- ART REVIEW - Arthurian Icons
Art Type:Combat Icons
Format:LBM
# of Items: ?
Artist:Ermac Red
Ermac Red has created quite an impressive collection of icons here, with generally toned down colors.
Included are icons for the significant figures in Arthurian legend, from Arthur Pendragon to Morgan Le Fay to Lancelot to Gawain. Also included: various colored knights, a few general knights, and a squire/peasant double. Most seem to be the .
I only have two complaints: most icons look very similar, and no Guinevere... I know I know, why do we need an icon of Guinevere? Well, I just think the UA art gallery is in need of as many female pictures and icons it can get.... especially icons. Oh well, maybe another time...
Combat Icons:A
Distinctness:A
Overall:A
***Nyx Nightshade***
Art Review: Ravenloft Icons
Art Type: Combat Icons
Format: PCX
Number of Items:6
Artist: Dika Wolf (of course :)
Two sets of Ravenloft icons from Dika Wolf appeared on the UA Art Gallery list this week. As soon as I saw them, I snatched them up, as I have every other packet he's made so far.
Now, I happen to be a huge fan of Ravenloft, but that's not why I grab them so quickly. It's simply because Dika Wolf has continuously produced beautiful artwork, and icons in particular.
Ravenloft Icons contains Dika's take on the Undead Treant, Glass and Gargoyle Golems, Mist elemental, Giant Bat and Dire Wolf. The packet also comes with monster stat sheets for all but the Giant Bat and Dire Wolf, complete with the source of the monster itself.
The icons themselves are beautifully done, clear and precise, done mostly in dark tones suitable for the gloom of Ravenloft's gothic setting. My one complaint is with the Glass Golem, which looks slightly off in a way I can't quite place, almost like a line drawing with lines that are too thick.
I highly recommend the Ravenloft Icons for anyone who is considering making a Ravenloft or gothic horror based module, or anyone who isn't, for that matter.
Combat Icons: A
Distinctness: A+
Overall: A/A+
***Nyx Nightshade***
We the People....
Some of my game-playing friends have recently asked me: "Coric, why do you spend so much time writing games when you could be playing them? What's the fun in that?"I stared at them for a moment, unable to reply. I did not know why I like to create mods for UA. Sure, I've got a collection of over 100 games, but somehow, they fail to enthrall me like UA.
Maybe it's because UA springs from my imagination, not from some unseen producer thousands of miles away. Maybe it's because I need an output for my creative energies, and the computer is the easiest way to do it. Maybe I just love RPG's.
Somehow, though, UA manages to attract people from all walks of life and all ages. We all share a common bond in the dream to create. That is not so with other gamer's. We are the intellectuals of the game world. We are not content to stay with what another person has created; we constantly say to ourselves: "I could've done that better..."
The drive to create is, has always been, a mysterious force in the world. Men like Hemingway, Faulkner, and even King have been unable to define just why we do it. But, as the old Nike Commercials say: we "Just Do It." They couldn't be more correct.
Never let the dream of creation die - it is something special and original granted to you, and you only. No one else will ever create that mod. that you are working on; so if you give up on it, the world will as well.
Be proud of your work, it's a part of you, a part of your imagination. If you put a half-baked mod. on the board, you're not showing us the real you, so to speak....
-CORIC DAVENPORT-
Here are a couple of design flaws I have noticed while playing some of
the modules on line.
First (this is the one that gets me the most) Don't put TOO many
wandering monsters in cities, especially nonhuman monsters. If in any
city you could be attacked every 10 minutes (or 1 hour and 40 min if
searching) the whole population would be decimated by now!! Maybe in
the old abandoned part of town but not everywhere.
Be careful that you include all of the necessary events to complete the
module, the best way to make sure is to play it once yourself (go ahead
and give yourself a tough party so you will win).
Related to this is not to make events you need to complete the
adventure random, (or at least be very clear about it). I am aware that
some events in real life happen at more or less random times but this
doesn't work well in adventures. For one thing, all you need to
do is move on and off the event until it occurs (this doesn't add to
play value). Second, it is easy for the player to think he has missed
something he needed to do and waste a lot of time. The net result is
either the player gets it and unrealistically triggers the event (by
trying again and again) or he wastes a lot of time and get frustrated.
(it might be OK if you had some kind of penalty for doing the action
but you still need to make it clear that it was just bad luck.)
-Oops, I cut off the author's name :<
-RWBarfoot has uploaded a new mod. and is looking for some playtesters. Write to him for more info. And on the same not, his huge new graphic files are very nice :>
-The development for "Moria 2" has begun! As the first game was one of my favorite mods, I am really looking forward to the sequel.
-Mac patch is up (much applause and fanfare).
-Dozens of hacks have reported that they have cracked the code to UA, and are working on even more add-ons. With SSI's go-ahead, they should be up...sometime.
