Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - Gold Box Series Games : Forums?

[82-T/A]

Hey guys, I love AtariAge... so don't misunderstand my thoughts here. Does anyone know of a message forum that by chance, deals with the older Dungeons & Dragons computer games? Specifically the old TSR / SSI ones from the Gold Box Series days?

 

I've started replaying them from beginning to end. I've only beaten a couple of them (Champions of Krynn, Pool of Radiance, Gateway to the Savage Frontier), and I'd like to finally get through them all in my spare time. Just want to "immerse" myself with others who are going through it as well, and wasn't sure if there was a good forum for them specifically.

 

 

Thanks!

[deepthaw]

FRUA forums are the best I can think of off-hand...

 

http://ua.reonis.com/

 

I'd also recommend visiting crpgaddict's blog and checking out his reviews. They're always good fun.

 

http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-57-pool-of-radiance-1988.html

[deepthaw]

Forgot to mention: I think the gog.com forums are pretty lively for gold box games - particularly since GOG bought the distribution rights a couple years ago.

[Flojomojo]

I agree with the CRPG Addict recommendation, that guy is amazing.

 

I would start with the GOG forums, but I'm new to the series.

 

Were you there when these were new? I remember trying Pool of Radiance as a teenager and running away FAST from the turn-based combat and simple graphics. Now that I'm older, I can see the appeal, but wonder if too much time has passed and perhaps you had to be there?

[deepthaw]

I agree with the CRPG Addict recommendation, that guy is amazing.

 

I would start with the GOG forums, but I'm new to the series.

 

Were you there when these were new? I remember trying Pool of Radiance as a teenager and running away FAST from the turn-based combat and simple graphics. Now that I'm older, I can see the appeal, but wonder if too much time has passed and perhaps you had to be there?

 

I replayed Pool of Radiance recently and it held up surprisingly well. Combat can become a chore when you fight one million kobolds, but I still made it through.

[Flojomojo]

Are there modern tricks for making it more playable?

 

I avoid playing Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes (which is basically Summoner's War) because the turn-based lineup of "my 6 guys vs your team of monsters" is tedious to me ... even on autopilot.

 

And I assume Gold Box didn't come with an auto-play feature.

[deepthaw]

Are there modern tricks for making it more playable?

 

I avoid playing Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes (which is basically Summoner's War) because the turn-based lineup of "my 6 guys vs your team of monsters" is tedious to me ... even on autopilot.

 

And I assume Gold Box didn't come with an auto-play feature.

 

The turn-based battles are one of the cornerstones of the games, so if that's the sticking point there's no real way to get around it. I personally find it tedious only in the ridiculously large battles against hundreds of weak monsters, but I can definitely see where other people might want the combat to not be such a huge ordeal. Drop the tactical combat and it's a less interesting Wizardry/Might & Magic.

 

There's a helper program called "Gold Box Companion" that acts as a wrapper and adds some extra gameplay features (built in access to journal entries, adding the "Fix" command to titles that didn't have it, mapping, etc.)

 

There's also an option to have your party members auto-fight, but I don't trust it or use it.

[82-T/A]

I agree with the CRPG Addict recommendation, that guy is amazing.

 

I would start with the GOG forums, but I'm new to the series.

 

Were you there when these were new? I remember trying Pool of Radiance as a teenager and running away FAST from the turn-based combat and simple graphics. Now that I'm older, I can see the appeal, but wonder if too much time has passed and perhaps you had to be there?

 

 

Ahh... ok. Let me see if I can conceptualize my thoughts here, because what you're experiencing, is what a lot of people experience when trying to go back and play older games.

 

My parents bought for me, Pools of Radiance when I was maybe 8 or 9. I played it first on my 8088 KayPro PC... with SVGA graphics, though it's EGA... so to answer your first question, YES... I played them when I was younger. Many games that came out during various times, are harder for people to play (or... to get engaged in them) when they didn't play them during the time. Because... as you know, they don't have the draw or graphics you've come to expect.

 

Case in point, I find it very difficult to play any of the ZORK games. Beyond the fact that I could play similar games as BBS door games, it would take a lot of effort on my part to really enjoy those old text-based Zork games.

 

 

Now... before I go any further, I do want to talk about the games, and the technology.

 

 

Here's the list of games as everyone knows them... keep in mind, I'm ignoring the older games like Hillsfar, or Heroes of the Lance, etc... which are all known as the "Silver Box Games."

