Beautiful update, thanks so much! Although it wasn't a real dealbreaker for me playing in 2x mode, the higher resolution really rocks. Just left an updated review at the german store. This made my day, too
Add another 'What the hell took me so long?' response What the hell took me so long? Seriously. I almost missed out, as I was deliberating between Kard Combat and Spectromancer. Then, a nagging voice in my head whispered, "KoDP". The sheer enthusiasm in the thread - as well as the usual suspects, with whom I tend to share the same taste in games - convinced me to finally purchase KoDP. The manual is a long read, but vitally important for not only understanding how to play KoDP, but also setting the scene for the game in terms of the cultural, historical, mythological setting in which your clan finds itself. The best advice is to try and get into the mindset of an Orlanthi clan. As others have stated, the beauty of KoDP is the vast array of choices, presented through an interactive narrative, coupled with the beautiful hard-drawn artwork. It is a wonderful feat of story-telling, with the choices you make guiding your clan (with advice provided by your clan ring) possessing meaningful consequences - possibly creating a smaller story-arc, that doesn't reveal itself until the culmination many years later when a favour that is owed is suddenly called in .. My clan's fortunes have ebbed and waned with the passing seasons. In the early years, clan Ling suffered the common problem of wrestling with sufficient harvest and cattle to feed the people. Trading and improving relations with other clans (including the odd cattle raid) have greatly enhanced the reputation of clan Ling. Unlike Kingbuilder's experience, clan Ling made peace with the Duck people, and negotiated 50 food tribute every year. Unfortunately, skirmishes with the Horse-Spawn and other bandits have been mixed. A particularly problematic Shamanic bandit is a continued thorn in the clan's side, making even routine emissary and trade delegations difficult. Clan Ling has lost 2 Warchiefs in attempting to deal with the Shamanic bandit menace (shamanic magic has resulted in a resounding defeat). Clan Ling has completed a Heroquest, and also failed another due to the bumbling performance of one of the Clan Ring members failing to remember the to act the part of the 'Storm-Bull' in the myth. Whilst there have been suggestions that Clan Ling has potential to unite the clans and form a tribe, more mysteries need to be uncovered to ascertain the secrets of the particular Heroquest in question .. Such rich source material, and such a shame that only KoDP is the only game to draw upon it. However, I am glad to have the opportunity to experience KoDP and Glorantha.
I'm so on the verge of grabbing this but am I right in recalling the Hero Quests basically boil down to you answering a series of multiple choice questions about the vision your character just had?
Well,most quests are multiple options...so yes,to complete an Hero Quest you have to: -sacrifice to get to know it's history/secrets -send someone to do it -pick the right answers (based on what the knowledge you gathered) AND have a character with high enough attributes to complete that choice
Not exactly, Heroquests are recreations of ancient myths. Your selected quester travels to the world of gods and you have to pick the correct actions from choices to recreate the myths. Do poorly and your quester might be injured grievously or might even perish, succeed and you gain the favor of the gods and their supernatural powers.
Okay, I like the stat driven aspects but am weary of stuff that feels like I'm taking some reading comprehension test and am afraid stuff like this will suffer on replay.
I would say you'll get a huge amount of replay value out of this, there is a lot of content and the heroquests are only the icing on the cake. And there are a lot of heroquests as well. But, you are correct in assuming that there is quite a bit of reading involved. It's equal parts fantasy civilization and pick your adventure book.
I'm not a stupid person. Honestly. That being said, this game is impenetrable to me. I bought it when it first came out and tried it. I was completely overwhelmed. I deleted it and forgot about it. Months later, I tried again. I had the exact same experience. I just don't think this game is for me. I love reading, and I enjoy strategy games, so I don't really know why this seems so obtuse to me, but it just does.
It sounds very indirect control and stat driven which I LOVED in the PC Football Manager games (...and this is coming from a guy who doesn't give a lick about soccer or any other sports). I like games that feel like there is a world going on around you even without your direct influence which I'm hoping would be the case here.
This is EXACTLY the game you want then. You can build an incredibly deep narrative and the gorgeously detailed writing brings it to life in a way I have yet to encounter in any other game. At any point in time you can view the Saga screen to get an overview of every significant event that has happened in the game and you can save this grand record of your adventure as a text file.
