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Chorrol.com _ Older Games _ Arena Adventurings and Daggerfall Dealings

Posted by: mirocu Nov 12 2013, 11:24 PM

Hello, fellow gamers! smile.gif

I thought Iīd throw this one out there for those who want to share what their characters are up to in both Arena and Daggerfall. Maybe Iīll be the only one posting though, weīll see biggrin.gif

As it is all my updates are regarding Arena. Havenīt installed Daggerfall yet but if I do Iīll make it clear which game I talk about.

-----------------

As of now, my Nord battlemage Thor is running laps around a block in Neugrad Watch at night. Heīs hunting for experience in battle to strengthen himself before he heads out of town to explore caves. Heīs currently lvl 6 and at lvl 5 he made quite a strong shield spell which has saved his life more than once.

What is described above is basically what he will be doing for the next few levels. I donīt want to head out before heīs much stronger and can afford ten or more health potions as well as some disease potions.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 14 2013, 09:17 PM

A slight change of plans, as it happens. Thor did not stay much longer in Neugrad Watch since last report. He has recently started to look for jobs (much like his master laugh.gif !) which consists of running errands around town. When he visited the Lord of Neugrad though, he got a quest of helping a relative of his to the town of Dunstad Grove which lies ten days north-west of Neugrad.

I had hoped for Thor to become a little stronger before going to unknown towns but I think the curiosity got the better of him. And me. When arriving in Dunstad it was nighttime and not knowing where the closest inn was, Thor decided it was best to stay put till dawn. Running around attracting monsters and killers isnīt the best thing to do when escorting someone. Even so, no less than three Rangers sent by Necromancers attacked but despite being low on Magicka and potions, Thor bested all of them!

And I think heīs found his new favorite place. Dunstad Grove is a beautiful place and all the snow does wonder for any Nord! happy.gif

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 14 2013, 11:23 PM

A Nord Battlemage named Thor?

Please tell me his only weapon is a hammer, with a handle that is a bit short.

laugh.gif

Posted by: mirocu Nov 14 2013, 11:27 PM

I wish! biggrin.gif

No, he uses a Steel Longsword but recently upgraded to a katana. Havenīt found a hammer anywhere. Maybe thereīs a mod.....? laugh.gif

---------------

New strategy: break into peopleīs homes at any time of day, stand in a corner and bring forth enemies to fight by selecting the camp option. Regarding experience points thatīs much more effective than running around town waiting for something to show up tongue.gif tongue.gif

Money comes fast now too except they also vanish fast because I constantly need to buy different potions and they are expensive!

Anyway, level 9 now smile.gif Unfortunately I get so few points to level up with so Iīm still not that strong.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 21 2013, 10:21 PM

So, level 13 and still going strong! Thor is right now in his third town in Skyrim; Markarth Side.

Iīve kept the same formula; going into peopleīs homes (actually the same home) and help them get rid of various monsters and bandits. And as I level up, so do my spells and I might add, very rapidly! My shield spell is already very strong and my other spells are close behind. Resist/Absorb Magicka are the slowest ones to grow.

There was a quest I was sure Iīd miss out on because I was simply too weak back then but now I think I actually might have a shot at it. Weīll see. Having 50.000+ gold at least grants me many Health and Restore Power potions! laugh.gif

Posted by: Acadian Nov 21 2013, 11:23 PM

mirocu, I'm so glad you're enjoying Arena! I never played it but am following along and enjoying your observations. smile.gif

Posted by: mirocu Nov 21 2013, 11:35 PM

QUOTE(Acadian @ Nov 21 2013, 11:23 PM) *

mirocu, I'm so glad you're enjoying Arena! I never played it but am following along and enjoying your observations. smile.gif

Glad you like them smile.gif

It is a good game and I even like the combat system, believe it or not. Swinging the sword instead of just clicking actually makes it more fun. The magic system is a little bit worse, especially when you need to use a spell fast and canīt afford to dilly-dally. I have come up with a system that works pretty well though smile.gif

You canīt see how much you have left of a shield effect and thatīs too bad. Also you can get a full inventory even if youīre no way near to be encumbered, but these things are just nitpicking wink.gif

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 21 2013, 11:35 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 21 2013, 09:21 PM) *

And as I level up, so do my spells and I might add, very rapidly! My shield spell is already very strong and my other spells are close behind. Resist/Absorb Magicka are the slowest ones to grow.


Spells level up in Arena? blink.gif

Now that's cool.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 21 2013, 11:39 PM

QUOTE(Callidus Thorn @ Nov 21 2013, 11:35 PM) *

Spells level up in Arena? blink.gif

Now that's cool.

Yes, when making a spell you have a choice of having it becoming stronger by X points per level or every other level. This makes for interesting planning as you can make a spell that does 1 Damage Health (very cheap to cast) but grows stronger by 50 points per level! wink.gif

Now, when you make it increase per level that does cost more Magicka, but itīs not by so much and at higher levels itīs more than well worth it!

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 21 2013, 11:49 PM

Holy [censored]!

I wish we had that in Oblivion. Or Morrowind.

Posted by: ghastley Nov 22 2013, 05:54 PM

Same in Daggerfall. When you make them, the formula is m->n points base, plus p->q points per level, and you get to choose all the values. Higher values cost more, as does a higher chance of a good boost. So 5->7 per level might cost more than 1->10.

Most of the spells I made were the cheapest possible ones for training up levels, as I used the magical skills just to level up and get the attribute boosts. Weapon trainers (paid for training) provided the extra help for the skills actually used. The only spells I used much were levitation (required to reach some places) water breathing/walking (also needed in some dungeons) and mark/recall to get back out of the mazes that were every dungeon in the game. Offensive spells just drained too much magic for most classes. Healing spells were a useful backup, but spamming a low-cost spell was more productive than making a higher-cost one, as it helped level up.


Posted by: mirocu Nov 22 2013, 06:00 PM

ghastley, about using spells to get bonuses. That doesnīt apply to Arena, does it? Or what controls how many points you get there?

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 22 2013, 06:14 PM

Gah! All this talk of Daggerfall and Arena is making me want to fire Daggerfall up again. Mostly since I was trying a Sorcerer type and that magic just sounds too tempting.

