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[ALL PHYSICAL COPIES SOLD OUT!] Realms of Quest V for the VIC-20 (digital version is available)

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
Why the Vic 20 and not the C64?

Zep--
Why the Vic 20 and not the C64?

Zep--

These factors made me choose the VIC-20 this time instead of the C64 like I had considered previously:

1. I'm rather fond of the VIC-20, the first computer that I ever had.
2. I actually like the aesthetics of the sound and graphics of the VIC-20.
3. Making a CRPG for the C64 would make me compete against it's vast library of RPG games. Plus, another C64 retro RPG is alreadymade (Unknown Realm). That being said, I think my game system that allows up to 10 player characters and an excellent inventory system would certainly make it one of the better RPG systems for 8 bit machines.

An update: I recently started a new job, and hopefully I can still put in the time to complete the game--and I think I'm closer to finishing it than I think I actually am (in terms of actual content, it might be about 1/3 finished, but the game's engine is pretty close to being 75% complete). I only started working on Realms V because I had been unemployed and underemployed for the past 3 years (the cratering of oil prices while I happen to live in the heart of Canada's oil country probably had a lot to do with these circumstances more than anything). Now with a new job and family responsibilities, it's probably a bit more difficult to keep working on it. But really, I can choose to either play computer games or make my own, so I choose the latter.

And I actually enjoy working on Realms V a lot more than I did on Realms III and IV which by this time in the dev cycle, I began to grow rather contemptuous of them.

Anyway, I basically finished creating another city (#2 out of 19, and it took me about 3 days to do that one--spending about 1 hour each day) and I started to program the boat that the player can travel on water with.

 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I created a pirate ship graphic for those combat encounters that occur at sea.

 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I still continue to work on the game every day -- even if it means that I take 15 minutes to create some content or spend a couple of hours writing code. Considering that I put in so many hours working on it (not to mention that others have contributed their own content), I feel strong motivation to see that this project gets completed.

In the 6 weeks since my last update, I created more cities for the game. Now I have 5 out of 20 cities completed.

 

Zep Zepo

Titties and Beer
Dumbfuck Repressed Homosexual
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
5,233
I still continue to work on the game every day -- even if it means that I take 15 minutes to create some content or spend a couple of hours writing code. Considering that I put in so many hours working on it (not to mention that others have contributed their own content), I feel strong motivation to see that this project gets completed.

In the 6 weeks since my last update, I created more cities for the game. Now I have 5 out of 20 cities completed.



Well, that is surely not VIC-20 graphics...so what is it..a pipe dream?

Zep--
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I still continue to work on the game every day -- even if it means that I take 15 minutes to create some content or spend a couple of hours writing code. Considering that I put in so many hours working on it (not to mention that others have contributed their own content), I feel strong motivation to see that this project gets completed.

In the 6 weeks since my last update, I created more cities for the game. Now I have 5 out of 20 cities completed.



Well, that is surely not VIC-20 graphics...so what is it..a pipe dream?

Zep--

Yes they are VIC-20 graphics as a matter of fact -- just several screen captures of the map collaged into a single image that you see here.

Because... drum roll.... the map is bigger than the screen and the game lets you scroll through the map as you travel.

Now does that answer your question, or is my expectation of you understand this concept... a...

Pipe dream?
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
Location
at a Nowhere near you
Does it wrap around on the edges? Otherwise those roads (I'm assuming the black-and-red brick lines are roads?) make very little geographical sense...
 

Zep Zepo

Titties and Beer
Dumbfuck Repressed Homosexual
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
5,233
I still continue to work on the game every day -- even if it means that I take 15 minutes to create some content or spend a couple of hours writing code. Considering that I put in so many hours working on it (not to mention that others have contributed their own content), I feel strong motivation to see that this project gets completed.

In the 6 weeks since my last update, I created more cities for the game. Now I have 5 out of 20 cities completed.



Well, that is surely not VIC-20 graphics...so what is it..a pipe dream?

Zep--

Yes they are VIC-20 graphics as a matter of fact -- just several screen captures of the map collaged into a single image that you see here.

