Gold Box SSI's Gold Box Series Thread

[Marquess Cornwallis]

If you are completely new to pre-Fallout RPGs, I'd second what octavius said and start with Gateway to the Savage Frontier. The friendly UI and world map make it easy to find your way around/make sense of things quickly and I honestly don't think the combat is too bad (you can flee from most random encounters which is heartily recommended to make the game less tedious, plus they're only over-abundant in certain places anyway). I also always somehow thought the Savage Frontier was the most charming (although not the best) of the Gold Box series, but that's probably because I dislike the Dragonlance setting and played the original Forgotten Realms series last.

 

[Father Walker]

Also feel free to recommend me other old school RPGs - especially weird or unconventional ones that aren't typical settings.

I'd add Lands of Lore to your list. It's pretty simple, looks nice and gameplay is pretty fun. Quite easy game to get into.

 

[PorkaMorka]

Pool of Radiance is the most ambitious Gold Box game and the best place to start, as long as you don't mind a little additional busy work, in the form of manually re-selecting the spells to memorize. But this is an annoyance that can drive people away, admittedly.

All other Gold Box games have automatic re-memorization of spells upon rest.

If you think that the aforementioned UI problem will be an issue, then the obvious choice is Champions of Krynn. It is more conventional and less ambitious, but it is still a good game and it allows you to play your party from level one.

I would avoid the Savage frontier games, at least until you play the other games. They were made by another, inferior team and it shows. The design gets worse in a number of ways and the graphics look worse than the EGA games at times.

 

[Vicissitudes]

Personally I would recommend playing the following:

Pool of Radiance
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Secret of the Silver Blades

This will give you a good over all "feel" of the series and engine. Then if you want MOAR:

Champions of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
The Dark Queen of Krynn

This features a slightly different rule set. Seriously, a fighter mage wearing plate aromor casting Fireball spell. :D

It is a good series of games , even if you hate the setting.

Then when you come to the concusion this Gold Box series is SO FUCKING AWESOME! But what if they did Gold Box... IN SPACE!!! Well they did:

Buck Rogers
Countdown to Doomsday
Matrix Cubed

THEN when you finally cannot get enough of this awesome engine we have the awesome FRUA (Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures).

Read this: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...ealms-unlimited-adventures-frua-thread.61909/

Ray's The Realm Series should keep you busy for months and months.

I actually tried my first goldbox dose ever with this approach and unfortunately OD during the Secret of the Silver Blades. It's a great experience but I strongly suggest doing some breaks between games...

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

I actually tried my first goldbox dose ever with this approach and unfortunately OD during the Secret of the Silver Blades. It's a great experience but I strongly suggest doing some breaks between games...

Of course. Everybody should really make sure they have a rest between. Remember, these all came out over a period of years, forcing break times away from them. Even I couldn't stomach back-to-back Goldbox games, perhaps a series or so together, but that would be it.

And don't get obsessed with playing through a series. Pick up Pool of Radiance and enjoy the game that it is without worrying about whether you want to make it into the next game. When I played it, that was it; I had no idea there would be more of them.

I wish I could forget these games and play them for the first time again...

 

[Jaesun]

I wish I could forget these games and play them for the first time again...

Agreed.

It is also worth noting, as they continued to make the interface and engine and other features better, it might be of more interest to play these in the order of the year they came out. As in Pool of Radiance really lack some features found in Pools of Darkness engine.

 

[Albers]

Pool of Radiance is the most ambitious Gold Box game and the best place to start, as long as you don't mind a little additional busy work, in the form of manually re-selecting the spells to memorize. But this is an annoyance that can drive people away, admittedly.

Hate this! Probably the biggest negative of all old RPGs is stuff like this. Dealing with inventory, trading gear between party members, buying/selling, memorizing spells, and so on can drive away even the Koolest Bros.

I second MMXI's Krynn series recommendation. A bit prettier and more colorful, slightly easier UI and party management.

 

[Metro]

I agree that the Krynn series is a better starting point because the UI and other aspects were more polished by the time it rolled out. Champions isn't amazing but it gets better in Death Knights. I don't really remember Dark Queen that well but I think it did a better job of wrapping up a series more than PoD which was just over-the-top nonsense (albeit having some cool locations). The Forgotten realm series is good but Pool of Radiance still had the best overland map of any Gold Box game. Anything after that is a relative disappointment. Still, Curse is worth playing. Silver Blades is okay but felt extremely grindy at times with all the slogging through the mines. It's not as open as the other games. Treasures of the Savage Frontier is probably my third favorite Gold Box game behind PoR and DKoK. It has a nice overland map, good encounters, cool final villain, and a fairly interesting atmosphere/setting. Gateway... I honestly can't remember. There's a chance I didn't even play it. I know I played Treasures before Gateway but don't recall if I ever want back to do the first.

 

[kmonster]

If you want goldbox start with Pool of Radiance. The interface will be fine unless you're spoiled by the later games.
But first finish Dark Sun: Shattered Lands and if you want more of this the sequel.
If you want to try something different I recommend Might and Magic 3.

 

[dragonbait]

I'd definitely say Pool of Radiance. Because PoR is the original gold box game and what every other gold box game is based off of. Curse and Secret are both very good sequels, but you might as well start from the beginning.

If you play through PoR, Curse + Secret, then expand from there.

 

[kmonster]

Pool of Radiance also has a clearer structure than most other goldbox games. You start in one area and always return there for shopping, training, new quests and other things. You progress step by step, recapturing one area from the monsters after another.