Posted by: ghastley Nov 22 2013, 06:29 PM

Experience for casting spells has pretty much stayed the same from Arena to Skyrim - you cast a lot of spells, you gain a lot of XP, and the spell strength didn't matter. So creating a magic-cheap spell that you can cast a lot helps you gain the XP you need to level up.

I don't remember how the skills interacted in Arena, but it was probably similar to the later games, and levelling your major skills counted more than the lesser ones (if they contributed at all). Having a spammable spell that counted towards levels gave you control over levelling. If your magic skills were all in the miscellaneous - doesn't count for levels - category, then it wouldn't do anything for you, other than possibly opening up another spell that was useful.

I think in the early games you could attack a wall with destruction spells and get credit, but they added checks for legitimate targets later in the series. The major/minor thing had more tiers in earlier games, until Skyrim lost the distinction completely. At the same time, more complex level perks came in to replace it, and even in the early games, it was present in loot scaling - no Daedric stuff until you level up enough.

Even in Skyrim, there was a simple count versus value/damage thing being adjusted in the patches. Smithing used to give experience based on items made, so we all made nails. Then it was switched to take value into account, and we make full armor these days.

So I'd assume Arena is at the "simple count" end, and you can cast weak fireballs at the ground for levels.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 22 2013, 10:26 PM

@Callidus - Then fire up Daggerfall again! Iīm looking ridiculous here being the only one providing updates! tongue.gif

@ghastley - Thanks, thatīs very interesting info smile.gif But in Arena you donīt have major/minor skills, at least not in the same way as the later games (except for Skyrim, then...) At least I havenīt found anything that tells me what skills I have. All I see is the attributes, hit percentage and such.

-------------------------

The quest is done! I had serious doubts that I could find the Acrobat in question in that dungeon and hand him in in time, but I did it! And to think, I never even needed to use all those 35 Health Potions I brought with me, and I only used a couple Restore Power potions! tongue.gif

Being lost in a dungeon, not knowing where to look for him or how to open certain doors and with no Mark/Recall ability to bring me back to town instantly if things go wrong I felt like even this minor quest was way over my head. But all my training in that house had payed off, Thor was much stronger now and I was much more confident using magic this time around which I wasnīt first time I tried that dungeon.

So now Thor is back in Dunstad Grove, the second town in Skyrim heīs been to and I think itīs time for him to get a better sword now. Mithril or higher, preferrably smile.gif

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 22 2013, 10:36 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 22 2013, 09:26 PM) *

@Callidus - Then fire up Daggerfall again! Iīm looking ridiculous here being the only one providing updates! tongue.gif


And considering the title of the thread somebody needs to represent Daggerfall. laugh.gif

Maybe I'll take another crack at that Dunmer Sorcerer...

Posted by: mirocu Nov 22 2013, 10:54 PM

QUOTE(Callidus Thorn @ Nov 22 2013, 10:36 PM) *

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 22 2013, 09:26 PM) *

@Callidus - Then fire up Daggerfall again! Iīm looking ridiculous here being the only one providing updates! tongue.gif


And considering the title of the thread somebody needs to represent Daggerfall. laugh.gif

Yes! We need a Daggerfall representitive biggrin.gif

QUOTE(Callidus Thorn @ Nov 22 2013, 10:36 PM) *

Maybe I'll take another crack at that Dunmer Sorcerer...

Now thass what Iīm talkinī ībout!

Or another character, if that strikes your fanny fancy hehe.gif

Posted by: treydog Nov 23 2013, 01:44 PM

Trey the Breton is on a mission for the Emperor- well, actually TWO missions, but one of them is of a personal nature, regarding a certain indiscreet letter...

He got out of Privateer's Hold, thanks to his Shock spell and his native ability to resist magic (take THAT, stupid imp!)

Once in Daggerfall (city) he sold off some items and purchased a cart in hopes of having more Very Soon ™. That done, Trey joined the Fighters and Mages Guilds and began doing quests and getting training and making spells.

During this time, a note was delivered to him from a mysterious noblewoman (probably a Blades representative) asking him to meet to discuss his missions.

He has since visited the royal courts of Daggerfall, Wayrest, and Sentinel. Additionally, he has been (TWICE) to see the King of Worms- and survived so far...

He has also joined the Temple of Kynareth and is mulling over signing on with a Knightly Order...

Trey went to the Odd Blades in Daggerfall (City) and found his (first EVER!) Daedric sword- it was over 20000 gold but well worth it. And he has the gold to spare.

Things this iteration of Trey has been reminded of:

Daggerfall is quite large, although there is not necessarily variation to go with that size.

Gold adds encumbrance- keep up with your banking! (Or store gold in your cart).

Purchase a horse as soon as possible- it speeds land travel considerably.

Purchase/make a Cure Disease spell- mummies, rats, other beasties carry lots of diseases, including Plague. If you are infected, trying to Fast Travel from your most recent dungeon conquest may lead to death before you can reach a Temple.

If you want to do some relatively easy offensive magic/combat skills leveling, plus gathering loot, open up the Fast Travel map and filter out all locations except Dungeons. Look for the dark red markers, which should be graveyards. (The name will provide a hint... "vaults," "graves," "crypt"). Move the cursor to the nearest one, and Fast Travel there. These are mostly simple dungeons with a few rats/bats/skeletons plus random loot lying about.

Archery is frustrating if your initial skill is not above 40 or 50.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 23 2013, 10:06 PM

Yay! Welcome, treydog!! Finally we have a Daggerfall representitive! biggrin.gif

---------

Thor is visiting every major town in Skyrim now in search for a good weapon and enchanted jewelry. Heīs find a couple silver swords which are good against vampires but what he really wants is a longsword made of Adamantium. Maybe he should find Wolverine and ask if he has some scrap? tongue.gif

Right now heīs up to 75.000+ gold. Geez, it feels like it was yesterday he only had a couple hundred! wacko.gif

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 23 2013, 10:17 PM

Ugh, fired up Daggerfall, tried to continue with my previous character. I realized that the city of Daggerfall is insanely huge, and I'm unable to find anything, even when asking for directions. I honestly don't see how those are remotely helpful.

So I deleted my saves and restarted.

