On Fantasy and Sci-Fi mixed in RPG's (continued from Skywalker's thread)

[Sazerac]

From Neb:

Yes, the blasters did ruin things a bit, but you must admit, blending high-tech spacetravellers and medieval fantasy mages, thieves, warriors and clerics is pretty damn original, ever tried playing M&M4/5? They're some of the best ever made, they had a whole dungeon filled with nothign except puzzles, crossword puzzles, you had to fill a level before you were allowed to proceed to the next one and your characters had to learn mountaineering and swimming to cross mountains and shallow water, sorry for getting off topic btw.

Hi, Neb, I moved this over here since I think this warrants a thread of its own.

Actually, Wizardry was much like this as well. Wiz 5 (Heart of the Maelstrom) had some high-tech stuff in it, Wiz 6 (Bane of the Cosmic Forge) had the players escaping in a spaceship, and Wiz 7 (Crusaders of the Dark Savant) was rife with Sci-Fi elements, including space vessels, a Jedi-like Light Saber (one of the best weapons in the game, IMO), and other goodies as well.

I'm not averse to having Sci-Fi and fantasy blended together. I am against it when the designers FORCE you to use one over the other, and especially on such ridiculously weak weapons such as the Blasters in M&M 6 (and make you use valuable skill points on developing blaster skill) in order to win the endgame. In Wizardry 7, you could defeat the endgame with pure medieval weaponry, or go the Higardi route and use the special weapons...or a blend of both. But the game didn't force you into using one or the other.

Don't get me wrong, I loved M&M 6, except for the blasters. They were a low point in what was otherwise a great gaming experience. I'd still play it again, if for nothing else but to get the great jokes and one liners (like the Monty Python references).

Thanks for a great topic!



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the Wh40K RPg is great fun becuase it mixes Sci-FI and RPG elemants, not only does it have all the bolters, power armour and Psykers you could want. On the primative worlds(of which their are many) there is as much chain mail and magic and mighty swords as one could hope to find. For this reason and some others i like it better than Ad&d.

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In nomine Imperatis, guard our armour and our gaze; lubricate our projectile weapons that they do not jam. Bless and brighten the beams of our lasers; fiat lux in tenebris.
He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium to whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day.

Good thread, glad somebody got around to it...
Like Saz, I enjoy the mix when you have a choice, but I didn't enjoy the blasters in M&M6 because you were forced to use them. Loving BG & BGII because of the pure fantasy approach, also love Fallout for pure sci-fi approach.
Speaking of Might & Magic, anyone know anything about M&M9?


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Perversion is the true spice of life: Variety is just part of a healthy diet.

[Neb]

Originally posted by Sazerac: From Neb: Hi, Neb, I moved this over here since I think this warrants a thread of its own. Actually, Wizardry was much like this as well. Wiz 5 (Heart of the Maelstrom) had some high-tech stuff in it, Wiz 6 (Bane of the Cosmic Forge) had the players escaping in a spaceship, and Wiz 7 (Crusaders of the Dark Savant) was rife with Sci-Fi elements, including space vessels, a Jedi-like Light Saber (one of the best weapons in the game, IMO), and other goodies as well. I'm not averse to having Sci-Fi and fantasy blended together. I am against it when the designers FORCE you to use one over the other, and especially on such ridiculously weak weapons such as the Blasters in M&M 6 (and make you use valuable skill points on developing blaster skill) in order to win the endgame. In Wizardry 7, you could defeat the endgame with pure medieval weaponry, or go the Higardi route and use the special weapons...or a blend of both. But the game didn't force you into using one or the other. Don't get me wrong, I loved M&M 6, except for the blasters. They were a low point in what was otherwise a great gaming experience. I'd still play it again, if for nothing else but to get the great jokes and one liners (like the Monty Python references). Thanks for a great topic!

Actually, you could kill the final enemies WITHOUT blasters, possibly only in an unpatched or patched version, but I managed to slaughter them all with my Artifact and Relic weapons, it is easier with the blasters though, since you've got a range advantage, one thing I've disliked about all of the M&M games since the 6th, was that they became more like FPS games since you had to dodge enemy arrows with reflexes instead of stats, in my opinion, M&M 4&5 are the best ones and the only ones of the newer ones who are TRUE RPGs, I like the 8th one too though, since you got to play a lot of unusual races such as Dragons, Vampires, Minotaurs, Trolls and a few others.

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Neb: Actually, you could kill the final enemies WITHOUT blasters, possibly only in an unpatched or patched version, but I managed to slaughter them all with my Artifact and Relic weapons, it is easier with the blasters though, since you've got a range advantage, one thing I've disliked about all of the M&M games since the 6th, was that they became more like FPS games since you had to dodge enemy arrows with reflexes instead of stats, in my opinion, M&M 4&5 are the best ones and the only ones of the newer ones who are TRUE RPGs, I like the 8th one too though, since you got to play a lot of unusual races such as Dragons, Vampires, Minotaurs, Trolls and a few others.

Possibly in the unpatched version you could win the endgame without blasters, Neb, but in the version I played, the only way you could touch the reactor core in the Kreegan Hive was to use blasters. I really wish I had the unpatched version (the patched version I got with Might and Magic Millennium Edition) because the patch, IMO, caused more problems than it created; specifically, you couldn't finish the Thieves' stronghold dungeon near Castle Stone (the doors wouldn't open in the patched version) and you couldn't retrieve the jeweled egg from Castle Kriegspire for the guy in Kriegspire village, rendering one of the side quests inoperable. Oh well...

Yes, the strafing (dodging left and right) became pretty annoying, but I think in modern 1st-person view RPG's, it's almost a foregone portion.

BTW, M&M9 is subtitled "The Writ of Fate" and should be out sometime next year.




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[Neb]

I can't wait, I hope they upgrade the graphics though, they've used the same graphics for the last 3 M&Ms and they're beginning to get outdated.

[Sazerac]

Neb, here's a link to some of the M&M 9 artwork. Not much out yet, but it should be a bit of a teaser:

http://www.tothegame.com/screenshot.asp?id=12

I must admit, I like what they've done with the Bloodsuckers!

Off the cuff: Is it just me, or have others noticed that in modern fantasy CRPG's the PC and NPC graphics look more and more like modern "Gen-X slackers"?

Cheers,

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[This message has been edited by Sazerac (edited 10-10-2001).]

[Neb]

Those graphics sure look good, I hope they update the AI too so that hostile monsters which have yet to see you patrol instead of just standing around, maybe walking or sitting around a campfire, patrolling the camp perimeter and such, with sentries around which you would have to take out quietly or the whole camp would be up and attacking you in seconds.

I think I recall reading that the game engine would be based on the Lithtech engine. I may be off on that, but I think that's what I read.

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Perversion is the true spice of life: Variety is just part of a healthy diet.

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Absynthe: I think I recall reading that the game engine would be based on the Lithtech engine. I may be off on that, but I think that's what I read.

Yes, Absynthe. Lithtech 2.0 is what they're basing the game on.




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