dgiors

One solution that I hope more RPG makers pursue is something akin to "hardcore mode" in Fallout New Vegas. In that mode there were several game play tweaks including your character acquiring thirst, hunger and fatigue requiring eating drinking and sleeping to survive. The changes weren't massive but it was enough to grant some extra atmosphere and peril to the environments. I would like to see big budget fantasy role playing games offer official support for a "realism mode" that features closing shops, more attention to maintaining your character's health, diseases, some extra randomness like a shop owner isn't available because they were mugged the night before etc. Make the game more immersive for the deep RPG fans, yet offer softer modes to draw the support of casual gamers. It seems a balance could be struck.

Part of the problem with creating atmosphere is that it often causes inconvenience for the player. Shops that close certain hours of the game day probably frustrate more players than it impresses. Convenience and playability take precedence over realism in the modern game landscape. Games with big budgets have to appeal to a mass market or they will never recoup the investment. The Kickstarter projects and indie developers are creating a bit of a gaming renaissance because they aren't beholden to the mass market the way the big players are. Something like Alternate Reality is in a bit of a pickle. To compete favorably technologically with the likes of Skyrim would take huge resources but the favoring of realism over convenience caters to a very niche audience. I'd rather see a small to medium budget modern Alternate Reality remain true to it's gameplay roots than sacrifice atmosphere for the sake of big budget superior graphics.

It's truly an honor to have contact with a living legend. Thank you Philip for many years of enjoyment and imagination. Years of my youth were spent fleshing out the AR universe to include tales of battles, heroes and ferocious beasts. Many here seem to be interested in reliving the AR games and I host the download of a project named AR Wrapper by Richard White on my personal website. The downloadable Zip includes an Atari emulator, disk images for The City and The Dungeon, documentation and supports many convenient scripts for quicksaves, automatic disk swaps, accelerated loading times and much much more. It really automates the process of playing the games in their original form. The Wrapper was written by Richard White whom I've not had contact in quite a while. I play tested the system for him and we did our best to discover and squash all the bugs. Since it was developed many years ago today's faster processors will sometimes outpace the engine that injects text strings into the emulator. In the settings menu there are speed options, slower is more reliable. Also IIRC you must run the Wrapper in administrator mode on anything later than Windows XP. The project was developed as freeware and at the time it had been common knowledge among fans that Philip and Gary had released their rights to the disk images for non-commercial use. Please correct me if I am wrong. I've been waiting a long time to ask this question of Philip. What was the intended purpose of Acrinimiril's Gate and how does it fit into the story of AR?

I didn't think of this during your original post but it's possible that the items you are buying and eating in the taverns are not satisfying your character so you are not seeing any relief to your thirst and hunger. Water is the most effective for quenching thirst and a bowl of chili is the most effective for filling you up. In the taverns food and drink are consumed automatically after ordering. The 8-bit City didn't have any time requirements, meaning you could leave the tavern immediatley after ordering and the food would be consumed. The 16-bit City may require you to stay in the tavern for a few minutes for your character to eat the food. I don't know this for a fact, but it may be worth waiting in the tavern for about one game hour to make sure that your character has time to eat. My advice is to buy water flasks and food packets or the less expensive pemmican (you receive one food packet with every order of pemmican). To eat and drink these you must leave the tavern and press "u" then select the water flasks and food packets from your inventory. Hopefully that will work. The author of the Alternate Reality FAQ recommends using PacifiST to run 2.0t of the City. A good program for running old DOS software is Mo' Slo. The basic version is here http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/basic.asp It has a nag screen if you don't pay for it. There is also DOS box which is a freeware DOS system emulator which will approximate the speed of a 386 or 486 PC on a modern PC. http://www.dosbox.com Happy gaming.