And what happens? The game crashed as I was saving, after having killed the first rat, bat, and imp with ease. I had two ebony daggers.

This game's a cast iron bitch.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 23 2013, 10:26 PM

Sorry to hear the gameīs acting up on you, Callidus kvleft.gif

-If at first you donīt succeed, mr Kidd...

-Try and try again, mr Wint wink.gif

Posted by: treydog Nov 23 2013, 11:23 PM

Sorry to hear it is giving you difficulties, Callidus.

Here are some tips- not being insulting- just that I actually own the original game...

Use the "M" command when in the city to get an overhead view.

Stores are orange, inns green, guilds blue. Houses (and the palace for some reason) are gray. The layout of Daggerfall city is NOT random, so you may be able to find a map online to use as a reference (ALT-TAB is your friend). http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:DF-Daggerfall_City_Map.jpg

While walking around, switch your mode to "Information (F3 in the default keyboard map). When you "activate" a building, it will give you the name and (if a guild or store) the hours it is open. If a locale is not open, you can "Loiter" for up to 3 hours at a time with no penalty.

Asking directions can be frustrating- "Just keep going southwest". However, someone will eventually say-"Let me mark it on your map."

That said, the only locations in Daggerfall city you HAVE to know are the Guilds, the Palace, and possibly a store or two. You may get "go exterminate the critters" quests directing you to specific houses or inns, at which point you do the "ask directions from lots of people" thing.

You SHOULD also locate The Odd Blades (most likely to have high-level weapons, even early in the game), a pawn shop (buys those high-value, strange items), and the Bank of Daggerfall (several locations).

Once a character has identified a building (either from information mode OR entering it), the label will always be on that character's map. Then you can take advantage of either running or riding your horse to get around the city faster.

Once you get a quest, it will show up in your log, including the name of the place and/or person involved.
Open up the world map (W key by default) and type in the quest location, then click on "Find". It will ask if you want to fast-travel there and offer options on how to do so.

A note on travel methods- you can chose "camp out" to save gold, but should always use "cautiously" when going to cities to ensure arrival when the gates are open. That matters mostly in Daggerfall, where Lysandus' ghost is a problem after dark. If you get "trapped" on the streets at night, just go to the nearest inn and either rent a room (if you are seriously roleplaying) or loiter the night away 3 hours at a time. Another option is to set your Teleport locus inside a guild and zap to it...

I have had one crash with this version running in DOSBox, which is MUCH fewer than the common Crash-to-Desktop issue that happened in the original game.

If you have questions, please ask- I will do my best to come up with a good (and possibly even CORRECT) answer. tongue.gif

ETA- Now playing "Trey the Reset." Because I picked the WRONG Temple to join! He has been lugging around a wagon-load of ingredients, waiting to get access to the Potion-maker- except Kynareth is one of the TWO Temples that does not HAVE one! So- Trey the Reset is now a worshipper of Stendarr. Which is cool, because you get a percentage chance per level of not being killed (except by drowning) whenever your character dies.

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Nov 24 2013, 12:48 AM

Yeah, I know how to get the map, and the colours of the important buildings, but without any useful directions or markers I've no idea where anything I'm looking for is actually located.

Thanks for the link to the map, that should help a lot.

Managed to get a game to save after four or five restarts. It seems that any start that gives me duplicate items, for instance a pair of iron cuirasses and ebony blades, made it want to crash. Weird.


So, now on my seventh iteration of Callidus the Dunmer Sorcerer, custom class of course.

Posted by: treydog Nov 24 2013, 02:29 AM

Something else that I do not know to be absolutely true- but testing may prove or disprove....

It appears that when you are asking directions to a locale of which there are a large number (taverns, stores, etc) the list is in descending order from closest to furthest from your current location.

So- if the Black Wolf Tavern is near the top of the list, it is probably fairly close by...

Maybe.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 24 2013, 05:44 PM

Thor has been visiting every major town in Skyrim except Riften for stronger weapons and round shield and as always he found what he searched for in the last place he looked. He hasnīt found the ultimate round shield or belt though, but he has a couple Ebony longswords, a Dwarven saber and one Adamantium longsword so heīll be able to deal some damage to foes resistant to mundane weapons smile.gif Heīs also got a round shield that fortifies his Strength by ten points!

Right now heīs back on his old training grounds; Markath Side. Heīs about to go into the same house as before to fight off monsters and this time, heīs prepared! evillol.gif


Edit: Level 15 now and I still only get 4 bonus points! What am I supposed to do with that!??
Anyway, thanks to the spells getting stronger by the level, Thor can withstand much abuse now. Though he died once because lets face it, four Wraiths at the same time is a little much for someone with only +2 in Magic Defense.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 29 2013, 12:58 PM

Thor has reached lvl 20 and finally his Reflect and Absorb spells are getting useful being at 90% chance of casting success and lasting for 90 secs while also being cheaper to cast. Now itīs possible to save many Restore Power potions as well as Health potions. Not that it matters financially, heīs got about 120.000 gold pieces. But still, saves me the trouble of going to the Mages Guild and buy them all the time biggrin.gif

It also makes the fights so much easier as one spell hit no longer drains 80% of his health and it doesnīt wear out the shield spell either.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 22 2013, 03:43 AM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 22 2013, 04:26 PM) *

@Callidus - Then fire up Daggerfall again! Iīm looking ridiculous here being the only one providing updates! tongue.gif


I will join you in your ridiculousness. I've got Arena now on disc, with ES Anthology. There's a chance I might not like it, but I think I will. Only question: can I use my wired controller to move my character around?

I might (try to) start Arena tonight. Playing Skyrim right now and played OB earlier today, so it'll be a culture shock going from one game to the other!


Posted by: mirocu Dec 22 2013, 10:27 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 22 2013, 03:43 AM) *

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 22 2013, 04:26 PM) *

@Callidus - Then fire up Daggerfall again! Iīm looking ridiculous here being the only one providing updates! tongue.gif


I will join you in your ridiculousness. I've got Arena now on disc, with ES Anthology. There's a chance I might not like it, but I think I will. Only question: can I use my wired controller to move my character around?

