What Dungeons & Dragons type Fantasy RPGs had been done on the 8-bit?

[peteym5]

I am looking for stuff that more closely follows the rules. Nothing really follows the rules 100% because it is going from a game played with cards and books to a turned based computer game.

Now these people doing Dungeon Master, have to go and look what progress they made.

[peteym5]

List from Charlie Chaplin in another thread

 

Mmmmmh, but thats only a 3D Maze where one has to find the exit. No monsters, no action, nothing, just walking around and trying not to get lost. Initializing of the Atari Basic program takes a minute or longer, thats why I created a CTB file of it and linked it with the CTB-linker into one executable file which starts almost instantly.

 

 

There are much better examples for (dungeon) RPGs, like:

 

- Castle of Blackthorn (german, requires 128k RAM, unfinished; TB XL source; gfx ripped from ST/Amiga): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=5566

- Labyrinth of Death (german and english versions, 64k RAM, TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4142

- Master of the Dungeons (english, 64k RAM, TB XL, unfinished, gfx ripped from ST/Amiga): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3874

- Land of Mystery (german, no dungeon! 64k RAM, TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=6211

- Lankhmar (german, type-in listings from Atari Magazin, they had a RPG/dungeon corner there, this is the final product): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=5931

- Demo Dungeon (german, type-in listings from Atari Magazin, from the RPG/dungeon corner, playable demo), not available at Fandal's webpage...

- Arkaneth I (german, Compyshop Magazin, 64k RAM, TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=5366

- Arkaneth II (german, Compyshop Magazin , 64k RAM, TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=3784

- Gothic/Gohtic/Ghotic (german, PD, TB XL, no dungeon/more Ultima-style, but slow as hell! list protection!): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4064

- Mythos (german, Axis/Ariolasoft, Ultima-style, 64k RAM, Basic): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4210

- Gizmo's Castle (german, 64k and 128k versions available, CTB): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4068

- Unriagh I (german, 64k RAM, TB XL, 50% gfx-adv., 50% RPG with realtime fights! 4 disksides), not available at Fandal's webpage

- Unriagh II (german, 64k RAM, TB XL, 50% gfx-adv., 50% RPG with realtime fights! 8 disksides): picture shown at Fandal's webpage, but no download available...

- Phantastic Journey 1 (german and english versions, 64k RAM, TB XL, afaik no dungeon?; village pict. ripped from "Noisy Giant"): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4293

- Phantastic Journey 2 (german, 64k RAM, TB XL, afaik no dungeon): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4277

- Maze (french, 64k RAM, Basic or TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=4961

- Strip Fun Maze (english, 64k RAM, Basic or TB XL): http://a8.fandal.cz/detail.php?files_id=5254

 

 

I still need to go through this list and see how far people got with a Role Playing Game element to it. If that part is weak, I am pretty sure I can come up with some ideals on how to improve upon it.

[peteym5]

I would like to start by announcing I am involved with making an Action Adventure game, next part of the Secretum Labyrinth series. This one will be going deeper with Role Playing Game elements, borrowing some AD&D similar ideals. I want to move the discussion over here about RPGs from the Dungeon Monster thread because that is not really my game.

 

I am a programmer, my concerns are the paramount part of the game itself. How does it look onscreen? How fluid the movement is? How functional is the game. Making sure it runs correctly. Everything that happens after pressing the start button.

 

That said, going back on Role Playing and Dungeons & Dragons games. How many people will like to see a Turned Based RPG game vs an Action Adventure game? I am very knowledgeable with data bases, data tables, arrays, memory encoding/encryption, compression. That is something computer RPGs require more than any other type of game. Texts up on the screen is important. When you encounter a sign, scroll, NPC [Non Player Character] speaking, etc. can switch to a split screen or window popping up.

 

How much memory does the Dungeon Monster, Dungeon Hunt, Project-M, or Numen engine require to generate all those neat graphics? Is there enough room remaining to handle other things going on inside the game? Lets say I want make the player answer a riddle to get a key that opens into a part of the dungeon where the final boss monster is waiting. Can we have currency that is collected when battling monsters? Have merchants selling weapons, armor, potions, etc. I can see an extended game requiring Atari 8-bit computers with more than 64K or play from a bank switching cartridge.

