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> Arena Adventurings and Daggerfall Dealings, A Characters Update thread
Decrepit
post Aug 11 2019, 05:04 PM
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As mentioned elsewhere, I'm now dabbling in modded Daggerfall-Unity. To the plus, installing mods is a pretty simple procedure. The game-world can look darn fine depending on what you go with. Here's a several month old video showcasing what's possible:

Beautiful Daggerfall

As to game-play, it's come a long way since I last tried Unity years ago. To my surprise, my 'normal' Daggerfall save loads in Unity without issue. It's been 100% stable thus far.

Issues experienced thus far:
My avatar's Daggerfall City home vanished. Not the structure itself, merely his ownership of it. Nor does it contain his vast horde of treasure. This blow is lessened somewhat by his bank account remaining intact. Discovered just this morning, some self-enchanted items appear to be missing. Not good, as he depends on those to compensate for being (purposely) magically gimped. He can cast, but his un-bolstered mana pool is so minuscule only the weakest of spells are doable. Got stuck between a bed and wall. Had to reload the save. To be fair, classic Daggerall has a way to get out of the those situations. Don't know if it carries over to Unity as I've forgotten its KEY.

As for what's up at the moment, he's currently in a dungeon, on assignment for Knights of the Dragon. Either I've lost my touch or dungeons are somehow more difficult to navigate in Unity. Whatever the case, my poor avatar finds himself rounding around in circles far too often.


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SubRosa
post Aug 11 2019, 05:09 PM
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So what is the idea behind Daggerfall Unity? I mean Daggerfall is already a free game. Why recreate it? Is it that Unity is a fully 3d game, where Daggerfall was all 2d sprites?


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Decrepit
post Aug 11 2019, 05:47 PM
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QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 11 2019, 11:09 AM) *

So what is the idea behind Daggerfall Unity? I mean Daggerfall is already a free game. Why recreate it? Is it that Unity is a fully 3d game, where Daggerfall was all 2d sprites?

hmmm... I'm no authority on DF Unity, not paying it much attention until recently. I assume what you mention is part of it. To 'improve' its graphic quality to appeal to a broader audience, and allow the sort of modding so popular in later series installments. Me, I feel classic DF is fine as-is...well, with various fixes applied by DaggerfallSetup.exe. Still, I enjoy fancy graphics as much as anyone, more than some. And I'll admit classic DF's 'wilderness' is in definite need of sprucing up.


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RaderOfTheLostArk
post Aug 12 2019, 12:00 PM
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QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 11 2019, 12:09 PM) *

So what is the idea behind Daggerfall Unity? I mean Daggerfall is already a free game. Why recreate it? Is it that Unity is a fully 3d game, where Daggerfall was all 2d sprites?



QUOTE(Decrepit @ Aug 11 2019, 12:47 PM) *

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 11 2019, 11:09 AM) *

So what is the idea behind Daggerfall Unity? I mean Daggerfall is already a free game. Why recreate it? Is it that Unity is a fully 3d game, where Daggerfall was all 2d sprites?

hmmm... I'm no authority on DF Unity, not paying it much attention until recently. I assume what you mention is part of it. To 'improve' its graphic quality to appeal to a broader audience, and allow the sort of modding so popular in later series installments. Me, I feel classic DF is fine as-is...well, with various fixes applied by DaggerfallSetup.exe. Still, I enjoy fancy graphics as much as anyone, more than some. And I'll admit classic DF's 'wilderness' is in definite need of sprucing up.


I believe it also allows for co-op and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head (and I think it will be 3D, yes). Might even be able to fix some long-standing bugs....Well, it's Daggerfall so probably not, lol.

But I'm really intrigued by the project and it's great to see that it is so close to done. What I've seen of it looks really cool and the graphical improvements are quite impressive all things considered. I'd definitely give Daggerfall another playthrough once Unity is finished. I don't think I've ever played a game with as much charm as Daggerfall.


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ghastley
post Aug 12 2019, 05:25 PM
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Daggerfall was a mix of 3d and 2d. The terrain and buildings were 3d, but the NPC's, mobs, etc. were 2d sprites, and a lot of the clutter was, too. Arena was similar.