Yay! Another Arena gamer!! biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

Itīs good that you use the Anthology version, that way we can see if thereīs any problem going on with it thatīs not with the downloaded version. A cross reference, if you will smile.gif

I have no idea about the controller, you just have to try. But Iīd be surprised if it works with a game that old and my guess is that you still have to use the keyboard for hotkeying (instead of the Icons next to your character).

Keep us posted! smile.gif


Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 22 2013, 02:25 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 22 2013, 04:27 AM) *


Keep us posted! smile.gif


I will. I managed to find a webpage on Nexusmods where the dude talks about getting a controller working for Arena, and although I was too tired to game last night, I did notice the controller seems to be operational. I was watching the menu and noticed that if I press a button this makes the menu jump ahead. From what I understand, I'll still need to use my wireless keyboard to do certain things (like pull up a map) but I am fine with this. As long as the actual gameplay works, I'll be set.

Installing from disc was weird. Like, when playing a game on Xbox, or even when playing Sims 3 on PC all I have to do is click on an icon to get the game installed, and another icon to get it started. Well the way Beth did it on disc, there are no instructions! Even the 'online guide' or whatever it's called hasn't got any install instrux. Long story longer, I had to actually look at all the different files listed under Arena and finally found one which has the word 'install' on it. COOL! Right-clicked on that sucker, and finally (after ages went by) got the game installed.

That's weird. I have no idea why they did it that way, why there isn't a more obvious 'install' icon, or why I can't just right-click on the Arena disc itself and get an install option that way? indifferent.gif Perhaps it's because PC gaming is for more 'advanced' thinkers or something; people who just already 'know' what to do.

laugh.gif

Anyways, I'm supposed to do a bunch of stuff today; Xmas is almost here, but I'll hopefully get around to messing with Arena soon, and my next post will hopefully be an actual gaming update. smile.gif I have already decided who my first character is. I'm going with the flow in this thread here, and it'll be Renee Gade I. smile.gif I'm RPing that RG1 was the first Renee Gade, and that RG2 (who appeared when I was playing TES4) is the daughter of RG1.

RG1 will not be dead-is-dead. There's a learning curve here, so I'll have to learn it first.


Posted by: mirocu Dec 22 2013, 03:28 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 22 2013, 02:25 PM) *

That's weird. I have no idea why they did it that way, why there isn't a more obvious 'install' icon, or why I can't just right-click on the Arena disc itself and get an install option that way? indifferent.gif

Remember this is Beth youīre dealing with, and she is not an easy one to have around! rollinglaugh.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 22 2013, 02:25 PM) *

RG1 will not be dead-is-dead. There's a learning curve here, so I'll have to learn it first.

Very Extremely good idea. Otherwise I bet a thousand bucks we wonīt hear much from her wink.gif laugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 22 2013, 05:13 PM

I'm trying to start Renee Gade I's game as we speak. It's actually raining outside, too.

One question: why won't it let me start her from the Imperial Province? I was able to start her from Skyrim (by accident) but I want to make her an Imperial.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 22 2013, 05:35 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 22 2013, 05:13 PM) *

One question: why won't it let me start her from the Imperial Province? I was able to start her from Skyrim (by accident) but I want to make her an Imperial.

You canīt be an Imperial in Arena. Theyīre not invented yet tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 22 2013, 06:35 PM

I have done it! I have managed to configure my controller for Arena! I got it, man! Seriously, if anybody wants advice how to get this to work, I can definitely help. Now, time for some gaming.

Edit 1: man this game is hard. Stamina is what determines whether you die or not, and assuming I can find a spot to rest at, it barely regenerates? Damn.

Edit 2: Ridiculously hard. Every time it offers me a chance to rest, it's guaranteed an enemy will show up who will remove all the Stamina RG has gained, if not outright killing her. Getting rather frustrating. tbh.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 22 2013, 09:58 PM

Get yourself together, man woman, and persevere! It will become easier later on smile.gif
What race is she, btw?

------

As for my Nord, he just slept away three months because the winter ended but we couldnīt accept that so heīs been practicing fighting in a house for a long time. But enough is enough and so he went to the closest inn and payed for several weeks at a time and just slept until winter was upon him again! wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 23 2013, 12:04 AM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 22 2013, 03:58 PM) *

Get yourself together, man woman, and persevere! It will become easier later on smile.gif
What race is she, btw?


She's a Nord, which is fine. Renee Gade II was an Imperial, so there's some sort of cross-breeding between RG2 and her mother, perhaps. biggrin.gif

But yeah, Arena's frickin' hard man. I mean, damn. If this is supposed to be the Tutorial dungeon, the learning curve involved is really steep. dry.gif I didn't expect much hand-holding, that's not what I mean, what I mean is I can't even make it 50 feet without getting killed. Good thing I'm not playing this game DiD.

Stamina = health apparently, and it does not regenerate. When an enemy attacks Renee Gade I, it's the Stamina that's getting hacked, and when it gets to zero, Renee is dead. There are moments when the game will let my character rest, restoring Health and Stamina, but these moments guarantee some monsters will show up, hacking away any gained momentum, and possibly also killing her with just 2 swings or something.

There is no difficulty, either. I can't dumb the game down. rolleyes.gif Perhaps this is where my first training on the Console will begin; perhaps I'll have to cheat a bit, give RG1 boosted stats or remove certain enemies (if possible). I hate doing this, but I'm too frustrated by this game as-is to really enjoy it. I have noticed goblins and rats are good opponents, problem is a lizard man or some sort of soldier-looking dude will show up. Two hacks from one of these, and RG1 is dead. huh.gif

Once I'm out in the world, perhaps it'll mellow out a bit (like you say), perhaps I'll be able to have Renee run around a lot or something. But it's interesting in an evolutionary sense, because this is how games used to be. No hand-holding! None! .... The game even seems to trick and fool the gamer too, because there will be a message like "this looks like a good place to rest!" so of course I try to rest. Assuming the game even lets this happen, that's where RG1 gets into the most trouble.

I think there must have also been a different climate of gamers back in the '90s, at least on PC: a hardcore following of people who like the fact that it's super-difficult from the get go.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 23 2013, 12:16 AM

Well, one thing right off the bat; the green bar is your Health and the red is your Fatigue (not Stamina! wink.gif ) They switched it in later games.