-On a totally un-UA topic but sorta related, our friends at Interplay have announced their deal with Steve Jackson Games. The two will produce another game editor, using SJG's GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System) engine. So, it looks like there could be some competion in the future...
-ChrisElion is still looking for entries in his monster contest. The biggest, meanest monsters will battle it out on his HD in an arena combat, winner take-all. For more info, write to him.
-Over on the Internet a '94 Module Awards poll is being held, so get your votes in! (McD Avies is echoing the mailing list here on the AOL bbs).
If you have any anouncements for the UANL, send them in ASAP.
-CORIC DAVENPORT-
Imagine you're from a land far from Faerun, an adventurer just starting out in your homeland. Imagine that a light as bright as the stars appears before you, and forms into the most beautiful woman you've ever seen. And imagine she tells you she needs your help. That her land is ruled by an oppressive government. A government called the Lord's Alliance. You join her, and help to gain control of a major city, and then she turns on you.
Imagine she has you dragged into the maze of dungeons beneath her home, and leaves you there until dawn, when you will be executed. And you realize you have to escape and repair the damage you have done.
In Making Amends you are brought into conflict with a sorceress of unbelievable power and uncertain goals. A sorceress who was once your most trusted ally.
Experiance the betrayal....
Making Amends, by Nyx Night
(ed note: coming next issue, we'll carry an interactive preview of Nyx's mod.)
TLOB opens with a history lesson, something I'm not overly fond of. I guess I have a personal bias against history lessons, because they seem to set up a game world too artificially. Even if it's a relatively well done lesson, as is the one in TLOB.
The history lesson briefly explains the background of Bhaun, and why humans have now been forced to live in a small retreat known as Talagard for the past 200 years. It then tells you that you've decided to try and reclaim the monster overridden land for humans and demi-humans.
This is a daunting task. It's not daunting because it's difficult, tho at times it is, it's daunting because it's tedious. Battles occure every few steps, and tho it can be interesting to run into strange new monsters, it's not terribly interesting to be assaulted by kolbolds every 10 steps or so.
I only found one minor bug; in Talagard there are guards gambling who invite you to play with them for 5 platinum. You may pay, and get your pieces, but there is no apparent way to actually gamble.
One of my gripes is the lack of area maps. No area I found would allow an overhead view, which annoys me, as not everyone, myself included, likes to map all the time. Certainly some areas warrent 3D view, but in an area such as Talagard, where the PC's have grown up, never leaving, and certainly know by now, why force us to map or get hopelessly lost?
The storyline itself has potential, but I'm afraid I never saw the end. The constant assaults of boring foes and wandering aimlessly, not knowing where in the world I was going annoyed me to the point that, after an hour or so, I simply couldn't continue playing the game.
Story Execution:C+ (interesting, but tedious and confusing at times)
***Nyx Night***
I've also included an excerpt from The Chronicles, the 40+ page history of The Succession Wars Campaign, text that could not fit into the mod. itself, and a preachy introduction :>
DOTT covers just about every UA event and chain, except for NPC's (which will be covered later). If you're an old UA hack and have no use for a tutorial, I urge you to give the mod. a try - I did my best to make it an enjoyable romp that doesn't feel like a tutorial. Really, the only thing that seperates DOTT from similar efforts is this text file, which explains (hopefully) the different event types and how they are used in an actual mod....
This is NOT like the tutorial included in the manual (ick). It will not take you by the hand and guide you through the steps of module creation. Rather, it'll show you what an actual module looks like and how it plays - and with the included text file, you should be able to figure out how & why it works.
I only wish that I had more space to develop the plot and add in side-quests. However, a one-dungeon mod. is very limiting, especially when you have to use every type of event and chain-branch. But enough already.
To run the mod., make the directory X:\frua\dawn.dsn, where x=hd. Then make another dir - x:\frua\dawn.dsn\save. As this mod. does not contain any art (hopefully I'll be able to get an enhanced verison w/ art on the IBM board), it should work fine on your platform, providing that you're running under version 1.2. Boot up UA and choose "Select design", and click on the Dawn title. Now, choose "play module". Create a party of six, as outlined in your manual. Add all six to the game and then away you go!
This mod should take about an hour to play through without random combat and considerably longer with it. You will need to refer to the document DREAD.TXT throughout the game, so it would be a good idea to print it out. You may also want a hard copy of the document TUTOR.TXT as well. These files have return marks to print properly. Enjoy!
-CORIC DAVENPORT-
A few months ago, while working on an adaptation of the Ravenloft game, I got the idea to make a demo akin to those Gold Box Demos from every GB game after Pool of Radiance. I only recently figured out how (to do so), and I've been asked to outline the process, so here goes...
First you have to create or decide on 6 NPC's to play the game for you.
Now, your typical Gold Box demo started with text and art, and ended with a combat, combat follow up, and quit from the play mode. This is easy enough to simulate. Create Add NPC events to add your NPC's to the group. Put a Training Hall event after the the ADD NPC events.
