Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[octavius]

As far as logic is concerned ? No. In DQK, for instance, random patrols have 18th-level wizards with them and warriors with more HP than your average dragon.

The joys of high level AD&D.

I think the two sequels to COK are superior in just about any way.
Much better encounter design: no "MONSTERS ATTACK!", and generally much less random encounters. But silliness is almost impossible to avoid in high level AD&D.
Allied units and Knights' ability to lead them (but why the Solamnic Knights in DKK have evil alignment is beyond me).
Less linear, and more interesting overland maps, especially DKQ with all the optional quests, and hidden areas and encounters to find.

 

[Metro]

People are over-thinking party composition. I beat these games when I was fourteen with a knight, fighter, ranger, thief, cleric, and mage. No multi classes, nothing special.

 

[kmonster]

People are over-thinking party composition. I beat these games when I was fourteen with a knight, fighter, ranger, thief, cleric, and mage. No multi classes, nothing special.

White or red robe mage ?

 

[Metro]

People are over-thinking party composition. I beat these games when I was fourteen with a knight, fighter, ranger, thief, cleric, and mage. No multi classes, nothing special.

White or red robe mage ?

Been twenty years... I honestly don't remember. Possibly red because of the lower experience curve. I'll add that with the exception of a kender rogue I used humans for everything else.

 

[Joonas]

I'm planning to play through Pool to Pools. To avoid time spent in menus memorizing Cure Light Wounds, I made a tool to use with DOSBox. It has a fix-command for Pool of Radiance, can restore memorized spells and do some other stuff.

More information and screenshots If someone wants to test:
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/jhirvonen/gbc/

 

[octavius]

Personally I don't mind healing my characters manually, but I'm sure many will welcome this.

BTW, nice web site you have there, with a very comprehensive set of links to all things Gold Box.

 

[Morkar Left]

at Joonas
Thanks. Unfortunately I'm not able to play the games anytime soon because I have already a big to-play list. But I'm sure it will come in handy then.

Edit: what's with this auto-editing bullshit...

 

[octavius]

The elf hatred I mentioned earlier continues. Skyla the annoying prick that is your "guide" in Jeleck is en elf, and so is the "recruitment officer" in Sanction.

I'm also noticing some anomalities. Sometimes I don't face as many enemies as I according to the clue book should. I've already played the game twice before, first time on the Amiga, then the DOS version a couple of years ago, and now the Amiga version (only because of the cooler character icons) again. So it's not like I get spoiled, and the clue book gives some insight into the design of the game. Random encounters are generally not endless, for example. Most areas have a fixed amount of random encounters or patrols, just like in PoR and CoAB, but unlike those game in COK they are reset each time you re-enter a map.
The most notable example of missing enemies is in Duerghast, where we surprise a fighter and he runs away. When we catch up with him there are only Draconians to fight, no human fighters. If the clue book is correct there are two Bozaks, two Evil Champions and two Evil Priests missing. I'm paying more attention to each encounter this time than I did the previous times I played, so I don't know if this is normal. My party does not have maxed stats, and are usually running around wounded since I don't rest after each battle. So it makes me wonder if the game adjusts (or dare I say level scale?) the battles, or if there are differences between the DOS and Amiga versions.

Another thing I've noticed is that Draconians are more difficult to hit than their AC suggests. It's almost like they get some hidden modifiers.

 

[octavius]

I'm about to start this game myself, and it certainly seems more complex and varied than the other Gold Box games. Skills, and especially weapons skills, to make characters less generic, is something I feel the fantasy GB games are missing, after having played later generation AD&D games like the IE games.
And after having barely tried MegaTraveller and read Crooked Bee's Let's Play of Space:1889 the Buck Rogers game sounds like sci fi games that actually manage to put the skills to good use (and the manual even says which skills are not used, which is a big plus) and combine with good game play.
The manual says there shoud be a pre-generated party, but on the DOS version 1.00 (couldn't find any later, though Wikipedia says it exists) I couldn't find any characters. I haven't bothered with the Amiga version, since the sequel is DOS only.

BTW, I found a Let's Play of Countdown to Doomsday, for those who might be interested.

 

[MMXI]

I'm about to start this game myself, and it certainly seems more complex and varied than the other Gold Box games. Skills, and especially weapons skills, to make characters less generic, is something I feel the fantasy GB games are missing, after having played later generation AD&D games like the IE games.

Yeah, it is more complex in my opinion, but that's because it's not really AD&D and is instead a D&D derived system created by TSR in around 1990. At least I think it is. Can't find the PDF anywhere to compare the rules to.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

I'm about to start this game myself, and it certainly seems more complex and varied than the other Gold Box games. Skills, and especially weapons skills, to make characters less generic, is something I feel the fantasy GB games are missing, after having played later generation AD&D games like the IE games.

Yeah, it is more complex in my opinion, but that's because it's not really AD&D and is instead a D&D derived system created by TSR in around 1990. At least I think it is. Can't find the PDF anywhere to compare the rules to.

It is. The advertisements for the Buck Rogers XXV century roleplaying game are in a few of my ancient SSI catalogues (the booklets that came in the game boxes), try searching for scans of those.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Rogers_XXVC

That shows all the various paraphernalia connected to TSR's setting.

I actually bought the other two novels too, after reading the novel included with Countdown to Doomsday (First Power Play). I have read worse.