Iīm a little surprised you find the tutorial dungen that hard huh.gif Yes itīs hard but you should be able to slay rats and goblins somewhat easy. I only died a couple of times in there.

About resting, do you rest on the elevated platforms? I never got attacked when I did that so the game doesnīt trick you there at least.

Also, what level is she now?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 23 2013, 03:35 AM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 22 2013, 06:16 PM) *

Iīm a little surprised you find the tutorial dungen that hard huh.gif Yes itīs hard but you should be able to slay rats and goblins somewhat easy. I only died a couple of times in there.


It's not the rats and goblins. I'm seeing lizard men and also these 'soldier' looking guys. Two or three strikes and I'm done. Perhaps it's because RG1 is already up to Level 3? That seems strange that she's leveled up to 3 so fast, but it's true, she has. *shrugs* Maybe at L3 they start putting some stronger enemies in there.

QUOTE
About resting, do you rest on the elevated platforms? I never got attacked when I did that so the game doesnīt trick you there at least.

Um, elevated platforms? Not sure I've seen any yet.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 23 2013, 09:57 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 23 2013, 03:35 AM) *

It's not the rats and goblins. I'm seeing lizard men and also these 'soldier' looking guys. Two or three strikes and I'm done. Perhaps it's because RG1 is already up to Level 3? That seems strange that she's leveled up to 3 so fast, but it's true, she has. *shrugs* Maybe at L3 they start putting some stronger enemies in there.

Itīs not strange, the game has a different leveling system which is based on experience points and some calculation and in the beginning that means fast leveling smile.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 23 2013, 03:35 AM) *

Um, elevated platforms? Not sure I've seen any yet.

Havenīt you seen those raised squares in the wall every once in awhile, with a brazier? The game hints itīs safe to rest there since no animal can smell you when youīre up there. You just missed them and thatīs why you get attacked when you rest smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 23 2013, 02:48 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 23 2013, 03:57 AM) *

Havenīt you seen those raised squares in the wall every once in awhile, with a brazier? The game hints itīs safe to rest there since no animal can smell you when youīre up there. You just missed them and thatīs why you get attacked when you rest smile.gif


Ohhh you can CLIMB into those areas? Ahh, Okay, that helps a lot. Thanks. I thought when that message showed up that means it's okay to rest in the middle of the floor. Cool.

I might start all over again, from the very first save then. Thanks!

One thing I have noticed is that Arena seems to feature a very vague system of hitting and missing. I have heard about this in Morrowind: how sometimes you'll be able to view a weapon hitting an enemy, yet it will count as a 'miss'. Well Arena seems to have the same system going on, but the graphics are so bad, it's hard to actually see the weapon hit an enemy at all!

Graphics: I love this game's primitive graphics! Love 'em! I love going back in time to the 'way it was.' santaclaus.gif Jumping from Arena to OB or Sky is going to be interesting because of this.

I also like the fact that there are four different commands for swinging a weapon around, rather than 1 button that gets pressed over and over (as in OB and Skyrim). I'm able to use the right joystick in Arena to slash left, right, down, and RG1 can also poke her enemy. viking.gif Yahh! She's a viking Nord!! Yaah!

Posted by: mirocu Dec 23 2013, 03:36 PM

I love your enthusiasm, Renee! rollinglaugh.gif

biggrin.gif

Since I donīt have a controller I just swing with the mouse from right to left and as my own Nord has high agility he hits almost all the time now. Pretty fun system actually smile.gif

I agree on the graphics! It feels more "game real" ya know? Almost like how itīs supposed to be tongue.gif I could use a little more refined graphics maybe, but itīs ok enough.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 23 2013, 04:13 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 23 2013, 09:36 AM) *

I love your enthusiasm, Renee! rollinglaugh.gif


It's 'cause you just cheered me up, talking crow. I was kind of bummed about Arena's difficult learning curve because (so far) I'm barely able to connect with my character, other than as a super-paranoid lady running around in the dark getting pwned every seventeen yards or so.

Ahh, so Agility affects 'to hit' rolls. viking.gif Very good.

QUOTE
Since I donīt have a controller I just swing with the mouse from right to left and as my own Nord has high agility he hits almost all the time now. Pretty fun system actually smile.gif


I agree. I like that there are choices with weapon-swings, although I have heard that we can't manally block with a shield, right? The game automatically does this if we have one equipped? That must wear out your mice, all those side-to-side/back 'n' forth motions, eh?

A

Posted by: mirocu Dec 23 2013, 04:45 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 23 2013, 04:13 PM) *

I like that there are choices with weapon-swings, although I have heard that we can't manally block with a shield, right? The game automatically does this if we have one equipped?

It doesnīt really block like in Morrowind either but it counts towards your armor rating.

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 23 2013, 04:13 PM) *

That must wear out your mice, all those side-to-side/back 'n' forth motions, eh?

I have a pad so itīs all good smile.gif It wears more on my wrist Iīd imagine laugh.gif


About connecting and roleplaying, Arena is a hard game when it comes to that. You have freedom and you have leveling and so on, but aside from that and the MQ there isnīt that much to do besides getting rich. If you gimp your character in Arena youīre in for a world of trouble, unless the attributes getting gimped are Personality, Speed or Luck. Although Luck has an impact on everything you do, including To Hit and such.

Speed is basically only useful for archers because that affects how fast you can shoot arrows and Personality lets you haggle harder.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 23 2013, 05:04 PM

It's all good, mirocu. I don't intend to RP Arena as hardcore as I RP later games, but I think I'm going to enjoy it immensely. I'm a lover of attributes and stats and how they affect gameplay. All of that is derived from pen 'n' paper games, so it's imm .. imm ... IMMERSIVE to see how this stuff works out in real-time.

I can only imagine what it must have been like to go from tabletop gaming back in the early '90s to a real-time world such as Arena or Baldur's Gate.


Posted by: mirocu Dec 23 2013, 08:56 PM

I bet it blew their nerdy heads off! tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 24 2013, 03:14 AM

Okay NOW we're rolling. Yep, RG1 can jump into a 'niche'. As long as there's no enemies nearby, she can heal up fully then. Now I'm having a better time with Arena.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 24 2013, 09:20 AM

Great smile.gif You found much loot yet?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 24 2013, 03:10 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 24 2013, 03:20 AM) *

Great smile.gif You found much loot yet?