Next, go to play mode, and create one character. Add him/her to a party, and play the game. The NPCs will join the party, and you will be prompted to train. In the Training Hall, remove the PC from the party. I delete him afterwards. Save the game as Game A.
Now, go back to the map editor and delete the training hall. Put whatever text you want to show, and then use a guided tour to get wherever you want the party to go, using the Execute Event at Destination option.
At the destination, put any event you want to go off when the characters get there. If you include a combat, make sure you turn off treasure and turn on the 'characters never die' option, that way there is no interruption due to treasure and no
Properly done, the demo will run itself, requiring the player to simply press enter every so often.
(editor's note: I have tried this method and it works quite nicely!)
***Nyx Nightshade***
A shadowy figure approaches you in the gathering
darkness. His face is veiled by a wide hood; a long thin nose
juts out of its folds. His voice is soft yet commanding.
"Let me weave you a tale of intrigue, suspense, and despair.
Learn from our heroes successes - and their mistakes, that the
world will never have to face such trials again. But first, you
must learn the history of our land, Alancia. Learn it well my
friend, for in a world such as this, it may be all that separates
you from death.
"A strong sword-arm has its uses, but a man with a good mind
will go much father than a dim-witted barbarian. Know this: every
great civilization of this (and every) world has come crashing down
in ruins. Man loves to create but he also loves to destroy. Forever
will there be struggles for dominance - the Succession Wars are
never-ending. Hatred quenches all but love; fear overcomes all. It
is this fear that will drive man to acts of violence and murder.
"I have included a portion of the Chronicles, as well as the
heroes' journal. This campaign may be in the past but it is far
from over." He fades from sight as suddenly as he appeared,
leaving behind nothing but a musty old tome...
After the Great Cataclysm, (Volume XI) the refugees
of Tachlaw struck out to the Boundless Sea. Many ships made
it to the main continent of Alancia; many did not. Some were
swallowed whole by creatures of the deep, others were dashed
to splinters in raging storms. The sloop "Death's Hand" ran
aground on the ragged shore-line of the Dread Isles, just off
Alancia's southern coast.
Finding themselves alone and defenseless in a hostile
environment, the shipwrecked refugees sought the aid of the
gods as a desperate measure of survival. It is believed by
many that they struck a deal with Sith, the god of darkness.
His Nether-World minions set up the town of Land's End, in
exchange for their first-born children, who were to be bound
into the Dark Lord's service. These Dread Guardians, as they
came to be known, proved to be some of his most loyal - and able -
troops.
Land's End flourished in this this time - the Fourth Age of
man. It proved to be a valuable supply-port for the Alancian
merchants on their way to the Eastern Lands. The Dread Guardians
rule with an iron-fist; the word of Sith is often a pronouncement
of death. Turning the Dread Isles into a militant police-state,
the Guardians have made it into a haven of the outcast, the
ill-reputed, the unwanted. Oppression and poverty thrive and
the worship of Sith has become a viable crutch. All is not well
in the Dread Isles.
(Note from CORIC: a full, 40+ page version of "The Histories of
Alancia" will be included in Visionary Production's upcoming
module, "Minions of Twilight").
#1: "We must go; things are moving faster than I had anticipated."
"What is going on?" you ask.
He sighs. "I did not want to tell you this - it is not my
place to interfere with mortals, but I must." He pauses. "Lord
Harak, the dark immortal, is trying to re-enter the world. He was
banished after the Great Cataclysm, when all the portals to the
Nether-World were closed and his evil plot was foiled.
"Now, Harak has convinced Liege Captain Erasthmus, the Dread
Guardian's leader, to open a portal and sacrifice his body so that
the immortal may have a form in this world. Once here, he will
draw his minions from the other planes; all evil will flock to his
banner. I thought that you could stop him. I was wrong. A fiery
war unlike anything that has ever cursed there lands will sweep
across Alancia.
"But if we cannot stop him from entering this world,
perhaps we can destroy his armies. I have arranged for a ship to
ferry you off of this island, before it is consumed by the
Nether-World fires. You must warn the clans of Alancia of Lord
Harak's impending threat. They must prepare for war."
"But who are you?"
"That does not matter now; as I said before, I am a friend.
That is enough."
"The servants of Sith mind-wiped the party and dropped them
in an alley. Word has been sent out that they murdered the
ambassador, and Erasthmus has offered a 10,000 pp reward. They are
not expected to live..."
Looking under Operation Descent, you find the file locked
away and labeled 'classified'.
I know that this module leaves alot of unanswered questions (the
Dithilli, Lord Harak, the clans, etc.), but rest assured, they will
all be adressed in Visionary Production's upcoming (August) module,
"Minions of Twilight."
Below are the current list of all the Macintosh modules available on the AOL Games board. They also show the download count as of May 25, 1994. In future issues, there will be a rating system applied to each of these modules. I will be going backward for the reviews so that the latest modules will be rated first, since many of the old ones have already be played by so many of you.