Ahh, good times in gaming...long gone.

Edit: A question for our viewers: Having an Amiga at the time, I never bought Matrix Cubed (the game) when it came out, and missed out on the boxed version waiting for the vapourware Amiga port. Did the box contain a novel or any goodies? Or just the game, manual and logbook?

 

[octavius]

How useful are skills like:
Acrobatics
Climb
Hide in Shadows
Comm Operations
Sensor Operations
Disguise
Mimic
Act
Befriend Animal
Distract
Intimidate

The few FAQs I've found have either been too brief or for the crippled console versions.

EDIT: The Cluebook gives a good rundown of the skills.

 

[Trash]

Quite a few skills are never used in the game. I think they both wanted to stay true to the pnp original and had a series of the games in mind. A few unused skills do show up in the sequel as far as I can remember.

Matrix Cubed for the pc only had a logbook and manual together with the diskettes and a flyer as far as I can remember. Sold my entire old collection a long time ago for some lump change. Fucking stupid, I know.

Searched long and hard for scans of the roleplaying game books but it seems only a handfull got scanned. Fun stuff to read though.

 

[octavius]

How does the game treat characters that have become incapacitated by gas clouds or stunned by Sonic Stunners? Do they go down in one hit, like "helpless" characters in the other GB games?

And how does the Intimidate skill work? Is at an active or passive skill? Rule book says it's used in combat, so is there an "Intimidate" option, like the "Yell" option for Kenders in the Krynn games?

 

[Crichton]

I'm pretty sure that there's no "helpless" status, that is disabled characters can't be instantly killed, they just can't fight back. I don't remember an "intimidate" option in combat either but I do remember enemies fleeing. I would guess that Intimidate increases the chances of that. As for the other skills, hide in shadows can let you listen in on some conversations before the fight starts, but I don't think you ever get to skip the fight.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Hide in Shadows might apply to your stealth in combat too. Enemies have a chance of turning to face the currently active character, preventing backstabs.

Befriend animal is kinda useful during at least one part of the game, but hardly necessary.

 

[Beautiful Clown Painting]

I played it on Genesis and found it astounding, one of the very best Genesis game ever, even if I didn't really liked the Gold Box games on my C64; for whatever reason, they never really "clicked" for me (only finished "Pool of radiance" & "Curse of the azure bonds" though). Is the Genesis "Buck Rogers" really different from its computer versions? And another question, a bit off-topic: I'd like to try again to play some Gold Box games. Should I go for the "Krynn" serie or for the "Savage frontier" one?

 

[MMXI]

Should I go for the "Krynn" serie or for the "Savage frontier" one?

Krynn.

 

[octavius]

I played it on Genesis and found it astounding, one of the very best Genesis game ever, even if I didn't really liked the Gold Box games on my C64; for whatever reason, they never really "clicked" for me (only finished "Pool of radiance" & "Curse of the azure bonds" though). Is the Genesis "Buck Rogers" really different from its computer versions?

All the races are there, but there are no Engineers and thus fewer skills. May be more differences.

And another question, a bit off-topic: I'd like to try again to play some Gold Box games. Should I go for the "Krynn" serie or for the "Savage frontier" one?

Krynn.

 

[Trash]

I played it on Genesis and found it astounding, one of the very best Genesis game ever, even if I didn't really liked the Gold Box games on my C64; for whatever reason, they never really "clicked" for me (only finished "Pool of radiance" & "Curse of the azure bonds" though). Is the Genesis "Buck Rogers" really different from its computer versions?

Genesis graphics are more polished but classes have been simplified. The UI is also a bit more accessible in the Genesis version if I remember right.

 

[octavius]

I'm pretty sure that there's no "helpless" status, that is disabled characters can't be instantly killed, they just can't fight back. I don't remember an "intimidate" option in combat either but I do remember enemies fleeing. I would guess that Intimidate increases the chances of that. As for the other skills, hide in shadows can let you listen in on some conversations before the fight starts, but I don't think you ever get to skip the fight.

Found out that "Intimidate" actually is a combat option. Haven't tried it yet due to low skills, though.

Overall Buck Rogers seems to have less of the "silliness" of the other GB games. No killing of a helpless 120 HP fighter with a single dart, and to Bandage people your character needs to stand adjacent to the patient.

But using Target instead of Aim, and Divvy instead of Share takes some getting used to.

 

[Captain Shrek]

Looks quite intriguing. Thanks for bringing it to attention Jaesun.

 

[octavius]

So, has anyone managed to beat Talon and his merry band of 36 Pirate Leaders and 24 Combat Robots?
I didn't try, but saw a screenshot of it from a Let's Play.
I wonder if it's more difficult than beating the Beholder Corps in Curse of Azure Bonds without using the Dust of Disappearance? I know beating the Beholder Corps is possible, and the cluebook says beating Talon's gang is possible.
One difference is that it's easier to exploit the AI and pathfinding in CoAB since the party is right outside the doorway of the room containing the Corps, while in Buck Roger the party is surrounded on three sides.

 

[Damned Registrations]

I recall by the end of the game you have access to a LOT of rocket/plasma launchers. You can take out a lot of guys with just one of those.

 

[deuxhero]

Didn't we only get this game because the TSR head was a crazy person in line for the Buck Rogers royalties and thus made a Buck Rogers RPG?