Not sure, but it's piling up. One thing I discovered is there are false walls in the Tutorial (Yes she's still down there). And also I've found it's possible to jump in the shallow water to cross hallways and stuff. I have no idea how to get out of this first maze but I'll figure it out.

Compared to Oblivion, this first Tutorial really is a maze. Compared to Skyrim (which features mostly in-and-out style lairs) I'm really having to use my wits just to remember which direction I'm going. It's possible to toggle the compass on and off in Arena, so I've actually been using the compass every so often! ohmy.gif Imagine that!

I'm already kind of addicted to this game, mirocu. Why is this? There's something about it that grabs me. I actually chose Arena over Skyrim last night!

Posted by: mirocu Dec 24 2013, 04:39 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 24 2013, 03:10 PM) *

I'm already kind of addicted to this game, mirocu. Why is this? There's something about it that grabs me. I actually chose Arena over Skyrim last night!

I think itīs because of the sense of a true adventure where you actually are in danger and have to figure out how things work. I was also very addicted and I absolutely loved it when I started to play. Like you say, you have to use your wits alot. I had a real sense of the need to survive and I loved it! smile.gif

One aspect I find most interesting regarding any game is learning how it all works, and then apply that knowledge to overcome trials. It was the same with Morrowind but when all is said and done, I always go back to Oblivion wink.gif

Also, I actually didnīt know you could toggle the compass! Or are you just applying your Oblivion mod? wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 25 2013, 01:46 AM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 24 2013, 10:39 AM) *

I think itīs because of the sense of a true adventure where you actually are in danger and have to figure out how things work. I was also very addicted and I absolutely loved it when I started to play. Like you say, you have to use your wits alot. I had a real sense of the need to survive and I loved it! smile.gif


It's also imagination. There isn't as much detail, the graphics are horrible, so to some extent imagination kicks-in to a higher gear or something, know what I mean? There's also a lack of story in this game-it's kinda vague. RG1 has been thrown into a prison because she's associated with Jagar Tharn or something. And that's it. That's all the game has given us. So to some extent, imagination becomes key.

LIke, when we used to play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6-zN_eaRd8 years ago on the Atari 2600 in high school, the 8-bit graphics were so primitive that to some extent I'd make up little stories in my head to fill in the blanks. The same thing seems to be happening now.

QUOTE
One aspect I find most interesting regarding any game is learning how it all works, and then apply that knowledge to overcome trials. It was the same with Morrowind but when all is said and done, I always go back to Oblivion wink.gif


Me too. I'll be going back to Oblivion even more once I get some mods, of course. But Kahreem's game will always be vanilla. smile.gif

QUOTE
Also, I actually didnīt know you could toggle the compass! Or are you just applying your Oblivion mod? wink.gif


No sir!! F8 toggles the compass on and off, and I managed to make one of the buttons on my controller simulate F8, too. smile.gif I had to go through each and very key on the keyboard one by one, and then 'assign' the buttons found on the keyboard (and mouse, too) to various buttons, the d-pad, and one of the joysticks on my controller.

I'm supposed to be doing Xmas stuff with the family (cough) but here I am kinda sneaking off to possibly play some Arena!


Posted by: mirocu Dec 25 2013, 12:50 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Dec 25 2013, 01:46 AM) *

There isn't as much detail, the graphics are horrible, so to some extent imagination kicks-in to a higher gear or something, know what I mean? There's also a lack of story in this game-it's kinda vague. RG1 has been thrown into a prison because she's associated with Jagar Tharn or something. And that's it. That's all the game has given us. So to some extent, imagination becomes key.

LIke, when we used to play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6-zN_eaRd8 years ago on the Atari 2600 in high school, the 8-bit graphics were so primitive that to some extent I'd make up little stories in my head to fill in the blanks. The same thing seems to be happening now.

I believe youīre right about that. Imagination automatically kicks in and provides me with information the game doesnīt give me and I think this is much better than being spoon-fed all the details. It gives a sense of achievement, like you figured something out for yourself and not much beat that feeling smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 27 2013, 02:00 AM

So Renee Gade did manage to get into Dunstad Grove finally. Quite confusing! But I've often felt confused by other villages in later ES games, so I think I'll eventually figure out Dunstad too.

She's got 618 gold and she found a room to stay at an inn. After sleeping awhile, somebody 'pilfered' her belongings (the game said this) but I'm not noticing anything missing. *shrugs* She had a crystal (I think) and now that's gone. No biggie. She still has all the equipment she left the Tutorial with: longsword, silver helm, a pauldron, and a few other items.

About to go about town, see what 618 gold can buy. :drool: Edit: she managed to buy all the armor pieces: pauldrons on both shoulders, chain cuirass, gauntlets, and greaves, leather boots and she kept her silver helmet. OH, and that crystal was not stolen from her, matter of fact she was able to sell it for 624 gp!

I have noticed that the town gets overrun by baddies at night, so RG is going to do a bit of night-patrolling viking.gif Arrgh! She is suppsed to find some sort of tome from the Gentle Hand Temple (something like that). Well, she managed to find the temple but there's no tome in there.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 27 2013, 10:10 AM

Patrolling town is a good thing to do to get experience and stuff to sell, I used to do that too smile.gif

About the tome, did you talk to the guy inside the temple? Cause you wonīt find the tome just laying about tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 27 2013, 08:58 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 27 2013, 04:10 AM) *

About the tome, did you talk to the guy inside the temple? Cause you wonīt find the tome just laying about tongue.gif


Of course. He only offered "Heal" "Bless" "Cure" and "Exit". Nothing about a tome. I even tried choosing some of those options anyways, like I had Renee get blessed and healed, and nothing came up about a tome.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 27 2013, 10:19 PM

Thatīs strange huh.gif Sure you went to the right place? Iīm sure you did but I have to ask. Iīve never had one single quest I couldnīt follow up on.
Check your journal what it says, just to be sure.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 31 2013, 04:28 AM

Yup. She's in the Order of the Gentle Hand. I'm looking at the map right now. Quest must be broken!! I'm going to start a crusade against Bethesda starting NOW!

just kidding. Actually I'm pretty excited tonight. I just got my wireless controller working for the PC! ... RG1 is now just kind of moseying around Dunstad Grove. It's daylight; she's just figuring the place out. We'll do some night patrols when the sun goes down.

