Alternate Reality: The City Competition

[axewater]

Bonanza's adventures in Xebec's demise continue ....

 

I wake up from the inn and look at my war net... I tell my war net 'you and me are gonna go a long way together baby...'.

I step outside the inn for another round of killing. I pass by the city palace and am greeted by numerous blokes in full armour who all shout at me 'you evil bastard'...

Well I don't know what they're on about but i tangle them into my war net and kick the crap out of them.

 

 

I'm finding more and more valuables on my prey as well ... time for a quick stop at the bar to celebrate this !! I'm buying a couple of rounds for the house and the bar regulars sure don't think I'm evil.

 

 

A little tipsy I try to make it back to the inn to call it a day.

I run into more trouble on the way, and barely make it there in 1 piece. I'd better not drink so much tomorrow

 

 

I reach a new level of greatness in no time, slashing everybody in sight, HAHA I FEEL GREAT !! On one of the thiefs I stop from killing me I find a piece of jewelry, it looks pretty so I pass by the bank to have it looked at ... aparantly it's worth quite a lot of copperpieces !! Tonight I'm having a feast in the tavern !!

 

 

Stacked with coppers I return to my favorite inn, I get drunk again after a couple of rounds and stumble back to the inn. Just before I get there I run into another gang of muggers, not a problem I think to myself and pull out my trusty war net... I barely escape with my life before I figure out there was only 1 of them. I get to the inn on deaths door....

 

 

The next morning I wake up with a headache from hell. No more alcohol for me (today at least). I go back into town, everybody seems to talk too loud or do something else that deserves them getting killed over. On the corpse of a gremlin I find a couple of flasks with red liquid in them and gulp them down (hoping they are wine), it tastes sweet.. suddenly .. all I see if gold and diamonds ... damn this is some good wine !!

 

 

A couple of hours later my pockets are so stashed with gold and jewelry, I don't know what to do with it anymore, so when i run into a bloke that says he can find hidden diseases on me, I give him a couple of gold to tell me why I have not been feeling so well ever since those damn rats bit me... he says I have a rare case of double rabbies and he'll need almost all my money to fix it. First I don't want to but then he explains me why I'm so thirsty all day so i figure it might be a good way to stop all this alcohol and I give him most my cash....

 

 

I go outside the old mans house, and it's the middle of the night ... I run into all sorts of dark and nasty creatures now ... However I still seem to be under the influence of the money-wine I drank earlier so I keep picking good stuff up along the way.

Before I know it I'm carrying 2 shields and 2 new weapons .. time to throw away that war net .... bye bye good old war net. Next thing I know I'm standing in front of a green dragon !!! I pierce him with my magic battle axe but it doesn't seem to affect him at all ... he scorches me so badly that I guess its better to run and hide.

I'm sitting in a corner thinking about what just happened and then I'm surprised by a really evil looking and bad smelling bastard :

 

 

I run and get away with my life again, I get back to the inn pay with the rest of my cash for a suite ... I really need a good nights sleep to think this all over ... what an intense city Xebec is !!

 

The next day I take it all a bit slower... I slash just about anything in sight without even blinking ... there's even a puddle on the street that comes to live and tries to drown me in its gooey mass .... it doesn't seem to like the touch of my magic battle axe though and soon it stops moving. But I've learned a bit from my mistakes ... I'll be on the lookout for this dragon and the other dark figure with its claws. Next time I'll be ready, and they will be the one to be lucky if they get away with their life.

 

 

** lvl 8 - 40000xp ... nice weapons, gotta get rid of that cursed shield though... it'll cost me.

[Xebec's Demise]

Woah! 112 gold is 11,200 coppers! Finding a single jewel like that on a Thief or Mugger can change your entire AR future! (If you spend it right). Buying drinks seemed to work for you. Lol. I never knew that they could sell for that much. I think the most I have ever sold one for is about 80 gold. Did you appraise it at all three banks to see if it could have been worth more? I have usually found that the bank with the highest failures and fees, First City Bank in the south part of town usually pays the most, but not always. Several times I have had gems or jewelery appraised at all three banks just out of curiosity and found the best bank, Grams Gold Exchange, Appraises about half of what the other two do, but not always.

 

That Nightstalker graphic does not look like I remeber it from long ago. I have not seen one in the game yet since I started playing again, but doesn't the graphics for it look messed up?

 

Now that you have a Magical weapon, I don't think there is any being that you cannot damage.

 

There is nothing like a Treasure Finding potion!