The remake looks like it's just higher-res everything, but the 2d/3d mix hasn't changed.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Aug 12 2019, 05:29 PM


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SubRosa
post Aug 12 2019, 05:29 PM
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So what engine is Daggerfall Unity using? The Unity Engine? Or is it the Unreal Engine? Or is it still using the original Daggerfall engine?


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Decrepit
post Aug 12 2019, 08:57 PM
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QUOTE(SubRosa @ Aug 12 2019, 11:29 AM) *

So what engine is Daggerfall Unity using? The Unity Engine? Or is it the Unreal Engine? Or is it still using the original Daggerfall engine?

It is indeed the Unity Engine. Here's its Wikipedia article.

Looks as if at least some self-enchanted magic items are still in inventory. Some remain to be found (nor not).

Thought there were issues with saving/loading. Turns out those 'buttons' are somewhat finicky. Mouse needs to be exactly positioned to press. Once positions are figured out, no problem.

Still assume avatar's Daggerfall City home didn't transfer. Not completely throwing in towel yet.

Installed Trees of Daggerfall. Nice visual improvement. Performance killer. Uninstalled.


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Decrepit
post Aug 13 2019, 04:17 PM
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My DF avatar now roams a dungeon for the Mages Guild, hoping to dispose of a rogue Mage. Earlier, he bought the ONE house DF City Bank has for sale. It's not nearly as close to the city's main shopping district as his old home (which was ideally situated), but beggars can't be chooser, as they say. (In classic DF, characters can of choose from a wide variety of houses.) Oddly, in-game 'button' clicking, which I found so tedious during yesterday's sessions, works like a charm today. Buttons aren't at all finicky. No idea what changed. I've done absolutely no DF updating since the 'issue' last appeared.

Tuesday Evening Addendum:
Despite being a far larger dungeon than his previous mission, my avatar had little trouble navigating its many corridors, finding and disposing of his target. I prefer classic DF's dungeon maps, finding it easier to get my bearings and find the exit/entrance. Maybe I'm just more comfortable with it, after decades of familiarity?

Finicky button pressing returned this evening. I solved it! Rather, I know how to correct it each time it happens. DF Unity is configured to play in Window mode. That window, at game launch, is very slightly smaller than the entire screen, and a bit off center. I click the top right symbol so that the window fills the entire screen, except for a blue bar at top and task bar at bottom. I noticed that, when doing so right away, before launching a save, there's a good chance finicky button pressing will plague me. When it does, I click to reduce the window to original size, then click to again to restore it. Voila. Buttons cease being finicky. Leastwise that's been the case the two times I used the technique.

My avatar seems a better climber in Unity. A good thing.

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Aug 14 2019, 01:14 AM


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Decrepit
post Aug 14 2019, 09:16 PM
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My DF avatar accepted what we feared might be a difficult assignment for the Temple of Kynareth; find an item in a dungeon. Completion time-limit was seven days. Travel time to and from dungeon was two days each way cautiously, one recklessly. With some misgivings he opted cautious. (Mainly to allow full mana recovery following a practice session just prior to heading out. He could, of course, have skipped practiced. That's rarely his way.)

With time so short, he couldn't dawdle during the search. As luck would have it, he seems to be regaining something of his old prowess at dungeon delving. The item was found in minutes, almost within the blink of an eye. (Appropriate, since the item in question was a Basilisk's Eye.) He faced a number of tough foes during his short adventure, nothing he broke sweat over. Once found, he chose to walk to the entrance rather than teleport to his anchor, so short was the distance. Another spell practice session occurred once outside. He then 'cautiously' returned to Daggerfall City, turned in the Eye, banked, sold a few ingredients, stored a looted Daedric claymore in his DF City home attic, and returned to the Temple to buy a Destruction Magic spell practice session. We separated afterward.

I enjoy DF Unity more each play session. DaggerfallSetup.exe remains a perfectly acceptable way to experience the game. But Unity with mods has its pluses. My only real regret is losing my avatar's original DF City home with hordes of valuable loot stored inside. Leastwise I think it's gone. It certainly isn't where it used to be.