She wandered outside the village but I'm not ready for that yet! I'm not sure how far this open world bizness goes, but with a lack of draw distance & landmarks, it's looking possible to get very lost out there. A lot of areas look the same, in the sense that there's always snow falling and there aren't the usual mountains or other landmarks in the distance to go by. Well, there is one but I don't want to get too far out there and not figure out how to get back to Dunstad.

I've noticed that if I push the 'detail' slider to the right that it increases draw distance a bit, but this also slows the game's animations down. I've currently got this slider up to about half-way.

Posted by: mirocu Dec 31 2013, 09:23 AM

Not sure but this quest thingy might be because youīre using the Anthology version which I think isnīt patched up all the way like the downloaded version is. Send a PM to ghastley, he might know more smile.gif

I donīt run around outside towns either with no landmarks or anything to go by. I just tried it a couple of times and always made sure I knew where the town was. Nothing much out there I can tell you. Apart from small settlements I didnīt find any dungeons, enemies or anything.

---------

As for my Nord, he just reached level 25 and thatīs more or less his final level. It took me several days fighting creatures over and over to reach it and now the experience needed for 26 is even higher and I donīt think Iīll care for it. His spells are strong, he has over 300.000 gold and good equipment. If I should decide to embark upon the MQ (gasp!) he should be ready smile.gif


Not sure I am though...

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 1 2014, 03:54 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Dec 31 2013, 03:23 AM) *

I donīt run around outside towns either with no landmarks or anything to go by. I just tried it a couple of times and always made sure I knew where the town was. Nothing much out there I can tell you. Apart from small settlements I didnīt find any dungeons, enemies or anything.


Ahh, wow! See now I'm curious. I'll be the one who will try to find that hidden shrine or dungeon. It's just odd not having any roads to travel by, at least.

---------

QUOTE
As for my Nord, he just reached level 25 and thatīs more or less his final level. It took me several days fighting creatures over and over to reach it and now the experience needed for 26 is even higher and I donīt think Iīll care for it. His spells are strong, he has over 300.000 gold and good equipment. If I should decide to embark upon the MQ (gasp!) he should be ready smile.gif


Not sure I am though...


Wow that's a lot of gold. Do you travel from province to province? Where are you getting all that gold?

I realized something about Arena the other day and I'm going to try to explain my thoughts. Back in 1994, a lot of RPG type games were http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=isometric+video+games&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=2B60698342AF8F63B734461009C3DE0A600B8B6B&selectedIndex=0, which means they were viewed from the top down, and usually on an angle. I remember early versions of Gauntlet and Final Fantasy were like this.

The NPCs in these games moved in a digital way (on/off). They only move at one speed usually, at least in these earlier games this is true. Arena is the same way: all the NPCs move very quickly, and only at one speed. When they are done moving, they come to a dead stop. It almost seems as if Arena uses the same mechanicals as the isometric games; the main difference being its method of viewing the game.

Having trouble explaining what I mean, like I said.

Posted by: mirocu Jan 1 2014, 09:53 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 03:54 PM) *

I'll be the one who will try to find that hidden shrine or dungeon. It's just odd not having any roads to travel by, at least.

There are roads in fact, just look at the ground smile.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 03:54 PM) *

Wow that's a lot of gold. Do you travel from province to province? Where are you getting all that gold?

I stay in Skyrim and get my gold from slaying enemies on houses, plus Selling their weapons. Iīve been doing this since I came out of the prison so itīs no wonder I have so much gold now.

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 03:54 PM) *

Having trouble explaining what I mean, like I said.

I understand perfectly what you mean smile.gif

Itīs like being in that isometric game and you just fly down from that angled top view and start walking on the ground. No rules have changed, just the view.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 1 2014, 10:14 PM

Here is a pic of Renee Gade I just after leaving the tutorial. She found that giant silver helmet! I'll have to get a pic of her without the helm on.

http://s936.photobucket.com/user/xenaclone/media/1775ad4e-ce01-45b5-8ded-4e6c9131c7c9_zpsd239736b.jpg.html


Posted by: mirocu Jan 1 2014, 10:30 PM

My Nord just got a little interested laugh.gif laugh.gif

What class is she again?

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 1 2014, 11:34 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 09:54 AM) *

I realized something about Arena the other day and I'm going to try to explain my thoughts. Back in 1994, a lot of RPG type games were http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=isometric+video+games&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=2B60698342AF8F63B734461009C3DE0A600B8B6B&selectedIndex=0, which means they were viewed from the top down, and usually on an angle. I remember early versions of Gauntlet and Final Fantasy were like this.

One of the characters in that pic looks like Magneto! The fourth one from the left in the Turn Order up top.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 2 2014, 02:30 AM

Oh wow. I had no idea who Magneto is but I did a search and now I see what ya mean. Kind of a super hero. smile.gif

QUOTE(mirocu @ Jan 1 2014, 04:30 PM) *

My Nord just got a little interested laugh.gif laugh.gif

What class is she again?


Warrior, I think. Or Fighter or whatever is in that genre. Interesting how her class does not allow her to use any spells, PERIOD. No spells! I might try to see if it's possible to join whatever Mage's Guild is in this game, anyways, just to see what it says.

Posted by: mirocu Jan 2 2014, 09:53 AM

You canīt join the Mages Guild in Arena, only visit them to buy things.

So she canīt use any spells at all? Wow, Iīd have a hard time accepting that in a TES game tongue.gif My Nord canīt use better armor than leather but I can live with that. Spells are much more important to me. Though for your Nord thereīs always the option of using enchanted weaponry of course smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 2 2014, 04:30 PM

Nope, no spells! biggrin.gif This game's hardcore. There is a spellbook tab in her character menu, but if I click on it it says "You are not a spellcaster" or some such. bluewizardsmile.gif

so yeah, pretty hardcore!


