Do I really want to play this game??

[Snoekie]

If you can´t handle negative posts then don´t read any further I didn´t mean this as a rant but it could be percieved that way.

After getting it to work on my gf machine it still crashes randomly. Also after installing the patch it keeps crashing when it feels like it.
The sound/music gets garbled when I´m going to the inventory screen or any other screen for that matter.
It goes back to normal after I´m back to the adventure screen tho.
When I turn around in the forest it feels like I´m in a fishbowl or something. No really, let me explain
The trees and surroundings seem to "roll" when I turn as if you were watching thru a fishbowl and moved sideways or something. It just feels weird and unnatural.
And how do I know when I´m in town if it´s day or nighttime? Suppose it´s nighttime, how can I get it to be daytime? Stay at the inn or tavern for a while? Wait for 8 hours real earth time for the sun to come up?

I did some fighting at the graveyard to get me some skulls and the fighting feels awkward. I put the the game time slider half way between realtime and slowtime because I figured that will give me more time to asses the situation.
Perhaps it´s better to change that?
I mean, how does my party face the enemy? In a row or do we have a formation of some kind? I dont understand much of what is going on when the fight is underway either. My rogue in the back gets smacked by the skeleton who should be closest to my warriors in front?? Those guys should catch the initial blows before my weak thief does I´d say.
And who attacks first from my party? And why does it keep comming back to a party member when I´ve skipped it´s turn? Do I HAVE to attack with EVERY member before the new "attack round" can begin or something?
Or when I´m thinking about how to proceed in a fight, all of a sudden the enemy starts whacking at me. Why? I am fighting in turn-based mode, right?
It´s all very confusing

I´ve put the warriors in front I think by putting them on top of the party list.
If I see an enemy approaching from afar, I can´t seem to fire off a war spell with my magic-users for some reason.
Also, I have no idea what my characters really can do, other then a. swing a blade or b. cast a spell.
My magic-users must be in close range to cast spells or something??

After reading the manual and trying to understand it (for some unknown reason I find it all VERY hard to grasp. Never had that with a game before, weird) I still don´t know what my chars can do or what they could become later on.
If they theoraticly could become any elite role they like, then what makes most sense? It´s all too bloody confusing!
Bluntly put: right now this game feels like doing a chore.
The interface is, for lack of a better word, not user friendly. Cumbersome might be a better discription actually.
I think I can´t even get rid of those boxes on the side of my screen if I wanted to.
Do you get used to it over time or does it all stay annoying to use?
Or is it just me?

Hmrmbmbl, I´m not sure I want to continue to play this game. Every game has his weak points, I know, but so far I have had nothing but trouble and dissapointment. Please tell me that its possible to get used to all this BETA stuff (cause that´s what it is you know, this game is far from finished in my opinion)

Snoekie....

[Sazerac]

Dear Snoekie,

I am truly sorry you are having such troubles! I'm not sure what interface you're used to...if you're used to playing games based on the Infinity engine (a la Baldur's Gate) then the interface will take a LOT getting used to.

#1: Forget about "strategic placement". Everyone walks together. Doesn't matter who's front or back. You can't separate them either.

#2: Sound does tend to be a problem with certain soundcards. Mine has had no problem, except that it glitches occasionally (except this isn't a gaming problem, it's a faulty soundcard that does it when I'm listening to MP3s online, etc).

#3: As far as the "fishbowl" thing goes, I'm not sure what it is you're specifically referring to, but it's probably a hallmark of 3D first-person games. Is this your first 1st-person RPG experience? If so, it'll take getting used to. I still can't handle the Infinity engine interface and having to cart each person individually...too much work!

#4: Put the game slider at "slowtime" when you start out. It'll be easier for you that way when you're first getting used to it.

#5: No way to keep track of time...get the "Illuminate" spell quickly and use it. Or have a Whiskah in your party (not that useful at night, though...just a little bit better in shadows.)

#6: On the spells: If an particular type of enemy has never attacked you before, the game defaults to "protected" mode, meaning that you can't fire at them until they fire at you (so you don't kill good NPC's). You can override this with the CTRL key for the first shot...then each successive shot you can do normally.

#7: The "skipping" party members only works for a minimum time; that party member MUST get their shot in before the round is over. You can "skip" them and go to another, but it will revert back to the one you skipped each time.