 

Nice job!

Edited May 22, 2005 by Xebec's Demise

[Gunstar]

Yes, his nightstalker graphic is ALL screwed up! i encountered one just a bit ago and it looks NOTHING like that corrupted mess above!

 

But that's what you get for not playing on a REAL Atari!

Edited May 22, 2005 by Gunstar

[axewater]

Yes, his nightstalker graphic is ALL screwed up! i encountered one just a bit ago and it looks NOTHING like that corrupted mess above!

 

But that's what you get for not playing on a REAL Atari!

859884[/snapback]

 

A lot of the gfx are screwed on my emulator ... mainly the mountain in the background gets reflected on the floor ... a total mess but I've learned to live with it. I have not played this for a LONG time though so i cannot really remember how the nightstalker used to look

I ran into this one just in front of the south most healer's door.... Also I met a dragon there but I coulnd't even put a dent in his hide... guess I need a couple more levels and strength points before I can take him on.

[Xebec's Demise]

YOu are correct - Ive got amuch nicer screen to work with - not sure I will continue another character though

859745[/snapback]

Sorry to hear that, we are just getting started! Hope you continue your adventures in Alternate Reality with your better screen! If you see me in The City, Hail me, I will be happy to help a fellow adventurer out.

 

[Goochman]

Question for my own knowledge - So in order to back up an AR character you need to copy the player disk and Disk 1 Side 2?

[axewater]

Question for my own knowledge - So in order to back up an AR character you need to copy the player disk and Disk 1 Side 2?

864681[/snapback]

 

Well ... I'm not sure .. I always just backup my character disk .. and that works fine. But I agree it stores some info on D1S2 ... so I'm not really sure

I guess Xebec can answer this in detail ....

 

Too bad the competition seems to have died out ... what happened to all the characters that didn't die yet ?

[Xebec's Demise]

It is disk 2 side 1 that stores some character info.

 

As long as you always use the same disk 2 side 1 with your character, then you do not need to back it up.

 

But yes, if you wanted a complete copy of your character, you would not only need the character disk, but also the disk 2 side one that you had used to play that char.

[Xebec's Demise]

Journal of Liah, Day 5 in the month of Sowings: Trolling

While on my way to the Sleeping Dragon Inn for a good night's rest, I encountered a horrible looking humanoid creature with frog-like green bumpy rubbery skin. Was this the evil Troll of childhood stories? It seemed to match the descriptions I remembered, in both appearance and nature, for immediately, it demanded that I hand over the glimmering red ruby Gem, that I had been blessed with finding earlier, along with my Food Packets and Water Flasks! If it had asked for only the Gem, I may have submitted as I was Weary, in seek of shelter and unsure of this beast's strength. But, I would just as soon die, and likely would, before handing over my precious supply of laboriously collected, life sustaining, Food Packets and Water Flasks!

 



Yelling, “Have at thee!” I hacked at the beast with my Longsword. In the heat of battle I noticed a strange phenomenon. Even my best blows to this creature, which opened wounds as in any other beast, seemed to be quickly healing right before mine eyes! Blow after blow, I slashed at the Troll, switching back and forth between my Longsword and Dagger, only to see the wounds nearly completely heal before I could land my next hit. Only rarely did the Troll even slightly penetrate my Chain Mail armor for a few minor cuts, so I continued my assault. After some time, I noticed a feeling of greater Strength! My sparring with this foe seemed to be paying off in a way I had not expected. All I had expected was to win or die, hopefully the former would also yield some loot, and to finally make my way into the Inn. Yet, this increase in Strength was a blessing from the gods and something I would not be able to buy at any price! I figured it smart to continue this contest with the Troll as long as I could hold out, even if I was Weary, I could always have my sleep later.

 



The scratches from the filthy Claws of the Troll began to take their toll as they found their way through my Chain Mail, stinging and burning my flesh. Thus, I began to Parry, to avoid as many of the Troll’s attacks as possible.

 



Battling through the night, the sky began to glow as the first rays of the sun reflected over the mountains to the far east of The City walls.

 



Switching back and forth between my Dagger and Longsword, I observed that my Longsword not only hit for more damage, but also hit the Troll much more often.

 



With the sun peeking over the eastern mountains, The City of Xebec’s Demise began to awaken with life as the inhabitants began emerging from the shelters of the dangerous night. Feeling as though I caught my second wind, another surge of Strength flowed through my body!