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Decrepit
post Aug 16 2019, 08:48 PM
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Earlier today I watched as my DF avatar completed a dungeon crawl he struggled with quite some time. His mission; destroy a Lich for the Fighters Guild. The dungeon was massive. Turns out, his target was very near its entrance, down the one corridor he somehow overlooked before heading further in. Found it in a room with four or five Vampire Ancients. Speaking of which, the dungeon was full of those dratted things. During a rest, he realized he'd caught plague. Downing a potion of cure disease straight away took care of that.

Once back in Daggerfall City and his reward claimed, he accepted an assignment from a merchant that was not what it seemed. His second contact translocated him into a dungeon cage. What saved him was being able to teleport to his Anchor within the previous dungeon. He then traveled back to the City, talked with his assignment's first contact, then tracked down the traitorous second contact (fled to another town) and exacted revenge. I left him afterward.

A nice change in Unity: When looting, the selected function defaults to MOVE rather than EQUIP. It's also been absolutely stable. No crashes whatsoever. That might, of course, be at least partly due to me using a DaggerfallSetup.exe install for the base game from which Unity works its magic. Speaking of magic, I'm now sure my avatar lost no self-enchanted items kept on his person (or in his cart) during the move to Unity. Any such items stored in his original DF City home are of course lost, as ownership of that house did not transfer. I researched it. Yes, as of now Unity's character home options is very limited (compared to classic DF).


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Decrepit
post Aug 17 2019, 10:05 PM
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My Unity avatar's just-finished assignment saw him combing a vast dungeon to annihilate hordes of invading Daedra. That's what he was told to do at any rate. When all was said and done, there was only one Daedra, summoned by a Mage, who solicited the services of Knights of the Dragon to dispose of it before her guild found out. As this task wasn't as contracted, my avatar was awarded near 2k gold for services rendered. (KoD normally offers no reward when its members perform chosen tasks.)

I assumed this was gonna be your typical DF slay-multi-foes-in-a-dungeon assignment. In that case, my avatar would need to rest within the dungeon repeatedly. During each sleep, one quest mob would spawn nearby. Rinse and repeat until all required mobs die. Was quite surprised when the all-dead-now message appeared following the first kill. Was happy my avatar elected to teleport back to his anchor at dungeon entrance following the kill rather than walk back, his normal practice, as we'd traveled a LOOOOONG way to find the Daedra in question.


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Renee
post Aug 18 2019, 12:59 AM
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Hey this game does look nice, and it's good to see you're writing some updates again, D. I used to read all your Oblivion Decrepit Avatar updates a few years ago.

My question (because I haven't watched the entire video) is did they vary the way towns look, according to different locations? Because that's the one thing that used to bug me about DF, every town looks the same. Gigantic world, yes, the actual terrain and architecture ...

Looks awesome though, the brief snippet I watched.

This post has been edited by Renee: Aug 18 2019, 12:59 AM


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Decrepit
post Aug 31 2019, 12:39 PM
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QUOTE(Renee @ Aug 17 2019, 06:59 PM) *

Hey this game does look nice, and it's good to see you're writing some updates again, D. I used to read all your Oblivion Decrepit Avatar updates a few years ago.

My question (because I haven't watched the entire video) is did they vary the way towns look, according to different locations? Because that's the one thing that used to bug me about DF, every town looks the same. Gigantic world, yes, the actual terrain and architecture ...

Looks awesome though, the brief snippet I watched.

My character pretty much confines himself to the Kingdom of Daggerfall, so I've not experienced whatever cityscape differences there might or might not be. I do know buildings in different Kingdoms can have different skins (textures), and I seem to recall some buildings in a more desert-like Kingdom that don't appear in Daggerfall. And of course building appearance can alter slight when blanketed by snow. I suspect the sort of variety you crave was beyond what Bethesda chose to provide. It's possible Unity might allow modders to create unique shells for every structure. I've not yet seen a mod that tackles this.

As for my Unity avatar, he's in another dungeon, searching for a scroll as tasked by a Daggerfall City tavern keeper. Lots of Daedra Lords there. Those buggers take a lot of punishment before going down!


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Renee
post Aug 31 2019, 06:35 PM
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QUOTE(Decrepit @ Aug 31 2019, 07:39 AM) *

I suspect the sort of variety you crave was beyond what Bethesda chose to provide.