#8: "game feels like doing a chore"...any new interface will feel that way. I've given up on games before because of that. I hope you do stick with it, though. A lot of the "annoyances" can be controlled for in the Options window. Use it! Adjust your gametime slider, turn off "guarded" mode, adjust the sound settings, turn off the boxes in the lower corner of the screen, etc.

I hope you do stick with it...but if you don't, it is understandable. I'm very sorry for your frustration! Here's hoping it does work out.

-Sazerac

It is definitely NOT Wizardry but it is a good way to hang while waiting for the release of Wiz 8.

I hope you can find some fum in it, if you just can't no one here will hold it against you!

Hugs!
Moni

[Ryanamur]

With regards to the video/audio problems, what rez are you playing under?

If I recall correctly, your gf has a TNT2 Ultra. I've a TNT2 M64 and I'm unable to play the game with rez higher than 640x480. Try that, or software mode, it might solve your problem.

Another option would be to do the full install if you haven't already done so.

BTW: sorry it's not going too good for you. But it's a great game once you get the hang of it.

[mammawlin]

What a bummer, Snoekie! After all that hassel trying to run it, then going to GF to play and now this. Man, I am sorry to hear of this. I hope these suggestions from Sazerac and Ryanamur help. Let us know how you're doing.
Mammawlin

[Snoekie]

Wow, you guys and girls are great, you know that?
I was expecting to get flamed in some way but instead you show understanding and even try give me more advice/suggestions! A rare thing these days and MUCH appreciated by me!

After taking some of Sazerac's sugggestions and clarifications to heart, like putting the game in "slow time", I tried again.
Knowing that I'm not the only one who has troubles with this or any other game actually did help a bit I think
hehe, it's almost like I got a little "game therapy" ROTFLOL

I will stick with it and fiddle around with the game options to see if I can get something changed to my liking.
Still can't get rid of the boxes/windows to the left and right of my screen tho. Is that possible even?
The garbled sound is a sound card trouble I've found out just now. She has a Galaxy sound card it seems.... I always thought that was a veeeery old arcade game, but looky here
The "fishbowl" thingy are probably the bitmaps that I see moving while I was expecting it to be in 3d. To understand what I mean stand close to a bunch or trees, look upwards and turn 360 degrees.
The game will create an illusion of 3d (and lots of things ARE true 3d btw) but the tree leaves remain bitmaps I think.
I'll just try to accept that

I play in 800x600 but am thinking about going 1024x768. Seems like that part is going without troubles. Yeeeeeeey

AND....AND....I spoke to the Stout dude, got into the crypt with a ratpie for his brother, fought more skellies and PICKED A CHEST WITH MY RATLING ROGUE!! This felt good I tell you! I figured it out myself how to pick a lock without looking into the manual too. *puts chest forward and looks proud*
I can't ID the stuff I found inside it yet, but I will once I get back in town or figure out how to get that skill for myself.
AND....AND... I got slimed by 2 oozing slimey...uuhm...blobs. Actually scared me because I was looking at another lock at the time and I didn't see or hear them comming. Hard to spot them anyways since are so close to the ground, hehe.
Reminded me of an old console game I played on the Sega 16 bit. Can't remember the name but I'm starting to get a better feeling about this game.

I'll keep you all posted. There might be hope yet

Snoekie.

[Sazerac]

Yeeeha, Snoekie! (That's Texan for "Way to go!")

Just keep at it...it does get better once you learn the interface. Glad to see you're still trying.

And we're a relatively flame-free environment here! More like a family.

-Sazerac

[Traute]

Snoekie, please don't give up! Every time I start playing a brand new game I feel as if it was designed exactly the way to make me feel helpless and stupid.

I know that the interface could have been better - had a lot of problems with that myself. I'm glad to say that I never had any problems running the game, though the sound is odd sometimes but only after I've played for more than four hours without restoring.

So please hang on to the game; you'll be glad you haven't given up after a few days.

Traute

Alright Snoekie!
Glad to see you are able to play!
Do keep us posted!
We are rooting for you!

Moni

[skywalker]

And by the way Snoekie, just to reiterate, there are no flames allowed here at the W&W Forum. Wyvern has made that statement many times and it is usually followed by all of us. It's just like home here, you should feel confident to express your opinions with no fear of flames. And all you really need to do is keep it clean and somewhat civil. You're sort of dealing with family here, if I may be so bold to say so.

So fight the good fight and hang in there, we're all pulling for you!

Mark