 

Anyway, you have the following:

 

 

FORGOTTEN REALMS:

Pool of Radiance (EGA / PC Speaker)

Curse of the Azure Bonds (EGA / Adlib)

Secret of the Silver Blades (EGA / Adlib + Roland)

Pools of Darkness (VGA / Sound Blaster + Roland)

 

 

DRAGON LANCE:

Champions of Krynn (EGA / Adlib)

Death Knights of Krynn (EGA / Adlib)

Dark Queen of Krynn (VGA / Sound Blaster + Roland)

 

SAVAGE FRONTIER:

Gateway to the Savage Frontier (VGA / Sound Blaster + Roland)

Treasures of the Savage Frontier (VGA / Sound Blaster + Roland)

 

I'm trying to not needlessly make this post long, hahah... but I'm laying those out so you know the story-progression. You are able to transfer characters from each game, one to the next. This is HUGE because it allows you to follow from one game to the next in succession, and that was a very important feature when they designed the games.

 

Also, the first one was produced in 1987 if I'm not mistaken, and the last ones (Dark Queen and Treasures) were made in the early 1990s. I say that because the graphics and support improved as time went on, but the original game-play did not change. The story-lines are still amazing and deep, and even the battles are theme-oriented, rather than just being the same all the time.

 

 

Are there modern tricks for making it more playable?

 

I avoid playing Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes (which is basically Summoner's War) because the turn-based lineup of "my 6 guys vs your team of monsters" is tedious to me ... even on autopilot.

 

And I assume Gold Box didn't come with an auto-play feature.

 

 

There "IS" a type of Auto-Play feature. Don't know where I learned this, but if you type "ALT-Q" during a battle, it'll engage "QUICK" mode... which will cause your players to fight on their own against the enemy. This is great if you're fighting orcs, bugbears, and whatnot. It's NOT great when you're fighting spell-casters or Dragons... or even some advanced undead. This is because those characters require strategy... you need to disable them first either with spells or arrows, or hand-to-hand combat, otherwise they can wreak havoc on your party. Hit Space-Bar (quickly) when you enter the next battle to disable the auto-fight feature. SAVE OFTEN...

 

I would say that the way the games are designed, is an integral component of the game. They are done this way because they tried to stay as true as possible to the mechanics of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - 2nd Edition.

 

 

I'm trying not to make this post so long... but honestly... in my opinion, they are some of the best games produced for the PC. Pool of Radiance, while it lacks many of the new features that the older ones have, it probably has the most diverse story-line, and the most vast playable area. Not only do you have a massive map for which to move around from, there are huge cities... mini missions and quests... stuff that's unrelated... etc.

 

 

Best way to play them (after my last post in this forum), is through DOSBOX... unless you have a dedicated machine.

 

But yeah, each game is uniquely good.

 

I'd have to say my two least favorite is Curse of the Azure Bonds, and then Secret of the Silver Blades. It was tough to follow Pool of Radiance, there was no other game as diverse as Pool... the only two I know that came close was Gateway to the Savage Frontier and Treasures of the Savage Frontier.

 

 

Sorry for this long ramble... haha...

[Flojomojo]

I enjoyed the long ramble ... and I suspect it was fun for you to write it. :-)

 

I think I have most or all of those from GOG sales. If I were to play only ONE, where should I start?

 

[assumptions] At the beginning, where everything is laid out logically, or at the end, with extra features but probably more complexity than is needed?

 

Or is there a standout, a "Goldfinger" of the series, which someone who might not be a fan of the genre might enjoy?

[Bill Loguidice]

To start, you can't go wrong with Pool of Radiance. There really weren't THAT many changes until towards the end of the series to make a difference, particularly if paired with the aforementioned Gold Box Companion. As always, these old CRPGs - as magnificent as they were back in the day - are a challenge to get back into now.

 

Side note, I played and beat Pool of Radiance on the Amiga back in the day. That version featured enhanced graphics and other minor improvements over the other versions. Unfortunately, said flourishes really didn't make it into most of the sequels on that platform, making the PC versions usually better choices.

[high voltage]

Gold boxes, me and my work-mate played them way back, starting 20:00 in the evening, and 9:00 next morning we were still binge-playing them.

My wife was like....I go to bed listening to 'pling, pling, pling' (the arrows), and I wake up still hearing 'pling. pling, pling', unbelievable....

I think we played the whole Forgotten Realms during one long weekend (C64 and IBM). RPG playing and lots of beer.

 

Anyone here owns this?:

Edited April 9, 2018 by high voltage

[82-T/A]

I enjoyed the long ramble ... and I suspect it was fun for you to write it. :-)

 

I think I have most or all of those from GOG sales. If I were to play only ONE, where should I start?

 

[assumptions] At the beginning, where everything is laid out logically, or at the end, with extra features but probably more complexity than is needed?