I will be creating a rating system based on ten points per catagory with a minimum of five catagories that might even increase to ten. Then you will have a complete rating system that will give you specific information about each catagory and a cumalative score to boot. If anyone out there would like to put their two cents into the pot, you are welcome to e-mail me at "KevinB13" on AOL. This includes personal reviews or comments, as well as suggestions about the review system. All your comments will be welcome and may even appear in the newsletter.
Mac users have been waiting a very long time for an update to FRUA. Well, wait no more. The FRUA for Mac 1.2 update has arrived and is available on AOL in the Unlimited Adventures section of the Games board.
The compressed package actually has a complete copy of FRUA in version 1.2 form. It also supplies you with a few files that require you to replace your old ones with. Files from disks one, two and three, in their respective folders are given to you from the compressed file. It is very important that you do not allow the extraction process to occur in your existing FRUA folder, as the folders for each of the disks will be replaced. Since each of the folders from the update only hold the files that have actually be updated and not all the files that you would need from the original set, this could have some very unpleasant side effects to your program.
Seeing that SSI has also abandoned Unlimited Adventures (ed.:
Several notes and messages repeatedly suggest that there are already many users out there with programing expertise (even some with commercial success behind them) who are willing to spend the time in between eating, sleeping and work, to create all these neat items for us. We must realize, however, that although there are a great deal many users out there using FRUA religiously everyday, the bulk of the users are on the PC. Many of these updates and add-ons that make us salivate constantly may be slow to arrive on the Macintosh, if at all. Hopefully, there are a few good Mac men out there who believe in FRUA and would like to take up the task of porting over the many items that come across the table. (ed: JKochmar is still hard at work on his translator). There would be a huge roar from the crowd of Macintosh if such a brave and gallant individual could be found to step forward. Until then, we must peruse the messages and search out for each little tidbit that we can find.
Next month, I hope to do a series on how to successfully (yeah!) port scenarios from the IBM side to the Mac and about future software that might make the process even easier in the future. Till then, have a glorious adventure!
Below is the entire list of current Macintosh FRUA graphics or other some such stuff. Starting the next issue, we will be providing you with a graphic that someone has uploaded to AOL that we believe to be of exceptional quality. If we happen to find that there are certain individuals that are consistently providing us with quality art, we will profile that person and give an index of there best stuff.
Since this is the first issue in which we were to try to do this, and in the interests of the time restriction therein, we will profile the "Visual Index" number one and two. These two small files will give you an instant visual reference to a host of very good graphics from which to deal with. You can persue the index before going on your download hunt for the graphic you needed to dress up your module.
We certainly hope that more of the artists will begin to provide a visual index to their artwork so that we can keep our download charges to a minimum. This would be a welcome service to us all.
That's all for this issue. Next time, we will profile a specific graphic or series of graphics that will help you create a module without having to use that same old tired FRUA standards. Till then...
Having awakened in an unfamiliar landscape with nothing but your
wits to keep you alive, the Dread Isles can be a frightening place.
This file should help the beginner UA'er learn the intricacies of the
system, as well as a few helpful short-cuts. Just follow along with
me in Land's End, while reading this.
-The game opens with a simple question regarding random combat. If
you choose "yes", the system completes QUEST 2. If you choose "no",
nothing happens. Let's assume you clicked on "yes". Because QUEST
2 has been triggered onto complete, every 26 steps the system will
call up a CHAIN event. And because the party does not have Item -
Brass Key, a pick-one-combat item is called up. All this calculation
occurs in the step-event area. If 2 has not been completed (you
answered "no"), then the computer will not call up the CHAIN event,
and so, no combat.
-Upon entering the warehouse, you will notice that the door to the
East will not open. It is locked with a key - without it, the door
will act as a wall.
-Your first combat occurs at 8,6. This provides two things: a plot
continuum and some money. The first is important to keep the player
(you) interested. If this was a 'real' mod., the player would expect
more plot development than just a brief introduction. And he/she
doesn't want to be subjected to information for no reason. Thus, the
interrogation method is a nice, clean way to deliver info in a
realistic manner.
A "combat treasure" event is triggered BEFORE the combat event.
After the mercenary's defeat, the computer will call this up, along
with the normal loot from the mercenary. As the party began unarmed
and very broke, I had to give them a chance to buy some arms before
more combat occurs.
-Shops are a vital part of any city. Take your newly-formed party to
the armour shop at 4,15. This event is fairly self-explanatory -
the computer will simply cue up a pre-set store. I have included some,
but not the entire list, of magical armour. Single items can be turned
off. It is generally a good idea to give the party a wide selection of
non-magical items and only a few valuable things. Save the big items
for treasure and rewards; a monty-haul mod. is no fun either.
Magical items are special - they should not be found in every abandoned
building. Now head to the weapons shop at 16,14.