 

[octavius]

I can confirm that all equipment gets transferered from Countdown To Doomsday to Matrix Cubed.

But after the fourth random encounter with five Purge troops before I have even found a training hall, Matrix Cubed is already starting to bore like no Gold Box game has bored me before.
Does it get better?

 

[Excidium]

octavius

Well, what a bummer. I was about to get started on those Buck Rogers games but nothing annoys me more in RPGs than random encounters with the same enemy types over and over. Is the first game like that too?

 

[octavius]

octavius

Well, what a bummer. I was about to get started on those Buck Rogers games but nothing annoys me more in RPGs than random encounters with the same enemy types over and over. Is the first game like that too?

To some degree, and some areas were worse than others. Encounter design is definitely worse than in the Pool and Krynn series, with few memorable battles.
But overall Countdown to Doomsday was an enjoyable game, since you kept finding better equipment and it was a good idea to have a good selection of weapons and grenades for different enemies. And the encounter rate was not too bad, while the random encounter frequency of first area of Matrix Cubes is worse than any area I can remember from Doomsday. If the rest of the game is the same I don't think I will bother.
But the first game is still worth playing, IMO.

 

[octavius]

A chancellor named De Sade? Gee, I wonder if he's trustworthy? o_O

And the frrrrench Sun King has been replaced by a mix of Martin Luther King and Jimi Hendrix.

 

[mondblut]

The problem with Buck Rogers is that everyone fills their inventory with multiple 10-charge Wands of Fireball and of Ice Storm (rebranded as "grenade launchers" and "rocket launchers" for some reason, and sold anywhere, cheap), and then all combats play the same: the party's turn comes, everything gets immolated.

 

[Sceptic]

But after the fourth random encounter with five Purge troops before I have even found a training hall, Matrix Cubed is already starting to bore like no Gold Box game has bored me before.
Does it get better?

Not really. I think MC suffers from Silver Blades syndrome: too much repetitive fighting and nothing else of interest. These two are my least favorites.

 

[octavius]

The second area of Matrix Cubed (the RAM base on Ceres) was much easier and had less encounters, but they were all the same enemies: either patrols of 3 RAM Warriors, a barracks or security station with 4 RAM Warriors and the "boss fight" with 8-10 RAM Warriors. Even the imposing figure of the commander of the base - General Mavroudis - is just a generic RAM Warrior in the fight.

Next stop was Venus, where the map from Doomsday is re-used. And of course the ship lands in the NW corner of Venus since the target is in the SE corner. And Venus is obviously a very small place since we ran into Zane, the little Lowlander kid, again.

There doesn't seem to be anything new in Matrix Cubed, just fighting the same enemies as in the first game, but at a much higher frequency. And the enemies' THAC0 has been significantly improved. Now Lowlander Warriors with Polearms hit your characters wearing Battle Armor nearly every time, while your own Laser and Rocket weapons are mostly useless. Plasma Throwers and Rocket Launchers (cheap Wands of Fireball and Ice Storm, as Mondblut called them) rule for the non-warrior classes, while a skilled warrior can do significant damage with Needle Guns.
Backstabbing also works well if you have decent Move Silently skill, meaning any class can potentially do it.

I read Scorpia's review of the game in an old issue of Computer Gaming World and that review also confirms that the game doesn't get any better.

This game is a step backward compared to Pools of Darkness, which was brimming with good encounters (although a bit too many random ones in some areas), and had improved enemy AI compared to earlier games.
Fortunately this was not the last Gold Box game. Dark Queen of Krynn (and FRUA) was a worthy finale to the GB games.

I might have slogged through Matrix Cubed if it wasn't for one thing: the need to re-equip your heavy weapons manually after each fight. With so many fights, and most of them requiring heavy firepower, this really felt like work.

 

[alx3apps]

This game is a step backward compared to Pools of Darkness, which was brimming with good encounters

Playing PoD right now, encounters here are like the breath of the clean air after Secrets. At least there is some logic in encounter monsters instead of Secret's "You see some minotaurs with crocodiles, them attack" behind every corner. Though I miss PoR's parlay option a lot.

 

[alx3apps]

Start with PoR, but make sure you've got proper version (without codeweel protection), journals and maps beforehand.

Goldboxes also run fine on android mobile phones using dosbox. Of course phone must have hardware keyboard with arrows for comfortable gameplay. I completed PoR, Curse and one FRUA module using Samsung B7510 (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-B7510-Unlocked-Smartphone-Touchscreen/dp/B0050J7ZMM). I can share more experience about dosbox version/settings/setup etc.

 

[Excidium]

Hey, quick Buck Rogers question: Does first aid (and treat light wounds) count for healing after combat or is it just used to stabilize dying people?

 

[octavius]

Hey, quick Buck Rogers question: Does first aid (and treat light wounds) count for healing after combat or is it just used to stabilize dying people?

It counts for healing. Nice to have when your medic(s) go down.
Since I'm such a swell guy I just did a test where both my medics went down. They were healed by two characters with First Aid skill. But only one of the medics healed the party. Not sure how the game determines healing order.

 

[Excidium]

Thanks!

 

[Fowyr]

My most liked Goldbox is the PoR, but indeed, it have some interface issues. You can start with CoK or GttSF. GttSF is pretty short, by the way. Just stay clear from SotSB yet. It's a worst Goldbox game.

 

[Nattvardsvin]

The Dark Queen of Krynn