In a nutshell. The majority of the stats are hidden, wrapped up in the narrative. KoDP is less about min-maxing - although you do need to consider and balance different options - and more about guiding your clan over the years, through all the vicissitudes as their fortunes ebb and wane, based upon a mixture of backstory (the history of the clan), the current situation in Dragon's Pass, and an eye on the victory conditions. Sapphire_Neo is correct that a lot of reading is involved, which is broken up through the sumptuous hard-drawn illustrations. There's the rub. It is a game that demands a lot of the player in that to truly enjoy the game, you'll need to immerse yourself in the cultural, historical and mythological aspects of Glorantha (reading and re-reading the manual, and taking your queues from the game) and make your choices based upon what an Orlanthi clan would do. Note: your choices are influenced and informed by balancing a number of options, sometimes competing. You have to weigh and factor the advice from the clan ring, the mood of your people, your clan's traditions (sometimes your ancestors), as well as the political situation in maintaining relationships with different clans. Or, like Kingbuilder, there's nothing to stop you creating a war-like clan, making a thorough nuisance of yourself by raiding and pillaging your neighbours (fine Orlanthi traditions!), and massacring Duck people (killing foreigners - another fine Orlanthi tradition!). Unlike CYOA (choose your own adventure), the decisions that you make may have repercussions for years to come. Like Kingbuilder's stead being wiped from the face of Dragon Pass, by an army of seriously ruffled Duck People!
Agh the Duck People! They really ruffle my xenophobic feathers! As mentioned, there is a lot of reading involved and you really hav to immerse yourself into the story and lore like a good book.
If anyone hasn't picked up King of Dragon Pass yet, it's on sale for 25% off for the next day or so. Highly recommended.
Just bought it after much, much reading about the game itself. Now I gotta go and do more reading inside the actual game (whoo hoo!). I know half the fun is figuring everything out, but if anyone have any tips I should keep in mind, please do let me know.
There is no shame in playing on Normal difficulty, it's plenty hard enough. You're running an Iron Age tribe, not a bunch of Vikings. Do not attempt to kill everyone: that way lies annihilation. Read the manual. Then read it again. Listen to your advisors but be aware that they often have their own agendas. Shrines will save your bacon several times over: they're permanent blessings from the gods. So will trade agreements.
Working my way through the manual still while playing the game. This game is great, and i havent seen games with this much depth since FF tactics, and even that isnt on par with this. I have completely neglected shrine building, thank you! and I'm not sure how trade agreements works yet, will get to it soon in the manual.
To chime in with JazzFish, before building Shrines, think about the permanent benefits [blessings] that your clan will need a few turns ahead. Although events inbetween seasons will catch you off-guard, pay attention first to your harvest, then relationships with other clans (are you being raided too often?), bandit situation (if left alone, will disrupt trade) and then think about what you want to accomplish over the next few years. Things will not always go your way. Events ebb and flow - that is the natural order of things. However, pay close attention to the happiness of your farmers and warriors - your clan advisors will provide you with guidance (albeit, jaundiced by their own agenda) and inform you of the mood of your clan. As JazzFish mentioned, you are playing the role of a leader of an Orlanthi tribe. So read and re-read the manual and pay attention to the customs and traditions that an Orlanthi tribe would be expected to observe. Pay attention to your harvest. Pay attention to the mood of your clan. I need to resume my game (short game! Ha! Still my first game - and approx 17 years have flown past) when I get some time.
Thank you for all the advices, both Jazzfish and Riotgirls, I really kept in mind that I need to read the manual carefully to understand everything, and to constantly adapt to the changes that happened. I managed to finish the game just now, barely had any sleep lately, but it was worth it, and looking at the map I just knew that I have only scratched the surface of Dragon Pass, and that's amazing. Anyways, it was a short game, 21 years, and everything was good, except for my lack of cattles, because I kinda love giving them away to earn various other things. My only issue right now before diving into a long game is that the game refuses to let me send myself an email, I have an Internet connection, and an email account connected to my iPod, so I'm clueless of what's going on. Any ideas?
Excellent game. I've purchased this on iOS as well as for the PC. (via GoG). I have to say that I enjoy the PC Version a tad more due to the larger screen (but dont get me wrong, the iOS Version is still very good!), although I hate having to run it through Wine on my Mac. I would probably kill for a proper OSX Port, but sadly you guys have already crushed my hopes on this. Bah, maybe I can bribe you with some cows instead? There is no problem which can not be solved by gifting cows, right?