-By now your party has probably taken some damage from mercenaries after
your hide. You may want to rest at the inn (1,15). The computer will
call up a question event: by answering no, the party will be thrown out
of the inn. A "yes" reply will call up a 'who pays?' event. Here, the
system will check to see that the selected char. has enough money to get
by. If EXIT is pressed, the party is kicked out of the inn, and if they
don't have enough cash (15 pp), the inn-keeper will scold them THEN
throw em out. If a char. pays her off, nothing will happen - the
party is allowed into the inn with a simple text message detailing
their room. Note that this event only occurs when facing north -
so the party will not have to pay on leaving, too.
-About zones & resting: Land's End has been divided up into a
variety of zones; only two - the city streets and Safe - zones will
allow the party to set up camp. In the global info area, I have set
all other zones to no-rest. In the streets, a message will come up
every 36 minutes reminding the party of proper action when resting.
Certain events will only appear in certain zones. Go to the main
city square. Upon entering it from any one of the four directions the
same message is called up. It has been set to 'no return' for speed.
By checking "Zone Placement", you will notice that there are four
green dots on each of the entrance's to the square. When the party
enters one of these, the message appears. But it will not come up
in any other zone, due to the restraints placed in the 'Global' area.
-There is a small side-quest to the south-east. By entering one of
the squares around this building (another zone event - see above),
a pair of parents will ask the party to save their daughter. In
entering the building, a Question Yes/No event is called up. Again,
by choosing 'yes', the chain continues. Next, the system chains to
a "who tries" event. A die-check will occur, with dexterity as the
variable. If the character rolls high-enough and has a good dexterity,
the event should succeed. However, a failed attempt will end the chain.
If it succeeds, the party saves the girl and calls up an automatic
(no question) teleporter. Before this, a quest event is set to Complete.
Upon re-entering the streets, the party will encounter the parents and
receive an exp. reward. This can be used instead of giving them items,
and can be more beneficial in the long-run. This event did not occur
before because it has the restriction of "Quest 3 Complete". Nor
will it occur if the party fails to save the little girl.
-Head to the tavern (12,7). Sit with the man in the corner (another
Yes/no question). The main quest will be set to 1/1 if you agree to
talk. If you don't, the game will continue, but you will not be able
to finish it. Answer yes again. You'll talk (your text in this mod.
is always blue, other chars' is normal. You may want to have all chars.
speak with blue - but it takes up more space and is a pain. To do so,
start a sentence, include a " , then set the button "must press return"
off. On the text block below, set the button "highlight" on, with no
return. Write your actual quote here. On the final block, set to
return and no highlight, finishing up the post-text).
Example:
- You enter a small home. " (no return, no highlight)
Welcome, travellers. Pull up a seat and relax (no return, highlight)
," a squat humanoid says. - (return, no highlight)
-Go to Kahl's house. If you didn't talk to him before, the quest
(1/2) will not occur. QUEST events occur in sequence: step 1 must be
triggered before step 2, 2 before 3, etc. If you want to add steps
to a quest in no order (like when the party has to talk to three chars.),
use the utilities option. Kahl will fill you in on the mystery, then
give you a key and some disguises (not an actual item).
The brass key can open the two doors locked with it; and will
block random combat from occurring (the party is disguised, remember).
-You will be kicked out of the office complex during the day (using
event happens if daytime - restriction). If it is night, the party
will be able to get in, and using the key, open a door leading to the
inner-office. In a desk drawer, if you are searching (restriction),
you will find an access pass. The system cues up a special item event
and gives the pc the pass. It is now in the inventory with the brass
key.
-After finding the password in the warehouse, head to the Dread Guardian
barracks. At the door a guardian will demand to see your access pass.
If the party has item "access pass", the program will let you continue.
If it does not, the program will chain to a fail branch and back-up.
-Password area: a clerk asks the party to enter an operation name. This
is found in the warehouse. If you tell him the wrong answer, he will
tell you that he knows nothing of THAT file. When entered correctly,
the program will give the party another key (with special item event).
-Lab area: the door to the North is locked. Use the lab key to open it.
Once in the lab, the party will confront a group of technicians
(combat event); then interrogate another one. Entering the file room,
the main QUEST will continue (1/3). Upon leaving the room, a combat
will be triggered because the quest has reached 1/4. It will then
complete Quest 5. When leaving the lab, Kahl will appear because
1/5 has been reached (not before, though).
Because the party has been discovered by the mercenaries, random
combat will be re-instated - with the completion of Quest 5 (providing
that Quest 2 has been completed).
Kahl will ask you if you want to stay in Land's End. By answering
"no", a guided tour will occur. This is like a teleporter, only it
simulates walking (the pc cannot control it). You will notice that
the party will walk through a solid wall to reach the port area. Guided
tours do not recognize restriction-levels in walls; so instead of quests,
you may simply lead the party to a blocked off-area with a g.t to
trigger a set of events.
The end game will come up.