[Mclaneinc]

For the dungeon types you may want to look at an old game written by a mate of mine called Orb Of Zarammier (his name was Mick King, not Orb of Zarammier ), he was a UK policeman who patrolled the M4, I met him through a mutual friend and helped him get his game published by Futureware who had published another set of friends game, Quest for the Maltese chicken.

 

Orb is actually very nicely down..

 

Link

 

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-orb-of-zarramier-_3812.html

 

It wasn't well known so got overlooked, give it a shot...

Edited April 6, 2018 by Mclaneinc

[+Philsan]

For the dungeon types you may want to look at an old game written by a mate of mine called Orb Of Zarammier (his name was Mick King, not Orb of Zarammier ), he was a UK policeman who patrolled the M4, I met him through a mutual friend and helped him get his game published by Futureware who had published another set of friends game, Quest for the Maltese chicken.

 

Orb is actually very nicely down..

 

Link

 

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-orb-of-zarramier-_3812.html

 

It wasn't well known so got overlooked, give it a shot...

Didn't know those two games, thanks.

At the moment I am playing with Quest for the Maltese Chicken but when I reach second screen the player dies automatically.

Homesoft version works.

[peteym5]

Interesting Game, there is a glitch in it, sometimes the player/missile for the main character does not totally erase and leave part at the top or bottom of the room. I have to play a little more of this game, looks like it has a few different items you collect, and I encounter something that may be a ghost. Either that or a giant sperm cell.

 

Years ago, I had something that was written in Basic, and when you got killed, it stated "Thou Art Dead" It may had been just using a redefined font on a graphics 0 screen. Anyone recognize this game? Tio down view of the dungeon.

[Mclaneinc]

Are you sure that's not to do with it being a Pal written game re the sprite glitch...

[Mclaneinc]

Didn't know those two games, thanks.

At the moment I am playing with Quest for the Maltese Chicken but when I reach second screen the player dies automatically.

Homesoft version works.

 

No problem, the John Kavanaugh who wrote Quest then went on to do the Green Beret game and I had a friend in Domark and told John to contact them and he did and from there he went right to the top working with John Romero. Not bad fr a lad who showed me his game in Maplin, even took him and Pat down to Futureware's HQ in Rainham (it was in Essex somewhere just off East London) to get his game published. Very clever and driven young man he was.

[peteym5]

Are you sure that's not to do with it being a Pal written game re the sprite glitch...

Yes, just tried in Pal. Looks like it was written for one video standard and not able to handle both NTSC and PAL. Not sure if the original programmer is still active, but we can ask him to add a check for PAL and adjust for NTSC.

[Mclaneinc]

I doubt Mick would be able to do anything now, he would be 70+ by now, as said, I knew him personally and he was late 30's when I knew Mick, not seen him in 30+ years myself.

[Atari_Gregory]

I's also like to see an original new Atari game perhaps even text and stat driven with users able to update content as the episodes of game progress.

 

Gregory

[magnusfalkirk]

this may have been mentioned so forgive me if I'm saying something that has already been said. eatlier in this thread someone commented that no officially licensed D&D games had been ported to the Atari 8 bits. Yet the SSI gold box games were also mentioned. Those games were officially licensed D&D games from TSR. So yes there were official games for the Atari 8 bits.

[bfollowell]

9 hours ago, magnusfalkirk said:

this may have been mentioned so forgive me if I'm saying something that has already been said. eatlier in this thread someone commented that no officially licensed D&D games had been ported to the Atari 8 bits. Yet the SSI gold box games were also mentioned. Those games were officially licensed D&D games from TSR. So yes there were official games for the Atari 8 bits.

 

Yes, you are correct that the SSI Gold Box games were officially licensed D&D games. However, even though these were mentioned, none of the Gold Box games were ever released for the Atari 8-bits. Only two of them were ever released for the Atari ST for that matter, but none for our beloved 8-bits.

 

[zzip]

On 12/3/2023 at 3:23 AM, bfollowell said:

Only two of them were ever released for the Atari ST for that matter, but none for our beloved 8-bits.

I think the ST only got one Gold Box AD&D game:  Curse of the Azure Bonds.    "Pools of Radiance" was advertised for ST but seemingly never released.

ST also got three Silver Box games:   Heroes of the Lance, Dragon's of Flame and Hillsfar

[bfollowell]

5 hours ago, zzip said:

I think the ST only got one Gold Box AD&D game:  Curse of the Azure Bonds.    "Pools of Radiance" was advertised for ST but seemingly never released.