 

Or is there a standout, a "Goldfinger" of the series, which someone who might not be a fan of the genre might enjoy?

 

 

Hah! I did... but I didn't want to bore you or unload too much.

 

So... here's my thoughts:

 

Dragon Lance

Forgotten Realms

Savage Frontier

 

Like real Dungeons & Dragons, these are all different "lands," or campaigns if you will. So the three of them are all unrelated. When it comes to playing one of the campaigns, you definitely want to start with the first one in each series, only because it's a longer story-line, and you can transfer your characters from one game to the next.

 

If you think you're going to have a REALLY hard time getting into them, then I'd recommend starting with the Savage Frontier games (Gateway first, and then Treasures second). I say this because the graphics and sound are improved to the highest level of all the games since they were made in the last 2 years. I think Treasures came out in 1992.

 

You'll enjoy them, but... there's no game as "diverse" as Pool of Radiance... which is by far the longest one to complete because the land is so vast / diverse. They really went overboard on that game... but it's limited to PC speaker sound, and EGA graphics. So I would only worry that after playing the Savage Frontier games, you may be discouraged by the sudden loss of graphics that you're used to in the newer ones.

 

 

But... look at me. I've had all of them for several decades, and I've only ever beaten Pool of Radiance, Champions of Krynn, and the Savage Frontier games. I get to a certain point, and then either wipe my machine or get carried away with life...

 

 

EDIT: Might be worthwhile checking out the Gold Box Companion. I've never used it... but it can't hurt. I did always get annoyed when it would say... "You overhear talking at the bar.... which you record as Journal Entry #23" ... I mean, like really? I have to open up the book? Lame... so maybe if that fixes it... the game will be an easier transition for you.

 

EDIT #2: Maybe I'm just a purist, but it seems like the Gold Box Companion kind of "overdoes it." It requires you to play the game windowed, rather than full-screen, and it makes it too easy to cheat. I think that takes away from the challenge of the game. But that's just me.

Edited April 9, 2018 by 82-T/A

[Flojomojo]

I'm totally going to use the Gold Box Companion if/when I try to start these.

 

HV's box scan of Neverwinter Nights reminds me there's a modern game by the same name, which makes me wonder ... Gold Box games, or Baldur's Gate series? Both seem completely nerdy and limitlessly deep, with long long long play times.

[high voltage]

I later played Pool of Radiance the Ubi Soft version. It was not enjoyable.

 

Just thinking about it, War of the Lance, a war game by SSI, I enjoyed.

Edited April 9, 2018 by high voltage

[82-T/A]

I later played Pool of Radiance the Ubi Soft version. It was not enjoyable.

 

Just thinking about it, War of the Lance, a war game by SSI, I enjoyed.

 

I've been playing the Ubi Soft version, which is the newer version of Pool of Radiance which came out a few years ago... (or like 2001 I guess?)

 

I did like it, it's not like the old ones, but I liked that it was a reboot of the story. I had started playing it, but I'm only 1/4 of the way through it.. and it was rather a chore to get it working right on Windows 7 since I think it was designed for Win2k.

[82-T/A]

I'm totally going to use the Gold Box Companion if/when I try to start these.

 

HV's box scan of Neverwinter Nights reminds me there's a modern game by the same name, which makes me wonder ... Gold Box games, or Baldur's Gate series? Both seem completely nerdy and limitlessly deep, with long long long play times.

 

 

You will definitely like them... it's hard, but just give them a chance.

 

Remember, you can customize your characters so they don't have to look like Mardi Gras clowns on the battle screen... (which is basically the colors and configuration they all default to..)

[+wongojack]

I'm totally going to use the Gold Box Companion if/when I try to start these.

 

HV's box scan of Neverwinter Nights reminds me there's a modern game by the same name, which makes me wonder ... Gold Box games, or Baldur's Gate series? Both seem completely nerdy and limitlessly deep, with long long long play times.

 

I'll comment and say that I never played the Baldur's Gate games BITD, and I went back to play the first one in 2017. I was playing the original, but there are enhanced versions of that series that are easy and cheap to obtain (GoG again). I didn't finish BG, and I think I've finally given up on getting through it (at least on the campaign I started). It wasn't too bad in terms of the going backward in time aspect, but there were adjustments (save often).

 

I've never played any of the Gold Box games except to sit and watch friends play them years ago. Pool of Radiance is on the bucket list for sure.

[Tanooki]

Last year if that there was a very quality thread going on for awhile over this series and they did link up that companion so I bookmarked it. Sadly still haven't the time to grab one but I recall being told if you had to pick a series to attempt on it Krynn looked excellent. Not sure how this would work for others but maybe search on the racketboy forums for it.