 



As the sun rose, the city Guards began their rounds. A few Guards rushed to my aid, but I declined their offers of help. The townspeople began to gather and cheer me on, watching me fight the evil creature. We all realized the Troll was doomed in the daylight of Town, surrounded by city Guards. Perhaps, realizing this too and not wishing to be captured, the Troll must have made up it’s mind to die in battle, for it relentlessly continued the fight with no signs of yielding. Ever seen a Troll by daylight? A very frightening and disgusting sight indeed!

 



The sun now shining brightly down upon the lands and warming the town may have prevented the evil Troll from REGENERATING and healing the wounds I inflicted upon it with my Longsword. For, it was soon defeated, it’s mangled body steaming at my feet, melting and rotting away in the sunlight. Now I saw why it must have fought so hard, it was carrying substantial treasure that it must have looted off the bodies of slain adventurers during the night. The first item I discovered was a mysterious flask.

 

[continued]

Edited June 1, 2005 by Xebec's Demise

[Xebec's Demise]

[Journal of Liah, Day 5 in the month of Sowings: Trolling, continued]

 



Examining the flask and removing a bottle from the pouch, I found it to be a Potion, Silver in color.

 



I popped the cork and Tasted the potion. Bleh! I spat the Bitter concoction on the ground. A wise robed Wizard nearby offered that it, could be either Weak Poison or Intelligence and advised me to Sip it slowly and with caution.

 



Slowly Sipping the Potion I immediately realized that the Potion was of Intelligence as the liquid cleared and focused my thoughts.

 



I Quaffed the Potion and felt a wonderful feeling of insight.

 



The Troll also had collected some Silver coins…

 



and a few Copper, which I will surely spend better than it would have.

 



 



Luckily, I was still only Weary, even after the long duel, but after depositing my coins into the Grams Gold Exchange bank, I headed straight to an Inn to get some rest before getting any more Tired and chewed on some Pemmican to satisfy my hunger while walking. On my way, I passed The Arena. Loud clanking, bashing, and chinking of steel from the clashing of weapons on armor and shields belonging to mighty Warriors and Gladiators echoed out of the Arena and down through the streets. Trumpets and horns blasted out victorious tunes in honor of the winners and the roars of the crowd vibrated through the ground. Someday, when I am more accomplished and can afford to, I should like to visit The Arena. But for now, my dreams are calling me!

 



Turning around to face the Inn, a Knight Surprised me! He demanded some Food Packets and Water Flasks when I attempted to Leave and bopped me on the head for not handing them over immediately. I suppose he needed a meal before entering The Arena. Someday, I swear, his meal will not be at my expense!

Edited June 1, 2005 by Xebec's Demise

[axewater]

Life is hard in Xebec ... especially for people playing 'good'.

Hope you find some new food soon, else you can find me usually hanging around in the 'Tail of the Dog' ... I'm there every night getting drunk, I'll buy you a couple of rounds and some food if you're hungry.

[smartwhois]

had 8 hps left, killed by an imp with one hit

[Xebec's Demise]

Survival Tips:

 

1. Try playing a good aligned character. That way only half the population will be out to kill you and you will be pretty safe during the day. To do this, only attack neutral beings such as thieves, muggers, fighters and warriors if they take a swing at you first. Do not try to Trick them or Charm them; only try these acts on evil beings. If you surprise a neutral being like a mugger or fighter, always Hail them. If they Attack you, then you are free to attack back.

 

2. These are the only evil beings. Note that Dragons, Thieves and Warrior classes are not evil, they only sound similar:

 

Assasin  Orc  Giant Rat  Black Slime  Spectre  Imp  Gnoll  Troll  Wolf  Ghost  Zombie  Ghoul  Goblin  Nightstalker  Brown Mold  Wraith  Gremlin  Skeleton

 

3. The first thing you should do is try to buy a Dagger or Stiletto. Straight from the floating gate go to Occums Weaponsmiths 19E, 32N hours 05:00-21:59 in the NW of town. If he does not have a Dagger or Stiletto then go to Sharp Weaponsmiths 54E, 9N hours 04:00-20:59 in the SE of town. Usually one or the other will have one. Occums is the cheapest by 23%. You can usually make an initial offer of less than half of the asking price. For example, if the Dagger is being sold for 200, then start by offering 90. Keep bargaining by meeting the Smithy a little less than half way of his counter offer i.e. if you Offer 90 and he counters with 130, then Offer 110. You should be able to buy a Dagger or Stiletto for between 100-120 Coppers depending on your CHR and skill in bargaining.