By answering yes, the game will continue.
-Citadel: if quest 1/6 has been reached the party will be allowed into
the citadel. They will eventually come to an encounter event. Here,
a group of Guardians will be seen in the distance (a sprite). By
waiting or advancing, the sprite size increases, and distance decreases.
When it reaches 0, a combat will occur. A talk button is not
available as it would be unrealistic for the party to try to talk with
a group out to kill them! Because of space restraints, this encounter
is very simple - if you wish, experiment with the different variables
and event chains to build a more complex encounter.
The Grand Combat occurs outside of the temple. While there are
not many enemies, they are tough. Grand Combat (usually the last gasp
of the enemy) will be the most difficult - but do not make it too hard.
To increase difficulty without sacrificing playability, limit magic
or the party's ability to turn the undead. If you do this, come up
with a plausible explanation - never turn off magic w/out a reason.
Inside the temple, various self-explanatory text, pics, and sound
events will occur until the climax is reached. Kahl will then pull you
out of the burning temple with an automatic teleporter. Quest 6 will
be completed as well.
-On the run: you must make it to Kahl before the city burns up.
However, I ran out of space and could not include the time-limit to
escape - so you can wander around indefinitely before finding him. If
I had more space, I would've included a DAMAGE event on step 35 or so
that completely destroyed the party (the island does blow up, after
all).
At 6,19 a teleporter will occur only if Quest 6 is complete.
It will drop them at the dock and so, the endgame.
-endgame: a text file at the end of any mod. should tie up loose-ends
and provide an ending of some sort (good or bad). Then, a CAMP
event occurs, so that the party can save their game and chars. before
a Utilities event kicks them out to the shell.
Congrats! You have finished the tutorial module!
General Tips About Events, Zones, Maps, and so on
-Quest stages, keys, passwords, and special items all limit the
party's access to certain areas or pieces of information - so
they will not accidentally stumble across the endgame unless meant
to. Use keys and items sparingly, however. In 'real life' people
will not shower you with gifts. Quest events, while more difficult
to use, provide a better way to line-up a module. Remember to keep
a list of events & their stages or you will find yourself VERY
confused when playtesting (this comes from experience).
-Place signs before every store, vault, temple, whatever.
-Add in secret areas & side-quests. If the player becomes board
with the main plot, these little additions can add life to a mod.
that might other-wise be headed for the hd in the sky. (Wander around
Land's End for a while and you might find some.)
-Make sure that stores charge an appropriate amount for the items
that they are selling. Low level characters don't have the cash to
spend 10X for a sword, but higher chars do.
-Fill that mod! Don't get lazy - plan out a mod. on paper first,
THEN code it in. Try to use up all the text, and consolidate as
many events to make the code as tight as possible (ie: cut out excess
events or combine them with others). In general, about 12 written
pages fill a dungeon (you can squeeze in more with journal entries).
-Make every area different. No one likes to adventure through
endless tunnels or town after town. If you are doing a dungeon crawl,
make each level different, with a distinct look & its own monsters.
Give towns, castles, & other areas personality. Make them stick out;
inhabit them with different race, different side-quests, different
shops & items.
-Question events can draw a player into the game. If a pc feels that
he is only leading a party around a map to fight baddies, he's going
to loose interest fast. But if he's actively involved in the decision
process, it will seem all the more real. A fantasy world has to create
its own reality, so much so that the pc doesn't even realize that he's
sitting at a keyboard. Make him feel the tension, let him experience
the party's victory beyond the rewards of money or exp.
-Make sure that text events don't trigger more than once unless
necessary. The more needless reading the player has to do, the less
he can be involved in the game. If every time he enters the castle
he has to read: "The wind is cool and the night sky, clear. Dark eyes
stare down at you with an intense hatred; you are not alone," there
is going to be a loss of credibility. Yes, he is going to feel that
wind once, and that hatred, but only once. If an event has to be
triggered every time the party enters a building, make sure that it
isn't triggered when the try to LEAVE, too (use facing direction__
restriction).
-Combat is a personal taste. If a pc doesn't like it, give him the
option to turn it off or at least avoid most of it. But if you feel
that 3 kobolds every 5 steps are absolutely necessary, make sure that
the combat is balanced. (see section on creating monsters below).
-Use zones to cut down on repetitive events. For instance, if you've
got a lot of open buildings on a map, create a Zone block at the
entrance to some of them, and stick a simple message there. This makes
it seem as if there is more to a mod.
Zones are especially useful for random combat. Some areas will
have outdoors and indoors areas, so by dividing the map into these two
zones, you can have the party fight on realistic backdrops against
appropriate foes.
-Maps can be fun or they can be hell. Make sure that wall-sets match;
never make multi-colored walls if at all possible. When using marble
windows, remember that the current backdrop is viewed outside of the
window as well (ie: you're in a palace sitting on the bottom of the
ocean. Only you look out a window to see that the sea is...marble).