Sure. The two or three devs who made Arena managed to do this though. Each province has its own look in that game. Towns vary too. I remember going from north to south in Skyrim for instance. Up north (Winterhold for instance) the architecture was somewhat different from what was in Riften. The weather was different too. Snowy up north, but more fog (and maybe rain) down south, if I remember correctly.

QUOTE

As for my Unity avatar, he's in another dungeon, searching for a scroll as tasked by a Daggerfall City tavern keeper. Lots of Daedra Lords there. Those buggers take a lot of punishment before going down!


Yikes, Daedra Lords! :devil: panic.gif I would love to see a picture of your DF avatar!

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Decrepit
post Sep 2 2019, 06:02 PM
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QUOTE(Renee @ Aug 31 2019, 12:35 PM) *

I would love to see a picture of your DF avatar!

Here he is, as of this morning. Bear in mind that while the rest of the character screen has been graphically improved, no mod enhances character 'paper dolls.' If I read the Unity Workshop forums correctly, one might well be on the way. But it ain't available yet.
IPB Image
He's level 27 here, if memory serves. All decked out in Daedric, some self-enchanted.


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Renee
post Sep 4 2019, 05:00 PM
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Wow no kidding, so daedric armor exists in Daggerfall too. I wonder how long it took for him to piece that set together?

I will post a picture of my last character too, who I think is a Redguard named Rowan Tushoor. It's been ages since I've played this game unfortunately. I should give it a second try if I get bored of the newer games.



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Decrepit
post Sep 13 2019, 03:32 PM
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Updated to the latest Unity version the other day. One very obvious improvement is in-game text, which is now smooth and quite nice looking. It's a big update, with lots of fixes, most of which are beneath the surface.

As to my avatar, he's done quests for several guilds and one civilian quest. Oh...he levelled, dumping all 5 points (of a possible 6) into Intelligence.

QUOTE(Renee @ Sep 4 2019, 11:00 AM) *

Wow no kidding, so daedric armor exists in Daggerfall too. I wonder how long it took for him to piece that set together?

I will post a picture of my last character too, who I think is a Redguard named Rowan Tushoor. It's been ages since I've played this game unfortunately. I should give it a second try if I get bored of the newer games.

Took him a good while to find a complete set of Daedric. Gauntlets were especially elusive. He had everything else for RL months before finding those. Were his LUCK higher, I suspect he might have gotten them sooner. At one point he was looting Daedric right and left. That stopped. He still gets Daedric weapons fairly regularly in certain dungeons, but armor remains relatively rare. Nice thing about Daedric, other than its protective value, is that some pieces sell for a fortune, and it can hold strong enchantments.


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Decrepit
post Sep 16 2019, 02:57 AM
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Updated Unity to its most current version. Only change that jumps out and shouts 'look at me' is in-game fonts, which are now ever so much nicer. That and a new selectable option allowing us to choose Guild Quests from a master list of multiple quests rather than ask multiple times until one is offered we like. As of now, I think I prefer the old way, but this might grow on me. I'll give it at least a few more play sessions before reverting back...if I do.

Came across a bit of possible quirkiness relating to a certain DFU mod. Not in-game, but how some of its files behave. Need to post about it on its official Unity Workshop forum thread and see if what I notice is SOP for this new Unity version.


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Renee
post Sep 18 2019, 03:26 PM
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Sounds neat. I wonder how they were able to change the way quests work, if source files for DF were supposedly lost? Well, I suppose they'd have to build an entire program which can basically hack into the game.


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Decrepit
post Sep 22 2019, 09:01 PM
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A recent short video on a possible spiritual successor to Daggerfall.

As for my DFU avatar, He recently disposed of a maverick Mage, as assigned by the Daggerfall City Mages Guild.

Nothing new on the unity front. Well, I decided to revert to traditional quest assignment rather than the menu list. I'm sure lots of folk will prefer the menu, but for me it makes it too easy to select only those quests that appeal, rather than getting saddled with tasks I'd rather not do. (Or ask over and over again until something I like pops up. I don't mind that, should I opt to do so.)


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