Because... drum roll.... the map is bigger than the screen and the game lets you scroll through the map as you travel.

Now does that answer your question, or is my expectation of you understand this concept... a...

Pipe dream?

Ahh, a bullshot. Make a little more sense now.

Zep--
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
Just another update. Believe me, I am still working on this game!

I started working on Realms V in February of this year. I'd say that 60% of the game is done based on the amount of disk space that the current build occupies. Of course, there will be extensive debugging and tweaking of the game content. And not to mention writing the game manual, which is a job in itself -- albeit a very fun part of the game design process.

I'm still bogged down on the city/populace portion of the game. I'd say it takes me about 8 hours of total time to design a city, but I can only find that much free time realistically in a 2 week period. Considering that I've designed 8 cities so far and I have to do 12 more, it will take me another 6 months to finish the city/populace portion of the game at this current pace.

As much as I'm grateful for being gainfully employed in a permanent full time IT job again (the cratering of oil prices in the heart of Canada's oil country kind of put me into a "these were my lost years" situation for quite a while), I had a lot more free time on my hands to work on this game. I'm now starting to see the benefits of long term unemployment.

I find that writing dialogue requires a lot of mental effort on my part and not to mention that I have to make sure that it formats correctly to the screen and so there is testing for that as well. Doing the graphics and programming seems to be less cumbersome because I can do these things even with noise and interruptions. I suppose writing for the manual is a more pleasurable experience for me because I can really delve into the intricacies and the technical aspects of the game -- which is what my passion really lies. I'm admittedly far from being Richard Garriott as far as storytelling goes. I mean, this is the introduction text that I've come up for the game:

-------------------------------------------------
“The Lands of Greater Rivaria, united at last after a long and brutal Civil War are facing a new existential threat. The so-called “Resistance”, composed of the most seditious and foul enemies, headed by a nameless leader is seeking to undermine and overthrow our sovereign, the Most High Honorable Lord Bane and throw us into darkness and chaos.

By reuniting the various pieces, shards and fragments of the legendary Tablet of Uthar, a holy artifact forged by the Gods of Creation that brought law, order and prosperity in Times of Old, we can unite the people into a common and noble cause. We will finally defeat the most nefarious of enemies who seek to subvert and destroy our way of life.

Up to ten worthy adventurers are called upon to report to the royal castle. This is a threat so great that we are even calling upon not only those of various origins, but even those of differing creeds to assemble together, whether they follow the ways of law, balance or even chaos. So long as they swear loyalty to Lord Bane and Greater Rivaria in order to defeat this most imminent peril.

If this grave danger is not overcome, the stability of Greater Rivaria and all that we have worked and fought so hard for is at stake. This is a most desperate hour.”

--Viscount Beaumont, emissary and most trusted advisor to Lord Bane, the Most High.
-------------------------------------------------

Not very good at the moment, but I'm getting a very good friend of mine who is an amateur fantasy writer to revise and improve the above text. However, it does mention that the game supports a party size of 10 players. In retrospect, that is quite ambitious for an 8-bit CRPG, especially considering that I had to stretch the 22*23 screen size that the VIC-20 normally uses to 23*26 characters.

I was anxious about finishing my game by the end of this year but I've come to accept that these types of mega projects take time to do. It will be finished when it is finished.

Oh, and ... Today I took a break from working on the city maps and decided to make a modification to the "Legacy" Realms of Quest font which was all capital letters and added lower case letters. The funny thing about working on a font that I had originally worked on 29 years earlier (with a friend on Ultimate Quest for the C64) is that I had to come up with a consistent aesthetic. I hope it looks ok.



 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I've been procrastinating more on the various player races of the game. My biggest concern is that I lifted race names from Tolkien (and other fantasy universes), and I wanted to revise these. Not that I expect a bunch of copyright lawyers to come down and read the riot act to somebody who will sell a few printed copies of a game that will pass under most people's radar, but I also wanted my game universe to be more original and organic as well.