Hi Izarek, The Alternate Reality FAQ hosted at http://www.eobet.com/alternate-reality/ describes something that isn't exactly like what is happening to you but I'm sure it's related. Quoted from AR FAQ: "Also, if you are using the untrained version 2.0 of The City (should work with any TOS rom) the game will think you are running a pirated copy of it, and therefor will treat you in that way. That is, your character becomes extremely evil and you won't be able to enter any taverns or save the game. Sneaky? Oh, yes indeed!" So I think the answer would be to obtain a trained copy of 2.0 City. http://www.eobet.com/alternate-reality/ check the download section. I'm providing the link because the developers of Alternate Reality have released the games to the public domain and the publishers are long defunct. To the best of my knowledge there is nothing illegal about downloading copies of the AR series.

Thanks for replying. I could play AR on my Atari 800 but I only have one disk drive. It's an Indus GT so it's a nice drive but with the computer's 48K base memory there is a lot of disk flipping and swapping, especially in the Dungeon. I'm afraid I'm spoiled on the convenience of 4 emulated drives and the ability to shuttle the speed during loading and waiting around in game. I might try playing on the 800 again, but I'm probably a little too impatient at this point. It sounds like your 1200 rig is pretty nice. Maybe I should seek out a used system with more drives. The story of Fancy Olives continued: Wandering in the rain I raised to 4th level after a few altercations. I stumbled into the Guild of Order where I was much enlightened. I remembered that I had been carrying a Gemstone which seemed of some value. I asked the Guildmasters where I could sell such a find. They told me about Grams Gold Exchange. I cut across town following the directions of the Guildmasters. I arrived at the exchange just before the closing bell. They gave me 5GP for my treasure. A little short I thought, but there was nothing I could do but accept the payment. Near Grams Gold Exchange is an eatery with exceptional prices. On the way to the Tavern's secret entrance I accosted a snobby looking Merchant. In a belt pouch I found a ruby red gemstone and 4 pieces of gold. The exchange was closed. There would be time tomorrow after stocking up on supplies. The Tavern makes every gold piece go a long way. I knew I wouldn't need to worry about food and water for many days. Oh the horror! In the streets just outside the Tavern I was waylayed by a Black Slime. I dodged it's varied attacks but in the process I dropped my tankards and many of the food rations I had just bought. They had to be sacrificed to ensure the black beast would be sated without devouring me. No use crying over spilt milk. I soon bumped into an Imp. This creature was dexterous. After many missed swings I finally made contact with the diminutive creature, felling it. It was carrying a potion in a pouch. The elixir inside was red! I impulsively drank the potion, steeling myself for the worst. After a few moments I realized that the potion had not brought me any harm. Thankfully, this potion imbued an uncanny ability to uncover treasure on defeated foes. I counted my blessings and pressed on into the dark night. Up the road I spotted a drunken Gladiator wandering the streets near the Arena. I clasped my dagger firm as I leaped at the mess of a man. He tried in vain to repel me with his longsword. During the altercation he managed to cut my left arm badly. During the melee I cut him several times until he lay twitching on the dirt. I unbuckled the fine Scale armor he was wearing and put it on. A good fit. I patched my wound and carried forth with renewed confidence. Not much later I defeated a Thief and felt new vigor as I became Level 5. He dropped a potion of Invulnerability Blunt which proved most useful. The night wore on and I was battling all manner of foe and finding glistening Jewels and many coin. Along the way I met my match in the form of a Giant. This foe would have been my end had it not been for the Invulnerability Blunt potion I drank and the Scale armor on my bosom. The combination of the two made the Giant's menacing hammer glance off of me without leaving a scratch. It's slow work bringing a Giant down with only a Dagger in hand. When he finally collapsed I searched out 30 gold pieces from the carcass. Would my streak of luck never end? After battling a Skeleton I found a capable, albeit rusty Shortsword. The Dark Wizards seemed to like my style. They regretted not being able to accept my application, however they taught me new ways of beguiling with a silver tongue. Eventually the Treasure Finding