Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Saxon1974]

Nice, you can play the gold box games on a tablet? I don't have a tablet but does dosbox work on it?

Ah I see some other threads saying it works with dosbox. Dang now I need a tablet!

 

[Prehistorik]

Probably because PoR was designed by TSR's experienced D&D module designers, while the rest of the games (except the Savage Frontier games, which were outsourced) were made in-house by SSI's own designers.

It seems they didn't do any other crpgs sadly.

I could always finish Pools.

Ye, pretty much. This guys really knew how to build an adventure.

 

[octavius]

that explains it rather well.

What about PoD? it's the only one I think comes close in terms of design and scope. Who made it?

I guess they were more experienced by then.
Dave Shelley was one of the designers.

 

[kmonster]

So could one get *two* dragonlances in DQoK or does one always start with one and can never acquire another one? (I think I played this only once or if twice the last time was a long time ago. I was not too fond of it and mainly remember the undersea section and the endgame.)

You could have 2 Dragonlances in DQoK. My imported party started with one and got a second one during the game.

 

[Agesilaus]

Nice, you can play the gold box games on a tablet? I don't have a tablet but does dosbox work on it?

Yes, you can download dosbox apps from the Google store. Then you can download an alternative keyboard that you can resize to suit the screen. The gold box games play well on my google nexus 10 tablet.

 

[Jo498]

You could have 2 Dragonlances in DQoK. My imported party started with one and got a second one during the game.

Thanks! Interesting, this could make some parts of the game a little easier. And so I definitely was wrong about the Dragonlance being restricted to knights as well (although I still think it was like that in Champions).

I could keep ranting about Gateway... I have maybe played 30% of the game, only two real dungeons (Kraken hideout and Hosttower dungeon), but almost all cities are only semi-friendly and have hostile encounters and my priest has already achieved the highest lvl (6) possible in the game. How can they simply repeat what was a somewhat understandable mistake (I guess because they did not want to include 4th lvl spells) in the very first game, PoR. In fact they made it worse, because the starting party in Gateway is not lvl1 but the priest was one Xp below lvl 3 when the game started...
But the lvl caps for the half-elven multi-class-priests and the low lvl paladin who can hardly serve as a healer basically make a priest necessary for any party.

 

[Kirben]

I could keep ranting about Gateway... I have maybe played 30% of the game, only two real dungeons (Kraken hideout and Hosttower dungeon), but almost all cities are only semi-friendly and have hostile encounters and my priest has already achieved the highest lvl (6) possible in the game. How can they simply repeat what was a somewhat understandable mistake (I guess because they did not want to include 4th lvl spells) in the very first game, PoR. In fact they made it worse, because the starting party in Gateway is not lvl1 but the priest was one Xp below lvl 3 when the game started...
But the lvl caps for the half-elven multi-class-priests and the low lvl paladin who can hardly serve as a healer basically make a priest necessary for any party.

Gateway to the Savage Frontier re-used the game engine from Curse of the Azure Bonds, so there was no good reason for the limits. The game engine already offered up to level 5 for spells and up to level 11-12 for classes. A work around is to import your characters into Curse of the Azure Bonds, train them in that game, and import back into Gateway to the Savage Frontier.

Gateway to the Savage Frontier was definitely the worse game of the Gold Box series, it comes across as incomplete in many ways, and the C64/Amiga ports were terrible. Many of the towns in particular hinted at possible side quests, that didn't even exist.

 

[Null Null]

Yeah, they kept setting up enemies you couldn't beat. You went all through the Hosttower and the Krakens without being able to tangle with the Big Bad.

I think something happened between Death Knights of Krynn, when you got to banish Kitiara and Lord Soth, and Pools of Darkness, when Manshoon got away, Kalistes subbed for Lolth, and you wound up killing Gothmenes instead of Bane. (Yeah, he's a god, but you're 35th level.) The developers said they didn't own the IP on the TSI board, and my guess is someone from corporate told them icing iconic characters was bad for continuity. Note that Pool of Radiance and Curse of the Azure Bonds set up Tyranthraxus as the Big Bad and let you kill him. Same with Secret and the Dreadlord.

I think Gateway and Treasures were supposed to be setting for a third game that never got made because the series ran out. But this is my conjecture.

 

[octavius]

I was so disappointed when a large army of trolls and orcs in one city turned out to be illusions, since I was really itching for a good fight at that point.
In the end the only memorable fights in Gateway were the final ones.

But it's funny how many mention Gateway as their favourite GB games. And commercially it seems to have been the best selling GB game after Pool of Radiance, judging by the Top 25 best seller lists in contemporary issues of Computer Gaming World,

 

[Dorateen]

But it's funny how many mention Gateway as their favourite GB games.