I've settled on the following:




Halfeling - I did not want to use Tolkien's "Hobbit" and I also wanted to distinguish it from D&D's "Halfling".
Dayanorien - replaces Tolkien's "Dunedain", ancient proto-humans who come from a far off island.
Wor-Mongar - replaces Tolkien's "Uruk-Hai" - these are Orcs who have been bred for several generations to be supreme warriors.
Zzy-Zzyx - replaces Thomas Covenant's "Ur-Vile". In this game they are an interdimensional species who have been summoned into the game world to help defeat Lord Bane's enemies in the Civil War. They are supremely intelligent and wise, but are completely insane and unpredictable.

And for the rest of the player races, I think it's safe to say they're all from folklore and fall into the public domain.
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I've also revised the race and class tables, so I'll just post images of the most current iteration of their respective spreadsheets:






You can see them better if you click on them. They're pretty self-explantory to any fans of RPG games.

For example, if you create a Male Dwarf, they can roll 5D6 for strength (4 or being a dwarf and 1 for being male). If you roll perfect 6s for all the dice for a single attribute, you can roll an additional 1D6 to surpass your race's normal limits and as long as you keep rolling a perfect 6, then additional 1D6 will continue to be rolled as well.

And if said male dwarf chooses to be a fighter, he will get 16 base hitpoints per level (plus whatever his Health bonus is) because he gets 8 for being a dwarf, 2 for being male and 6 for being a fighter.

Males are stronger and normally have more hit points while females get health and charisma bonuses.

And this male dwarf fighter has an EXP score of -1 (+2 for being a dwarf and -3 for being a fighter). The higher the race/class combo EXP your player character is, the more more monsters he or she will have to normally kill in order to progress to the next level.

You train for your levels by sleeping at the inn that are located in the 3 castles in the game (for 1-6 months). This in turn causes aging and if the male dwarf in this case reaches past the age of 150 he will begin to deteriorate in his abilities and when one of them reaches zero, he will die permanently of old age. Elves and Eldars do not suffer from aging and can be effectively immortal as long as they are not killed by monsters.
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I've revised the classes by making minor modifications and I removed the "Proteus" class (which was a "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" type of class) to replace it with the "War-Mage" (basically a Fighter/Wizard/Cleric combo class - and it is the one that requires the most experience to advance in levels).

 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I just realized something ... I started actual work on this game on February 2 of last year -- so I've been working on this game for 1 year and 2 days. I was really hoping to be finished in 6 months! I've been bogged down on creating content for the cities and the townspeople who live there. I have 11 1/2 cities done with 8 1/2 to go.

Some screenshots of my relatively recent work. I also changed the copyright date to 2018, but I've a feeling that this game won't actually ship until 2019! I seriously doubt I will make another game like this, it's just too time-consuming and definitely not easy to do.







 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I just finished designing the 12th city of the game, Minas Lugo -- I only have 8 more to do before I'm finished the City/Populace portion of the game which represents about a quarter of the game content. While I've found the process of designing the cities to be tedious at times, I did visit one of the earlier cities I had created a few months ago and I found myself curious what everybody in the city had to say. My earliest RPG, "Ultimate Quest" for the C64 (available as a B-side game on Realms IV and for download from my blog) had a single city for you to explore and talk to people. It certainly adds atmosphere and a sense of exploration to the game -- something that I didn't do for the first 3 Realms games for the VIC-20.

Anyway, here are some portrait images of those who inhabit Minas Lugo:



 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I've revised the player race statistics again -- this time making the races much different from each the other. Some of the characteristics go to extremes, such as Eldar Elves having 5d6 IQ and CHARISMA, but with a HEALTH of 1d6. I made the Ogre less clumsy by increasing it's AGILITY from 1D6 to 2D6 and I basically ascribed the "slow and clumsy" player race to the Zzy-Zzyx (interdimensional beings who act very strange and bizarre to those in our world).

 

Dorateen

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
4,322
Location
The Crystal Mist Mountains
As long as you are tinkering with statistics...