Put these windows on the inside of the marble complex. And never,
never, EVER, leave 'hanging walls'. That is, walls that look like
a pencil balanced on end. Have you ever seen them in real life? No.
Nor will they be in a fantasy world (unless it is a ruins, but even
then that's stretching it).
-Area view is extremely popular, so give it to the pc in most areas.
If the dungeon happens to be an unexplored cave or a tower with several
level on one grid, it is ok to leave it off. But in towns & other
'known' areas, give it to the player. He'll thank you for it.
-Imported monsters really add a lot to a mod. Even if you have no art
files, try to modify current slots to give the pc something new to
fight. UA's engine is centered around combat, and we've all fought
one too many kobold. Come up with some new monsters or humans (or
elves, dwarves, etc.). Monster .DAT files are very, very small - so
add in as many as you want - the dl time will not really be affected.
Here are some tips when creating monsters:
Well, that's about all the proverbial UA information that I can
come up with, but fear not - next issue I'll have come up with even
more opinions to inundate you with!
After the umph-teenth time I've tried to create a game, and didn't finish because I could never find an artist, and didn't wish to buy and use a scanner (copyright laws, you know), I decided it was time I learned to draw. After several months of isolation, and many hours of practice (the rest of the time was spent working and watching TV), I could now say 'my drawings still stink', but by using the tricks I've learned in that time my art began to smell a whole lot better. Enough about me though, I'm here to try to teach you the tricks I've learned, so that you can improve your own adventures with some great looking original art.
For this first article, I'm going to recommend some drawing tools you can use to help you bring out that budding artist in all of you:
1. A PAINT PROGRAM: Personally, I use Deluxe Paint II Enhanced by Electronic Arts (commercial). Which I believe is the the best art program in existence to use with Unlimited Adventures. In it are drawing tools that make it easy for any mediocre artwork look professional; like complete control over the color palette. Moving, shifting, changing, copying the colors in the palette is a snap, and it even handles color cycling, which is a must have for any UA artist. Also, the editing routines (cutting, pasting,
scaling) is handled better than any I've seen in other art programs (and I've seen alot). Anyway, I'm going to assume that not all of you have or can get your hands on this great utility, so from now on I'm going to keep my hints and tips limited for use by all paint programs (I hope :D).
2. AN IMAGE PROCESSOR: There are many great drawing utilities available on-line that can help improve the quality of your artwork (and cover up your mistakes). One is Paint Shop Pro by JASC, inc. (shareware and available through AOL) comes with many image filters (it also allows you to create your own) which can give any artwork (good or bad) that extra-touch to make it spectacular (see image1.pcx and image2.pcx, for example). Also it comes with scaling routines that rival even that of Deluxe Paint II Enhanced (see above), which allows for true scaling at any size to any size (you have to see it to believe it. An added plus is that it comes with its own conversion routine, allowing you to change several file formats (gif, pcx, lbm, bmp, etc.) to any of the other formats, which you'll find is essential when handling other artist's
work. Lastly, it provides you the ability to increase or reduce the
number of colors in your palette, which is a must considering UA's color restrictions.
Tip 1: A great way of getting Paint Shop Pro to maximizing the colors in your artwork is to increase the number of colors of your cropped image to 16 million colors, then increase the size of your image by 120%, then reduce it back to its original size, and lastly reduce the colors back to the number of colors you want it to have.
Tip 2: Always remember the number 224. 224 is the maximum number of colors UA will allow for use by your bigpics and pics.
3. OTHER PEOPLE'S ARTWORK: You never know what you can use for your own projects, sometimes you might need some backgrounds items (even a whole background itself), to enhance your own projects, or sometimes you might need (trying hard not to sound like Dr. Frankenstein) spare body parts or clothing for your figures. Personally, I have over 40 micro floppies in my possession containing many megabytes of artwork uploaded by
AOL artists. Also, I recommend PCXDUMP by Jesper Frandsen (shareware and available through AOL) which allows you to grab any screen from almost any computer game, for your discretionary use.
4. PRIDE IN YOUR WORK: I've often stared at my own drawings for several hours (even days) wondering how I can improve it. In fact, I would never upload artwork into AOL until even I liked it (and believe me, I'm my worst critic), because I know that if I like it then maybe you will too.
Well, that's all for this issue. Until next issue, when I'll talk about the importance of masking your figures, this is Dika Wolf the new ART EDITOR for UANL (You know, I kind of like the sound of that ;D).
Design flaw notes
(Ed. note: I grabbed this article off the Internet Mailing List 'cause it sums up alot of my beliefs)
Newsbriefs
Here's a short compilation of what's new at UA
Preview: Making Amends
Review-Tragic Lands of Bhaun
Game Info:
Author: Ermac Red
Full Title: The Tragic Lands of Bhaun
For: IBM
Imported Graphics: Yes
Additional documentaion: Yes
# of dungeons: ?
Graphics:A
Encounters: C
Bug Control:B+
Innovativity:A-
"Dawn Of Twilight" Tutorial
Well, here it is as promised. DOTT (no, not "Day of the Tentacle") should work on both the PC and MAC platforms, since it has no imported art (a seperate PC-version should be available soon with lots of nice art, though).