[deepthaw]

If one was to jump unprepared into the Gold Box games, I'd recommend... Pool of Radiance?

 

It's the least technologically advanced, but it starts you at first level. I'd say the lack of modern contrivances is easier to get around than being expected to handle high level AD&D characters with zero knowledge of the system. (Why won't these trolls die? What's an AC? Why did my guy just die in one hit? Why would I be a fighter if I can be a fighter/cleric/mage? Why isn't my dwarf gaining XP? How does my thief backstab? Why can't my fighter-thief in plate mail backstab? Where did my spells go? Why do I have so much platinum? What's a ranseur? WHY WON'T THESE TROLLS DIE?)

 

Do one of the other series (Krynn, etc.) start at a similarly "easy" level to break people into AD&D?

[82-T/A]

If one was to jump unprepared into the Gold Box games, I'd recommend... Pool of Radiance?

 

It's the least technologically advanced, but it starts you at first level. I'd say the lack of modern contrivances is easier to get around than being expected to handle high level AD&D characters with zero knowledge of the system. (Why won't these trolls die? What's an AC? Why did my guy just die in one hit? Why would I be a fighter if I can be a fighter/cleric/mage? Why isn't my dwarf gaining XP? How does my thief backstab? Why can't my fighter-thief in plate mail backstab? Where did my spells go? Why do I have so much platinum? What's a ranseur? WHY WON'T THESE TROLLS DIE?)

 

Do one of the other series (Krynn, etc.) start at a similarly "easy" level to break people into AD&D?

 

 

I agree... I really do think that Pool of Radiance is the best one to start at. For Dragon Lance series... Champions of Krynn is the "Pool of Radiance" for that series. it does start you off at the lowest level too, and the subsequent games build upon that... (literally using the characters you transfer from the previous game).

 

I have so much more in life to worry about, hahah.... but my only concern is that for those who never really played these games during the time, it may be tough for them to get into a game as diverse as Pool of Radiance... with the graphics the way they are. I think POOLRAD is totally playable and the graphics were pretty exceptional for the time. But I have a bias because I played it during the time.

 

On the flip side... if you go to Savage Frontier (which is only a 2-game series), it's easier to get into because it's in VGA, rather than EGA. Resolution and color is slightly better... and supports all sound cards. But if you start there, you may not want to go to a lower graphics game... even though Pool of Radiance is the most diverse, and deepest plot.

[rhcocker]

If anyone was on the fence about these games, here is a great reason to give them a shot. GOG has a great sale on all 3 archives

 

https://www.gog.com/game/forgotten_realms_the_archives_collection_one for $1.99

https://www.gog.com/game/forgotten_realms_the_archives_collection_two for $1.99

https://www.gog.com/game/forgotten_realms_the_archives_collection_three for $1.19

 

or all 3 for $5.17!!!!

[Tanooki]

I ended up winning package #2 on GoG hours ago in their random wishlist give away. I kind of wish they had picked something else, but if I ever thought I'd have the time for it, it's a slick bundle given it's like 7 or so games in there plus a DIY one too.

[82-T/A]

FRUA forums are the best I can think of off-hand...

 

http://ua.reonis.com/

 

I'd also recommend visiting crpgaddict's blog and checking out his reviews. They're always good fun.

 

http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2011/05/game-57-pool-of-radiance-1988.html

 

 

Hey, is anyone on the FRAU website? I've tried registering twice, and no one has approved my membership... if anyone is on there, would you guys mind seeing if there's something wrong? Maybe posting a message to let them know there are people waiting?

 

 

Thanks!

[MortoffGames]

Hey guys, I love AtariAge... so don't misunderstand my thoughts here. Does anyone know of a message forum that by chance, deals with the older Dungeons & Dragons computer games? Specifically the old TSR / SSI ones from the Gold Box Series days?

 

I've started replaying them from beginning to end. I've only beaten a couple of them (Champions of Krynn, Pool of Radiance, Gateway to the Savage Frontier), and I'd like to finally get through them all in my spare time. Just want to "immerse" myself with others who are going through it as well, and wasn't sure if there was a good forum for them specifically.

 

 

Thanks!

Message me anytime about them. I am a fanatic and have played most more times that I can list. The Savage Frontier and Treasures being my favorite two in the series. I can't tell you how awesome it is to finish off General Vaalgamon and equipment my entire party with +5 weapons with the cloning trick or to have two wizards in Treasures and to finish off whole parties of monsters with duel wielding fireball casters!

[high voltage]

My 'first' RPG was Wizard's Crown on A8, played that with a friend in one setting. Awesome game.