I'd go with 5 health for Dwarves, putting them on par with Ogres. Right now, a 4 is the same as halflings and gnolls, and that doesn't seem right. The Dwarven race is notable for its endurance and high constitution.
 

V_K

Arcane
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
7,714
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at a Nowhere near you
I'd go with 5 health for Dwarves, putting them on par with Ogres. Right now, a 4 is the same as halflings and gnolls, and that doesn't seem right. The Dwarven race is notable for its endurance and high constitution.
15556.jpg
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
As long as you are tinkering with statistics...

I'd go with 5 health for Dwarves, putting them on par with Ogres. Right now, a 4 is the same as halflings and gnolls, and that doesn't seem right. The Dwarven race is notable for its endurance and high constitution.

Your passion and enthusiasm for all things Dwarven is duly noted, but Dwarves are already pretty strong in this game - they have good longetivity and while they "only" have a health of 4, it is still above average and they're in the top 4 out of the 16 races. But I will certainly think about your suggestions.
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
What does a Health of 4 equate to in Hit Points?

Zep--

The "4" represents 4D6 for the attribute (but if a perfect 24 is rolled in this case, an additional 1D6 is rolled and an additional 1D6 is also added for subsequent perfect "6"s rolled afterwards). For every 6 attribute points of Health a player has, he or she gets +1 bonus Hit Points (equivalent to the D&D constiution bonus). So a health of 6-11 gets +1 HP, 12-17 gets +2, etc.

To further elaborate, I'll give a specific example. Let's say the player wants to create a Male Dwarf Fighter. Males get a base of 2 HP (females get zero), Dwarves get a base of 8 HP and Fighters get a base of 6 HP, bringing the total Hit Die value to 16 (so, 1-16 hit points per level). Let's say this character has a health of 22, so the bonus HP is +3 -- so this character will now start with 19 Hit Points (you always begin with maximum HP at level 1) and in subsequent levels, this character will get 4-19 HP for each level gained (1-16 and the +3 HP Health bonus).

At the other end of the spectrum, we can have a Female Sprite Wizard who gets 0 base HP for being female, 2 base HP for being a Sprite and 0 base HP for being a Wizard. So if her Health is below 6, she only gets 1-2 hit points per level.
 

V_K

Arcane
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at a Nowhere near you
Is it wise to have such a huge range? At lvl 10 the dwarf in your case could get 190 hp, while the sprite could get stuck at 11. How would you balance the higher-level encounters for such range of possibilities?
 

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
Is it wise to have such a huge range? At lvl 10 the dwarf in your case could get 190 hp, while the sprite could get stuck at 11. How would you balance the higher-level encounters for such range of possibilities?

I presented the Female Sprite Wizard as the sex/race/class combo with absolutely the lowest hit points. Nobody would ever expect the equivalent of Peter Pan's Tinkerbell to be able to absorb huge amounts of punishment (if you want a Wizard with more hit points, choose a Male Elf which would give it a hit die value of 8 per level).

Balance is overrated

I'm all for having a certain amount of symmetry in designing the features of races and classes, but yea, making these balanced would result in just making the game a bit more generic.

There are a lot of wild variations in the races and classes in this game--otherwise, if they did not have these huge differences in attributes (physical and mental), then what's the point in having them? In fact, the race of the player also determines how much experience is needed to advance in levels. So Elves (the most powerful race) will advance a lot slower than Kobolds. I just looked up my level advancement algorithm, and the Elf Druid (the strongest race/class) requires the player to gain up to 6 times as much combat experience as the Kobold Peasant (the weakest race/class) in order to gain a level.

I made males have more Strength and Hit Points while females have more Health and Charisma. I find it ridiculous when RPGs don't even acknowledge the difference in physical strength between the sexes.
 
Last edited:

hitfan

Double Sided Games
Developer
Joined
May 15, 2009
Messages
310
I just finished designing city #14 called "The Citadel of Alan". Here's some screenshots of the townspeople you will encounter there:






I only have 6 more cities to do and I will be done with the content for the City/Populace portion of the game.
 

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