ST also got three Silver Box games:   Heroes of the Lance, Dragon's of Flame and Hillsfar

When I said two, I think I was counting Hillsfar and Curse of the Azure Bonds. I'm pretty sure that AtariMania has an ST image for Curse, but I'd need to confirm.

 

EDIT: AM does have a page with images for Curse, and they show Atari ST disks, but they don't have an actual disk image. It shows as missing.

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by bfollowell

[Atari8guy]

16 hours ago, bfollowell said:

When I said two, I think I was counting Hillsfar and Curse of the Azure Bonds. I'm pretty sure that AtariMania has an ST image for Curse, but I'd need to confirm.

 

EDIT: AM does have a page with images for Curse, and they show Atari ST disks, but they don't have an actual disk image. It shows as missing.

 

I have a boxed copy of Curse of the Azure bonds for the ST.

[zzip]

17 hours ago, bfollowell said:

When I said two, I think I was counting Hillsfar and Curse of the Azure Bonds. I'm pretty sure that AtariMania has an ST image for Curse, but I'd need to confirm.

 

EDIT: AM does have a page with images for Curse, and they show Atari ST disks, but they don't have an actual disk image. It shows as missing.

 

Curse is there, but Pools of Radiance is missing.

 

It's weird, I thought we owned both games on ST.   But there's no Internet evidence of Pools ever existing on ST other than a few SSI print ads and catalogs showing ST support (removed in later revisions of the catalog)

[scitari]

I loved the Temple of Apshai games. Definitely scratched my D&D itch back in the day. I played the Gold Box games on PC. Pool of Radiance was awesome after having read the book series.

[+slx]

On a bit of a tangent the Video Game Critic recently published a list of D&D game box art. 

[Beeblebrox]

What I particularly find exciting is the scope for 3D dungeons and dragons and rpg on the A8. 

 

I was just looking at the old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Treasure of Tarmin video game for the Intellivision, 

https://youtu.be/86knr6YFSeE

 

When it comes to pseudo 3D, the A8 is surprisingly good at it. Of course we've had the likes of Capture the flag, maze craze, alt reality series, the maze demo, vector engine, globe's final assault and 128k raycasting engine, Project M, Wolf3d engine, etc for many years. And we all know the likes of A8 3D fractal engines (Rescue on Fractaus, the Eidilon). 

 

 

However, thanks to the WIP doom engines on the A8 as well as other proven Ray casting and vector engines we have seen, you could jump straight to a really advanced raycasting/semi raycasting 3D engine for a dungeons and dragons/rpg title for the A8. Smaller 3d playfield window at the top and lower screens for the inventory or static on screen interface content. 

 

Perhaps have it running off a cart, with 64k and 128k A8 version running off carts, (bank switched), etc to store/load all required level data, stats, inventory, progress. Gr 10, 9 colour versions as well as gtia mode 16 shade (real-time texture and lighting). 

 

In years gone by if I'd mentioned the latter in particular then people might have laughed. But then we've seen what the A8 can do in the right hands and playing to it's graphics mode strengths, and also the use of modern cart based storage mediums, (8mbit carts, ultimate cart, Side3, avg, etc). 

 

Engine wise, case in point:

 

Running off a stock 128k A8:

 

 

Running off a stock 64k A8:

 

Running off a stock 128k a8:

https://youtu.be/ilYKcXLohVY

 

For an interesting read check this Polish doom A8 article out (use your browser's translate function) :

https://retroage.net/doom-3/

Also check out the Doom alert AA thread :

 

 

So for the D&D engine experience, to create an 3d rpg dungeons and dragons title with 3d elements using these engines rather than a full on fps would be fantastic. 

 

Who knows, maybe we'll see A8 take on the Jaguar games  Towers II:

 

https://youtu.be/3LhKx5YKCsk?t=183

 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Beeblebrox
Made some vids links only to stop page slow down

[Beeblebrox]

Mrfish kindly provided a copy of a playable version of the Vector engine with hi res on screen weapons a la Duke Duke. Amazing to see these things on the A8. Pity the engine hasnt been used to make some engaging D&D or RPG games, and of course some FPS titles. 

 

See here for thread and Pal download. 

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/358007-looking-for-playable-vector-engine-demo-not-vector-demo/?do=findComment&comment=5363658