 

4. The very next thing you must do is head straight to the Tavern in the NW corner of town, 20E, 62N, (See map linked below) whether you were able to buy a Weapon or not. You can find or buy a weapon later, but for now you need to supply with food and water. After entering the City Wall, turn right or East and go through 19 secret doors. To be safe, after 18, you can turn right or south and try to enter. If you have counted correctly you will not be able to. Just turn left or back east and go through one more, turn right or south again and try to enter. You should enter the Tavern. If not, and you have messed up your counting somewhere, continue checking every south section of wall until you find it. If you go further than 19 secret doors you will have to exit the City wall and start over, so if you lose count, then try to error on the low end as you can keep checking until you find it. Once you have located the Tavern, go inside and buy a free Water. This will help save your Water Flasks from being used. Then, if you have any money, buy as many Food Packets and Water Flasks as you can, saving about 10 copper so that you can pay for an Inn. Buy Food Packets/Pemmican and Water Flasks so you always have twice as many Water Flasks as Food Packets. This is because Water Flasks are used up twice as fast. Pemmican = 1 Food Packet and only costs 16 Copper. If you do not have any money, then wait outside the Tavern and try to get some by defeating evil or neutral (if they attack first) beings. You can continue to go into the Tavern to get Free Water ever couple of hours so that your Water Flasks do not get used. You can tell an hour has passed, by the white text on the screen flashing ever 2:50 for NTSC and every 3:50 for PAL displays. Its a good idea to use a stopwatch to keep track of the hours, that way you do not have to watch for the text to flash. If the Tavern does not have Water Flasks or Food Packets/Pemmican, the menu will change every hour, so keep checking. Try to stock up with as much food and water as possible, remembering to keep about 10 coppers to sleep.

 

5. If at any time, you are very low in Hit Points or Tired, then turn left or East, go through two secret doors, turn right or South and exit the City Wall. Head SW to the Warriors Retreat Inn 28E, 54N (see map linked below) and Sleep on the Common Area Floor for 12 Hours for 7 Copper. Try to go to sleep before it gets dark, you gain maximum hitpoints if you go to bed before dark and you choose a time to awake that is in the morning daylight. After you awake, you should either try to go buy a Dagger or Stiletto again if you did not get one, or go back to the Tavern and continue drinking free Water and stocking up on Food Packets and Water Flasks while fighting the beings that you encounter while waiting outside the Tavern door. If you get a surplus of money or Gems or Jewelry, vist the bank, Grams Gold Exchange 2E, 61N, which is close by in the NW corner and make a deposit so that you have a reserve of cash.

 

Use the map here:

 

http://www.eobet.com/alternate-reality/maps/citymap.gif

 

Locations are numbered beginning from the lower lefthand SW corner from 1-64 North and 1-64 East

Edited June 4, 2005 by Xebec's Demise

[smartwhois]

tanks a ton for teh tips... playing a good guy though isnt that harder?

 

oh..how much more damage does a dagger do over a stiletto... and where can i find how much damage the weapons do?

[Xebec's Demise]

Not at all, not in the long run. Yes, it may be harder to get those first few coppers to help buy a weapon or some food, but in the long run, you will have a much higher survivability. This is because if you start off playing evil, eventually everyone in town will be trying to kill you and they will be trying to do so at the same time that you are trying to grow your little seedling. A seedling in constant danger from every encounter does not have much of a chance.

 

If you prefer to play an evil character, you can always switch to evil later on when you are more powerful, but it has been said that in The City, you can never undo or balance evil acts with good acts, which is realistic, and therefore, you can never return back to good after being evil. I have not tested this though, but its in the AR FAQ.

 

I don't think I have ever seen a list of weapon damages. That would be interesting, but probably does not exist because there are many factors that are involved in determining damage that is dealt. The current condition of your weapon, the opponent's armor and skill, your Strength, they type of swing and likely even a random component may all combine to determine the damage done in each and every swing.

[smartwhois]

...had a gem...met a thief....lost a gem!!!! ....and all my coppers! dont know if ill make it with no money...and no weapon...been boxing everything to death...1 point at a time..so far lvl 4 yah!

 

hps you get at level up must go off stam...its only 6 and that is wht my hps go up...7 at a time...then 8...goes up 8...

[Xebec's Demise]

Congratulations on moving up to 4th!

