics of the genre. I played some of them a very long time ago. From time to time I'm considering firing some of them again. But then I remember the bad things, mostly UI related. I also notice there are numerous versions available, for various platforms. And some of the games have been remade for FRUA. But e.g. in that category I can only find the first two games of the original tetralogy. Does it mean that if I finish Curse of the Azure Bonds in Dyer's version I won't be able to transfer the party to any version of Secret of the Silver Blades? Lots of similar questions arise...

ugh the dreaded question I have been avoiding (this is why my article ONLY specifies Ray's The Realm series), as they are specifically made to allow ANY party made with any of the modules, can be imported to any other Realm series module.

As for a specific series of FRUA modules, I would first read the modules read-me.txt. It should clearly state that a party made with the first module can be imported into the second module. I *assume* Ray's version of PoR and CotAB are made that the PoR party can be imported into CotAB.

When browsing for a module on http://frua.rosedragon.org/modulelist/file.php here are some tips:

Under the "HACKED" coloum, if it has "not hacked" you can import ANY character/party from ANY "not hacked" labeled module. All this means is it uses the default FRUA items/spells/art etc.. so nothing new has been added or changed.

If in the "HACKED" column, if it says "hacked" then you will need to use UAShell to play it. Since a hacked module can differ from module to module you cant use the same party/characters from another hacked module.

The only time you can import character/party in a "hacked" module, is if it is a specific series that allows you to do so (like in Ray's The Realm Series).


Elwro said:
...and here's the request: could you give some advice on what the definitive way of playing the Gold Box games would be now?

I am not quite sure what you are asking specificaly?


Tripicus said:
Is there a general map space that works well for mapping Ray's modules? Or even simply something such as an upper-bound on the sizes for the FRUA engine.

No sadly. I really really wish Ray would give at least SOME general idea on where to begin mapping, but he does not. I have on ocassion just looked at the map in the editor just to see where I am, and then begin mapping (IF it is a HUGE map, like in module GA3, Tales of Enchantment which is a HUGE GIGANTIC map. It took me 4 pieces of graph paper to map out fully).


mariog said:
How's "The Sect"? I've heard good (actually, great) things about it but I still haven't tried it yet.

My free time is limited to me working on My Conversion of Rays modules into DC currently, so I have not tried it yet, but I have heard many good things about it. Someone give it a go and let us know!


mariog said:
Also, since it looks like there are hundreds of modules out there, are there any offering choices and consequences/multiple ways to solve quests and, you know, something else than endless combat encounters?

I assume there are (Ray uses TONS of Skill/Class/Race/Stat checks in all of his, as well as sometimes different ways to approach things and sometimes consequences in his modules). Since my free time is rather limited, someone give some of them a try and let us know.

There IS also the http://frua.rosedragon.org/uanls.htm newsletter there that usually has a review of modules with each issue. Give those a read too to perhaps pick something to your liking.
 

Elwro

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Jaesun said:
Elwro said:
...and here's the request: could you give some advice on what the definitive way of playing the Gold Box games would be now?

I am not quite sure what you are asking specificaly?
Eh, sorry. I meant to ask about the best platform. C64 emulator? Amiga? PC?

Thanks for the answer regarding party import!
 

Jaesun

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Elwro said:
Jaesun said:
Elwro said:
...and here's the request: could you give some advice on what the definitive way of playing the Gold Box games would be now?

I am not quite sure what you are asking specificaly?
Eh, sorry. I meant to ask about the best platform. C64 emulator? Amiga? PC?

Thanks for the answer regarding party import!

If you are going to play the Gold Box Classic games, for convenience I'd say the DOS version. I played them all on my Amiga (the ones they did port) years ago (and the Amiga version allow you to make your own Combat Icon for your player characters :D I think that was only for a few games though).

Since ports vary from system to system, I honestly do not know the differences (as in if a certain version has better UI or other various things). I'm sure someone could compile a list of all the Gold Box Games, and which version is better (sound/Graphic/UI etc..) but that isn't going to be me.
 

Fowyr

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I made modules (though never completed them) for both editors and only can say hacked modules for FRUA >>> BoE.

16 area descriptions, only 99 special nodes. I used 14 descriptions and 56 nodes only on the first part of starting area.
 

Incantatar

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Is there a list of hacks Dyer used in his designs? E.g. did he change anything with the race/level restrictions? I only found a list with his equipment changes.
Also are all his Designs bloated with random encounters? I cleared the slums in his PoR and i fought way too much of them.

Keep in mind also, some races can only go so high in levels for some classes. For example Dwarves can attain any level of Cleric, but thy are limited to Level 9 for fighters.Elves can only attain Level 11 as a Magic user etc.. so be sure to RTFM.
According to TFM Dwarves cannot even be Clerics.
 

Elzair

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Are there any good resources for doing FRUA module development?
 

Incantatar

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5. Make your choices for music and sound. When in doubt, answer no. You can change this later if you mess up or want to change it.

You could change Nol's very general recommendation with the following more newb friendly:
With D-Fend Reloaded you'll get the best music and sound with activating Roland music and Sound Blaster effects in the shell. The rest should be deactivated.

For D-Fend newbs: Copy and Paste the DOSBox profile, Edit and change Program File to .\VirtualHD\FRUA\UASHELL.BAT
(FRUA being the game directory). PC Speaker can be deactivated. Keyboard layout can be changed to non-US. Other tweaks?
 

Jaesun

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Are there any good resources for doing FRUA module development?

Yes, first there are some well detailed examples of using the editor and various hacks in the UA News Letter also there is a very detailed FAQ. Again the read me that comes with FRUA also is very well detailed.

It is a bit tricky starting out, but then you get it, and it's very very easy to understand. Also there is a good tutorial in the manual that comes with FRUA.
 

Renegen

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Great post Jaesun, I think I am about to embark on my first gold box adventures. :salute:

Just wanted to say that your install instructions work perfectly but ONLY FOR PURE DOSBOX. Do not use D-Fend because it somehow fails to install uashell.bat properly.
 

Jaesun

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Great post Jaesun, I think I am about to embark on my first gold box adventures. :salute:

:salute:

You will have a blast. Having now played (fully the recommended order West and South, and then the party dying in the East) I will give a brief overview that is just my opinion:

Recommended Order for the Westlands: This is I would say your typical, very fun romp through The Realms. Decent Loot and some very cool mods. Highly recommended for your first FRUA experience.

Recommended Order for the Southlands: Same as above. still very enjoyable just different mods.

Recommended Order for the Eastlands: This is a tad more brutal. Not recommended for your first FRUA experience. But if you want a challenge, go for it.

If you have some questions or need some help on a particular mod, feel free to ask here. I'll be glad to help.
 

ProphetSword

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Hey, everyone. I'm a long time FRUA module developer, and have developed several high quality and well-received designs (like "AT1: Dark Alliances," and "Night of the Basilisk"). If you're going to try out the engine and want to connect to the community, you should head over to our forums, located at http://ua.reonis.com

I'm one of the administrators over there, so if I see you, I'll say hello. Aside from that, I can also answer any questions about FRUA that you have, since I'm pretty familiar with the toolset after all these years (especially if you want to make your own designs versus just playing ones that are already there). The community can always use new designs, as we still have an active player base.
 

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