I wonder if it's that low-level Forgotten Realms adventuring.

 

[Jaesun]

I agree. Low level D&D is really fun, and that is probably the main reason PoR and Gateway is so well liked (even though design wise PoR is miles above Gateway).

 

[Arulan]

I've recently started playing through Pool of Radiance again. It has been years since I've last played, and I'm having a fantastic time. After I finish PoR, it might finally be the time to play through some of the other SSI games I've never played. A few aspect-ratio corrected screenshots of my play-through:

 

[Null Null]

I agree. Low level D&D is really fun, and that is probably the main reason PoR and Gateway is so well liked (even though design wise PoR is miles above Gateway).

Your poll has it behind Curse, Death Knights, Queen, and Pools (which are not low level).

 

[Joonas]

I've released a new beta version of Gold Box Companion.

- Support for Unlimited Adventures, Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday and Matrix Cubed.
- Automapping for all games.
- Journal entries / passwords can be viewed from a menu.
- Save game editor where you can backup saves, add/replace party characters and edit inventory.
- "Encamp-fix" / restore spells / character editing can no longer be used in combat.

12 games is a big number of titles to support so there are most likely bugs and quirks still left.

Screenshots and more information:
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/jhirvonen/gbc/

Direct download link:
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/jhirvonen/gbc/gbc.zip

 

[Metro]

Your poll has it behind Curse, Death Knights, Queen, and Pools (which are not low level).

Wasn't Gateway on the tail end of the Gold Box series? I actually don't think I played it myself or, if I did, it was after I had played its sequel, Treasures. I'm assuming less people played it than some of the 'premier' storyline sequels.

 

[octavius]

It was released before the final installments of the Pools, Krynn and Buck Rogers games.

 

[araan]

Hi everyone, since this thread looks active I figure it's as good a place as any to ask.

Has anyone ever had any luck actually *using* a Bag of Holding in Pool of Radiance? I am playing through the game for the first time (and loving it btw no spoilerz plz jk) and have found one, but I seem unable to "USE" it after setting it to "READY". No luck using "JOIN", etc. either. Am I missing something, or does it not actually work in PoR? Would be useful with my party of only 4.

Thanks.

 

[Joonas]

If I remember correctly, the Bag of Holding just halves your encumbrance or something like that, you can not put items into it. Where did you find one?

 

[Sordid MCA/Prosper Hybryd]

Gateway to the Savage Frontier was definitely the worse game of the Gold Box series, it comes across as incomplete in many ways, and the C64/Amiga ports were terrible. Many of the towns in particular hinted at possible side quests, that didn't even exist.

Why was amiga port of GttSF terrible? Can someone elaborate?

 

[Kirben]

Why was amiga port of GttSF terrible? Can someone elaborate?

The game was unstable, the reference card stated to save every hour or the game could fail.

The developer couldn't even manage a hard disk installer either, adding a ridiculous note that is was not possible.

 

[octavius]

Hmm...I don't recall having any technical problems with the Amiga version of Gateway.

 

[Jaesun]

Hmm...I don't recall having any technical problems with the Amiga version of Gateway.

I remember one (or it may have been several) Gold Box games for the Amiga that had some shitty problem trying to install them to the HD. Though I think I figured out how to finally install it reading some posts on a BBS back in the day...

 

[Kirben]

Hmm...I don't recall having any technical problems with the Amiga version of Gateway.

The notes in the original documentation can be seen at the Computer Games Museum, you were lucky not to have any issues.

I recall review in local magazine (Australian Commodore and Amiga Review) was very critical, based on those issues.

I remember one (or it may have been several) Gold Box games for the Amiga that had some shitty problem trying to install them to the HD. Though I think I figured out how to finally install it reading some posts on a BBS back in the day...

I expect that was Gateway to the Savage Frontier, all the other Gold Box games offered a hard drive installer.

 

[Jaesun]

I still have 2 boxes that are filled with all my Amiga Floppies. If I ever get my Amiga 4000 running again, I guess I'll find out. I swear it was one of the earlier ones, but that was a LONG time ago....

 

[Epsilon]

I still have 2 boxes that are filled with all my Amiga Floppies. If I ever get my Amiga 4000 running again, I guess I'll find out. I swear it was one of the earlier ones, but that was a LONG time ago....

Today you can just use whdload. It works great a whdload archive exists on usenet and other abandonware sites, it contains most Amiga games in whd form.
I prefer playing the goldbox games in their Amiga versions due them being slightly more vibrant and all have sound effects. Of course nostalgia is a factor too!