Creating a Demo Game
Prelude to "Minions of Twilight."
A BRIEF HISTORY
(taken from "The Complete Chronicles")
Adventurer's Journal
#2: "After the O'Fisk ambassador discovered Operation Descention,
she was killed. Because of the political ramifications this course
of action had, Liege Erasthmus ordered a cover up - this operation.
The Guardians found a group of likely patsies, and under my
direction, we were able to create Dithilli clones of them. While
highly unstable, they were able to re-enact the ambassador's murder
before de-moleculizing.
Macintosh Module Update
* denotes IBM cross-over
Happy Adventures to all!
Day of Wrath 1.1 136
Brotherhood of the Hand 64
Module 47
Paladin1:Gundahab v1.1 * 77
DARKLORE 99
Paladin2: The League v1.0 * 61
Black Falcon-Day of Wrath 44
Warlocks 594
ShipWrecked 326
Alternate World * 140
Darkspell of Morkotha 99
Search for Prince Sean v2.2+ * 185
Dwarves of Moria * 131
Caves of Chaos 118
Black Death 179
Evergrowing Forest * 72
Rebirth of Revenge 167
WHITE ZOMBIE 303
White Plume Mountain v.1.2 641
Steading of the Hill Giant... 291
Mystery at Nightvale * 267
Assault at Holy Heart v.2. 153
Princess Aubrey for UA (Mac) 125
Restore Gundahab v.1.0 * 87
SARENA: LAND OF DOOM 206
URGENT: Help! Help! Urgent... 73
WIZDUEL: Duel of the Wizar... 231
MYSTERY AT CLAYSTONE v1.1 * 162
Lost Love 155
The Drow of Augris * 109
Challenge Beneath Summerfield 137
Trial of Champions 118
Curse of the Lich * 139
Travelers and Thieves 95
Denizens of Darkwood * 90
Goblin Raids 113
Rescue at Druidshome * 116
TempleSnakes 249
Kobolds 97
FRUA for MAC Updated!
Mac Graphic of the Month
UA Chest series 114
UA Archive Visual Index #1 110
UA Pics Visual Index #2 77
UA Pics Archive L2 60
UA Pics Archive L1 59
UA Pics Archive IJK1 52
UA Pics Archive H7 41
UA Pics Archive H6 42
UA Pics Archive H5 43
UA Pics Archive H4 31
UA Pics Archive H3 45
UA Pics Archive H2 40
UA Pics Archive H1 47
Death Kiss icon 106
SLAM WALL TRAP 48
GRIM REAPER 271
Treasure!!! Pict! 68
SMILEY "NICE DAY COMBAT ICONS... 136
COOL FireBall Trap 77
UA Pics Archive G6 49
UA Slamwall trap etc. 22
UA Pics Archive G5 35
UA Pics NPCs 55
UA/ hook horror pic & icon 63
UA/Skull Pict 125
UA pics of places 42
UA/Misc ua pics 41
UA/Goblin Pict 65
UA Pics Archive G4 94
UA Pics Archive G3 46
UA Pics Archive G2 48
UA Pics Archive G1 51
UA Pics Archive F2 54
UA Pics Archive F1 61
CI Archive 15 111
CI Archive 14 76
CI Archive 13 72
UA Pics Archive E2 61
UA Pics Archive E1 45
UA Pics Archive D3 61
UA Pics Archive D2 51
UA Pics Archive C2 51
UA Pics Archive A1 56
UA Pics Archive B1 51
UA Pics Archive C1 55
UA Pics Archive D1 50
Archive Index 1-12 83
CI Archive 12 84
CI Archive 11 69
CI Archive 10 71
CI Archive 9 68
CI Archive 8 82
CI Archive 7 66
CI Archive 6 68
Archive Index 34
CI Archive 5 104
CI Archive 4 84
CI Archive 3 81
CI Archive 2 85
CI Archive 1 102
BLADEPICS.SIT 82
UA/Temple Art 72
UA/Map PICTs 168
"Dawn of Twilight" a tutorial module by CORIC
Events:
UA Art Tips:
Hi, I'm Dika Wolf. Coric asked me to become the new Art Editor for the Unlimited Adventure's Newsletter. So, I guess I'll start by
telling you something about myself. First thing - I've never truly
considered myself an artist; in fact, I've always inspired to be a
budding writer (I guess its true what they say about wishes). In my "normal" life I'm a contracted computer programmer for several firms. This gives me alot of time to kill in between contracts. I've always wanted to design and program my own computer game, but when it came to drawing the figures for it, I stunk (and the games never got finished).
image1.pcx
image2.pcx