[Chunder]

Hmm...a bowl of chili was one of the other items I tried, as it was all I could afford at the time, maybe becuase I had to wait until I was famished before I found any money to eat with was the problem?

856446[/snapback]

 

Here is an interesting quote on the subject of having no food, water or money to buy any. It sounds like you must have 0 coppers.

 

"If you don't have any food or water packets, going into the taverns can save you. If you have lost all your money and you go into a tavern and sit around for a while, you'll be taken care of. Also, if, when you go into the taverns, you buy a round for the house, that's a very good thing because it makes everybody very friendly towards you, it helps develop the character in the game." - KATHI TREMBLAY, Datasoft's Marketing Project Manager.

857348[/snapback]

 

Actually, if - when you have enough money - you keep buying rounds for the house, the patrons will got through all sorts of responses... from memory, things like "You have won yourself some friends, stranger", "Some patrons take up your offer" "Hip Hip Hooray", etc.

Keep doing this until you get the message "Three cheers for <character_name>" - you don't need to continue after this, as it doesn't seem to make any difference.

 

Now, when you're down and out, and hungry and thirstry, pop into the tavern where your friends are and you will be replenished

[Xebec's Demise]

The only side effect, I have read in the cluebook, is that once you have reched the Three Cheers level, that your food and water may get replaced with 3 each, even if you have more than that when you walk in. So do it at a Tavern that you don't use too often.

 

It wouldn't be fun to walk in with 50 Water Flasks and Food Packets and walk out with 3. Anyone test this yet? Maybe it's if you have zero of one and some of the other, the ones you alread have, get replaced. You may also need to be out of coppers for them to give you the food and water.

[axewater]

You may also need to be out of coppers for them to give you the food and water.

874530[/snapback]

 

I walked into a tavern with lots of gold in my pocket but I was hungry and the barman said something like 'You look hungry, here's some food on the house'. I walked out with a food packet for free. Then again, I'm buying rounds for the house like my life's depending on it

[Xebec's Demise]

Neat...did you have any water flasks on you at the time? I wonder if the Three Cheers reputation wears off if you stop buying drinks, or if you can get all the food and water you need for free forever now!

 

If that is the case, it would be a much better investment to buy rounds for the house until you were at the Three Cheers level of fame and then get all the food and water you need for free, then have spend a minimum of 60 coppers each time you wanted to buy 3 Food Packets and Water Flasks.

[axewater]

Damn .... my character DIED and I was so dumbstruck, I forgot to take a screenshot !!

 

I was on one of my killing frenzies again, and a guard hit me bad ... as I was heading back to an inn, I ran into another guard, i didn't wanna run and I was confident I could kick his ass ..... turns out I couldn't !!!

He was actually hitting me quite hard ... thinking back, I think I fought too many acid puddles, they wear down your armor and weapon, don't they ?

[Xebec's Demise]

Yes, your weapons and armor do wear out. I think I read about that in the cluebook. I tried to look it up but don't have time at the moment.

 

You are talking about Black Slime right? I am not sure about them wearing out armor and weapons with acid, but it makes sense. I don't think anyone has studied that, would be interesting to know.

 

What level did you make it to?

[axewater]

Yes, your weapons and armor do wear out.  I think I read about that in the cluebook.  I tried to look it up but don't have time at the moment.

 

You are talking about Black Slime right?  I am not sure about them wearing out armor and weapons with acid, but it makes sense.  I don't think anyone has studied that, would be interesting to know.

 

What level did you make it to? 

878514[/snapback]

 

I didn't get past level 8, so my last screenie is 'the one'.

I think when the slime attacks, sometimes it says something like 'the slime attacks with corrosive acid' ... or something along those lines ... I bet that screws with your equipment....

[Chunder]

OK - my first entry (the first candidate suffered from blank screenshots after level three... and died after reaching level 5. That's what you get for being evil, I suppose! ) is as follows - bear with me, as it's pretty large; I've screenshotted all milestones in the character's life - it's been an eventful first few days.

 

Note that the first screenshot was taken at 12:27 today, and since I've got to go out, I've saved and stopped with the last screenshot at 13:44...

 

Woke up this morning, rolled out of bed... hmm - not too shabby, although a bit weak, and not too wise...

 

Let's do a guild crawl...

 

Hit point situation not looking good. * note to self: run away quicker *

Time for bed, then... ahhh! Much better

 

Another guild...

...and then some sustenance - feeling pretty peckish, and you don't get breakfast served at these cheapskate inns...

But what's this? They're singing about me! How nice!