potion magic wore off. All told I scored some great loot. I visited the Star Wizards Guild. Finding this place by trial and error would have been impossible. Luckily I had found a tattered map with instructions on one of my victims. Just when I had the World on a string, this do-good Wizard approached me with electricity shooting from his fingertips. In a voice raised by magic he swore to me, "YOU SHALL PAY FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE!" Of course I had no interest in sticking around so I turned tail and ran covering my head from the onslaught. The Wizard blasted me with incantations knocking me off my feet. It seemed like forever I was being knocked about like a cork, my life being drained away by one spell after another. I was slipping on the wet cobblestone but eventually regained my footing. I got away with my life and belongings... but just barely. My every muscle and all of my bones ached and throbbed. I had to find an Inn to rest and recuperate. The Midnight Inn was nearby, it's not inexpensive but it was too risky to try anywhere else. On my way there I encountered a Fighter. I knew if I left the fracas that this man would steal my treasures. What if I was left penniless with no way to afford a room for the night? I'd be left to die in the chilling rain. It was either pent up rage or desperation that guided my hand during that battle. I survived even though the slightest wound would have injured me mortally. At the Inn I enjoyed a Deluxe Room for the brisk price of 600 coppers. The night's rest healed me. Although still hurting, I prepared a journey to the Healer on the West side of town. I'd like to visit the bank to sell my jewels and open a bank account, but it's late and the Healer is more important. On the way to the Healer I defeated a Merchant who was wielding a Magical Sword. This sword will serve me well. When I arrived the Healer was out. While waiting outside I decided to unseal a few potions I had gathered the night before. The first potion was Red. My throat tightened as I drank down vinegar. Another potion was Red as well... How can this one burn worse than the vinegar? Where am I? What is happening? Am I... This must be it... No fourth chance. I am truly lost to this world. Into the dance of eternity... THE END Player's notes: Wow. I forgot how much damage DEADLY! Poison does to a character. I think I was honestly not paying attention to the fact that I had only 17HP. Being near the healer I just assumed that if it were poison I could go in and be cleansed. I felt very disappointed in this character's end. The armor and the Magical sword were great items for a character that was only into his third game day. He was becoming wealthy and well supplied. He was beginning to look unstoppable. It was also disappointing to survive such a close call with that Wizard only to spoil it the next day by haphazardly drinking the red potions. Losing this character was very upsetting. I had hoped that I might make a character that could win this contest on the very first attempt. This character was attempt number three. Little did I know that I would wind up making over a dozen more characters before hitting one that had true longevity. I'm also a little embarrassed about how this character perished. It was completly my fault by making a dumb mistake. Fortunately I played my follow-up characters much more wisely. I was having bad luck with many of them but their fates were brought on by luck of the draw, not poor player choices. Fancy Olives made it far enough to place in this contest so when I roll a new character it will be with a new name. I'll change character names each time I have a run that surpasses a previous character. My next character was Feyd Rautha. This character had severe problems getting a good run. I played and rerolled this character a total of eleven times. Notably, the fourth attempt reached level four with 3,465 XP. This character had very high stamina and already had more than 60 HP. With 34HP and armed only with a Dagger, this character died in battle versus a Warrior (couldn't escape after battle had soured). The Eleventh attempt was a nice roll except for somewhat poor Wisdom. This character attained Level 7 with 23,150XP. He was armed with Sword and Shield but no armor. He fell to a Guard who held on like a pit bull. Feyd did not attack but died trying to run away. He disengaged 3 times but the Guard kept moving in close and hitting Feyd. So why the comparatively brief rundown of a character that placed higher than my last? That's because I have another character that has attained a very high level. Sorry for the suspense but I'll post the character's progress in the upcoming days.

