If someone could make a new thread for the Quest, Horde II it would be very helpful. I'm not good at doing that. : ) But can answer any questions here. : ) By the way, we (Zarista) are making a new game with the Unity game engine-- we are working on the story and quests and we hope you will love it when it's done. It will be a standalone game for iphone, PC and maybe other platforms, not sure yet, the possibilities are there but we don't have an Android license with Unity yet. : ) Thinking. The gameplay will be similar to our (Zarista's) Quest expansions as that's what we do but it will be a new world. We're doing this to give you enhanced graphics and game play but want to give you the same storylines, puzzles and other things you're already familiar with in a beautiful 3d world. It will take a few months to develop, but we're on our way!
Looking forward to more news on Unity engine remake(?). Echoseven beat your request with a Mithril Horde II thread this morning: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=120547
Thank you. We're (Zarista) using Unity to make a new game. Right now it's naming day in the Garden of Eden and we're having fun deciding on what items to include, like kiwis and fruit pies. There won't be Races because we're just starting out and Humans are enough to deal with, but there will be Classes and it's 3d. : ) I have a big spot in my heart for the Quest so will continue making planned expansions but I have to admit, moving through a 3d world is a lot different from moving through a 2d world. Our controls seem to be good. We have good graphics and nice monsters--well, they're not so nice but they're good at what they do. : ) They follow their script. ; ) We have a good story and now it's just a question of doing the work. : ) I have a little world on the iphone already. And if you love our work in the Quest expansions, I hope you will love our work with Unity. : ) What they've done for indie developers is quite awesome. But we need a few months to develop although we're moving along. Chug, chug. : ) Meanwhile, you can explore HordeII and fight the Sandworms, Mad Djinns and rescue poor Princess Yasmine. You can also, for the first time, get crushed to death, in Old Shaman's Maze. Really crushed to death! If you find Phredd's Souk, you can trade in some old quest items and if you lost the Witch's Hammer in the base game, I think you might get it back. : ) And we're working on the sequel to Celtic Rift for the Quest, so send me some virtual catnip to keep mana levels up. : ) Or shrimp on Facebook. : )
Hi. I'm rediscovering the delights of The Quest (base game; I've bought al the expansions but want to play them in order) on my iPhone, blighted only by the fact that I think I must have sold the Governor's necklace, as I can't present it to the Mysterious Man. The castle room where I found it the last time I played is empty (I pillaged it). Will it respawn in 7 days, or do I need to revert to a (very old) save game? Thanks, Darren
This is great to read, Cat! The Quest remains the only game I have kept on my device without ever deleting. Your experience with the expansions makes me look forward to what you can come up with on your own.
But does it have an interesting combat system? Because The Quest's is a bit too boring and repetitive for my taste. It was the main reason why I didn't yet jump into all the expansions, after completing And enjoying the base game, though I fully intend to do so. It is great news that you are making another retro-style WRPG with puzzles. May I plead for some pits to fall into and illusionary walls? These staples of old-school adventure tend to be crminally underused, nowadays...
The Governor's necklace can't be sold. You could try sleeping for 7 days in an inn and go back--if you come up empty, use your old save game.
Well, if you take a look at HordeII FAQ, you'll see how beautiful we want to make it. It wasn't easy to code the FAQ because Apple had just changed to new stuff and there were no tutorials but we were driven and so, with divine help, we did it. : ) It should be interesting. : )
What do you consider to be an interesting combat system? Real time, turn-based? Party-based? I think we will always have pits and illusionary walls. : ) My old signature used to be Ahhhhhhhh, always falling down holes. : )
An interesting combat system is the one where you don't end up mindlessly doing the same thing ad nauseam! There are very few tactical decisions to be made in the Quest, yet combat is very common. Even with magic, which offers a few more options, there are just 1 or 2 spells that work best against a given enemy type, so you blast and chug (potions), blast and chug. Tedious, in the long run. Speaking of turn-based versus real-time, I like both, although I prefer turn-based for iOS, because being able to leave a fight to do some RL stuff and then return to it without losing anything, is very handy. Also, until recently I thought that turn-based combat with a single controllable character was a waste (yes, not even Fallouts 1 and 2 impressed me on that score), but Rimelands on iOS came up with a system that was pretty satisfying and fun. It is third-person isometric, though. Now, assuming you intend to do a first person RPG, I'd personally much prefer party and turn-based. My great ideal for combat in such a game is Wizardry VIII, but it is too lofty a goal. OTOH, from my experiences with Undercroft on iOS (which I also liked a lot), it's main failings were: Lack of ability to attack second/third ranks of enemies and be attacked by them. That immediately made the combat shallow. The Quest has the same problem, of course, but even having a party doesn't help to sufficiently alleviate it. It is this "depth" of combat ranks that really made combat decisions even during random fights in Eye of the Beholder or Wizardry enjoyable and non-routine. Lack of crowd control abilities and not enough protective abilities, either for the party or for the enemies. Also, not enough de-buffs.The Quest has some, but too few. Direct damage abilities offer far less variety for combat experience. Now, don't get me wrong - I adore the exploration/puzzle aspects of both the Quest and Undercroft. And judging by your reputation, I am sure that you'd get that aspect nailed down. Which is why I am stressing the combat aspect, which, for me personally, was a definite weak link in The Quest and to somewhat lesser degree in Undercroft.
Combat is pretty basic in The Quest..though i wouldn't go so far as making it akin to Wizardry VIII...some of the battles in that game bored me rigid..over an hour to kill a few baddies, take a few steps and repeat again. Neverwinter Nights had about the right balance between action and strategy i thought. The Quest is still one of my faves on the store.
Well, that was the problem with the frequency of random encounters and somewhat out-of-whack level-scaling, not the combat system itself. But, certainly, a combat system can be simpler and still sufficiently satisfying. And IMHO NwN combat system was quite boring. It's saving grace was that trash encounters could be won on auto-pilot, but then, why have them at all? Really, I never understood why you'd make something you get most of your time doing in an RPG game, dull. Speaking of relatively simple but satisfying way to handle RT melee combat in a single-character firs-person RPG, I really love what Ultima Underworld 1+2 did.
Yep the Underworlds were great in that respect..each to their own though eh..looking forward to Legend Of Grimrock and have high hopes for the combat in that game. (Dungeon Master is my favourite game). cheers.
I'm sorry I didn't answer sooner but am working on several things at once, including another Quest expansion and watching the Giants' parade in NYC. : ) The other half of Zarista Games is from Boston so I don't want to say that too loud. : ) The Patriots put up a good fight. It was a close game! Now how's that for real time combat? : ) I agree that a good combat system doesn't have you mindlessly doing the same thing over and over again ad nauseam. : ) That should be the first test of a good combat system. Am experimenting with both first person and third person right now but have to admit am liking third person. : ) Protective abilities should not be a problem---and I agree, the ability to leave a fight and go back has its rewards. It saved me many times. Am thinking about a party--am also thinking about the ability to summon something special. I think it would be possible to affect not only one monster in the neighborhood but more with different attacks or spells. I'm reading all your posts and experimenting. It will take more time but it's worth it. : ) Movement right now is by tap, not joystick. : ) I kind of like it.
It would be good if you could Load more than one expansion at a time, of you can then sorry I just presumes because it says only one game at the start up screen
A joystick would betray the turn based mechanic of this game and likely lack the precision necessary.