I rolled a decent character by the name of Fancy Olives. My confidence was almost immediately dashed when my first encounter was a Mugger whom I could not seem to damage with my bare hands (he was armored) and he sliced me down 2HP at a time to until only one hit point remained. What a start! The story of Fancy Olives: With a discouraging feeling I pressed forth through multiple tight situations, being burgled and mauled until I bought a stiletto from Occum's. Desperate for money to eat, I accosted a Merchant who proved my demise. At level 1 and 406 experience I shuffled off this mortal coil never to be seen again. Reroll: Suddenly I was thrust through the mechanical gate yet again. I was revived. A fresh start with new statistics rolled. This time I would make things right. My stats weren't as high as before but I had a second chance at life! I made my way to Occum's and handily afforded an adequate Dagger. Things went well, for a while. Unfortunately my aspirations were strangled away from me in the night by a Zombie. At level 2 and 736 experience points I slid into the black embrace of all-encompassing death at the beckon of rotting hands about my neck. A dizzying dance into the gloomy murk with a rather unattractive partner. Reroll 2: Thrust through the metal gate again I began to wonder if life were infinite and we become newborn at every failed attempt. I couldn't quite remember my past lives or my identity but I knew I had been here before. My stats, oh they were grand. What could possibly stop me this time? With my naked fists I happily trounced a nearby mugger whom was flaunting a gold piece haphazardly. What an ignominious boob he was! Fortified in wealth I took the plunge to buy a dagger from the Best Armourers. Rumors abound that this is the most expensive smithy in town. Playing it safe I absorbed the extra cost to expedite my weapon acquisition. My balance being 78 coppers. The smithy appreciated my offer of 170 copper for the finely crafted weapon. He recognized in me considerable skill of combat for a neophyte. He suggested that I visit the local chapter of the Thieve's Guild to even the odds in my favor. What has anybody ever done for me in this crazy town? I give no quarter to nobody! Wait, that's a double negative. I give no quarter to not everyone? No quarter to anybody? Do I give quarter to somebody? Aw heck, I'm a merciless tyrant, OK?!? My trusty dagger secured for me Level 1 I made my way over to the Blue Wizard's Academy and they informed me my physical speed was raised to 15. That meant that I started with either 13 or 14 at Level 0. The cracks in my foundation were beginning to show. After much indiscriminate killing I became Level 2 I stumbled into the Green Wizards Academy where they improved my Stamina. The Physician's Guild kindly showed me the benefits of sterile gauze. Good thing I seem to have a way of divining the locations of Guilds. The Light Wizards found me contemptible but they nonetheless provided me with some wise advice. After it began raining and I was beginning to feel the onset of weariness, I skillfully defeated one of this world's lesser magic users who was carrying a pair of potions. One of the potions was Red in colour. I'm not sure what compulsion drove me to do so but I drew a sharp breath and threw the unknown concoction down my gullet. Relieved that I didn't imbibe a deadly cocktail, I felt my muscles bulge and flit as I bulked up a slight amount. Level 3. I feel... powerful. My first day in this forsaken place and I've improved my health and abilities by leaps and bounds. Another shot of strength. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but I'll rip your head off with my bare hands if need be. I found another potion, this time on the carcass of a Gremlin. Invulnerability Blunt may prove very useful in the challenges that lie ahead. I also found a Gem after dueling another Gremlin. These guys love me. That is, until they get a contract to end my life. At least they have prepared me with additional stealth so that I might become the survivor of a contract kill in the future. No time for delay, I had to make a dash to the nearby Inn through the night's rain, severely wounded and praying for respite. Weary and beaten up by the denizens of the night I layed myself down into a comfortable bed in the SouthEast of town. Low rent but the rejuvenation of the night's rest was just as good as anywhere else. In the early hours of the morning I had been healed completely by my slumber. ...to be continued. This is a good start. I did continue playing but I'm going to post the results a little later. This post is already very long.

This thread has been silent for a while. I was interested in posting a late entry. I'm a long time player and I found some of the hints in this thread to be very helpful. Thanks to all who have contributed to keeping Alternate Reality alive and well. Until I first saw this thread about a year ago I always used backups of my characters to revive in case my characters got killed. After being inspired by this thread I have created many excellent characters without cheating. Some died early, but I have had an equal number of characters that reached levels 5 though 11. In fact just a few weeks ago I had a character that reached level 4 before I had even gone to sleep at an Inn for the first time. If it's alright with everybody, now that I am signed up for the forum, I'll put my money where my mouth is