Posted by: mirocu Jan 2 2014, 11:01 PM

Well, good luck to her! wink.gif

And please show her without her helmet! Iīd like to show you my Nord too, but Iīm not as skilled with using a camera for my gaming pixies wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 8 2014, 01:56 AM

I got a pic of RG1 without her helmet, but I'll put it up sometime later. Doing a bit of gaming with her before going to bed. smile.gif Just running around Dunstad Grove, killing baddies. She also finally found the Mage's Guild and bought a few potions. There are a lot of magic items too, and I'm curious how these work in Arena, but right now Renee hasn't got enough gold to afford any of these.

It's funny how some buildings are so huge inside, yet there will only be one person we can interact with. And also the fact that enemies seem to get so easily stuck on terrain features. RG1 was attacked by a lizard man at one point and all she had to do was get catty-corner around a moat and the lizard could not follow.

I found this bit of text on Wikipedia which is interesting

The game world is very large. Players may explore outside cities into the wild. There they may find inns, farms, small towns, dungeons, and other places of interest. The terrain is randomly generated. It is not possible to reach other cities without using the fast-travel feature. Several hundred towns, dungeons, and NPCs are available.

Ah. So there are dungeons, eh?


Posted by: SubRosa Jan 8 2014, 02:09 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 08:30 PM) *

Oh wow. I had no idea who Magneto is but I did a search and now I see what ya mean. Kind of a super hero. smile.gif

You don't know who Magneto is? Get thee to an X-Men movie at once woman! (preferably a Bryan Singer one)

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 8 2014, 09:43 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 7 2014, 08:09 PM) *

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 1 2014, 08:30 PM) *

Oh wow. I had no idea who Magneto is but I did a search and now I see what ya mean. Kind of a super hero. smile.gif

You don't know who Magneto is? Get thee to an X-Men movie at once woman! (preferably a Bryan Singer one)


Ha ha you crack me up. Broad-minded you are: everything from Greco Roman warfare to X-men. smile.gif Actually now that you say this, Magneto is ringing a bell. I had a friend who was obsessed with X-men, and his kids were too, but this was back in the '90s. I remember he had an X-men video game.

Only name I can remember off-the-bat is Wolverine. biggrin.gif

Back on topic: right now I'm playing Arena more often than Oblivion or Skyrim. Imagine that? I will get back into OB more heavily once I figure out all the PC stuff my imagination has been demanding, but for now it's RG1 all the way

Posted by: mirocu Jan 8 2014, 10:29 PM

Thatīs awesome, Renee! I havenīt played in awhile now so we rely on you at this point to keep the thread going! wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 11 2014, 02:30 AM

Here she is without helmet this time.

http://s936.photobucket.com/user/xenaclone/media/ef9d102e-bef3-4d80-bf89-5821df5dc3be_zpsc0dacba6.jpg.html

Not exactly Xena, but she'll do for a Windows 3.1 game.


Posted by: mirocu Jan 11 2014, 09:00 AM

She looks great! smile.gif Though a little bit cold around her chest.... laugh.gif

My Nord doesnīt look as good because he has his mouth opened in a grin tongue.gif

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Jan 11 2014, 07:09 PM

I'm still trying to figure out what's stopping her from falling out of that top blink.gif

I'm gonna have to fire up Daggerfall again...

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 11 2014, 08:00 PM

QUOTE(Callidus Thorn @ Jan 11 2014, 01:09 PM) *

I'm still trying to figure out what's stopping her from falling out of that top blink.gif

Its frozen to her skin! laugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 19 2014, 04:50 AM

QUOTE(Callidus Thorn @ Jan 11 2014, 01:09 PM) *

I'm still trying to figure out what's stopping her from falling out of that top blink.gif


Yeah, you know? (.)(/\\

It is Hearthfire something or other in the Year 389 of the 3rd Era. Renee Gade I is patrolling the night town of Dunstad Grove. viking.gif Interesting that RG2's mom was a sort of free-roaming guard. She tries not to get too far from this one inn, this way if she gets beat up really bad she can just duck inside and rest up. So far, she's managed to take down one lizard man.

Posted by: mirocu Jan 19 2014, 10:13 AM

She takes the same approach as Thor, I see. Clever choice too since you gotta fight to get XP but itīs best to have a safe spot nearby smile.gif

Although I must warn you, not even the inns are perfectly safe at night as Thor found out one time...

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 19 2014, 01:36 PM

They're not? Ooh, I'll have to remember that. huh.gif

My Arena session was fun last night (it's morning now in Maryland). Got several more lizard men and one nightblade I think. Despite the crude graphics, I always have a tingling up my spine whenever an enemy suddenly appears at night; this game's kinda spooky! blink.gif I can't help but imagine what Dunstad Grove would look like in Earth-graphics. Not that I want to change the game's appearance, what I'm saying is this game's primitive graphics always trip my imagination, the way the original Gauntlet or Castlevania or Adventure used to do.

It's interesting quickly RG1 leveled upwards from 1 to 5, but making Level 6 is taking a longer time. I also like the game's music. I usually turn game music off, but with Arena I leave it on partially because there aren't very many sound effects. And also it sounds just like the sort of music we'd hear in an early Nintendo game.

Posted by: mirocu Jan 19 2014, 01:52 PM

I only experienced an assault in an inn once, but still it happened. Didnīt think it could.

Yes this is a spooky game, at least in the early levels. I remember walking around Dunstad Grove with the sword ready and always on my tippy-toes. I love it when a game can do that, especially such a "crude" game by todayīs standards. I think itīs because itīs that crude in fact. Like you say, imagination kicks in better then plus you really feel vulnerable at lower levels.

Leveling up goes pretty fast early on but the "older" your character gets the more points is needed so it will take more time to level up later. Iīve stopped at 25 and to reach that I had to endure endless fights (breaking into a house and choose the camp option) for several real-life days and now I just donīt want to continue doing that. Thor is strong and more importantly, his spells are strong and those that can have well passed beyond 100% chance of casting success.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 19 2014, 04:40 PM

Ah, so your character's name is Thor. Interesting. I didn't know that.

Last night RG1 kept hearing that lizard man sound, ya know? They make that sound like a clogged toilet? laugh.gif Anyways, she kept hearing it and it was giving me goosebumps because I couldn't find the damn thing. Then I realized it was standing inside one of those bush 'mazes'. So RG1 starts exploring this mage, trying to find the lizard man, but we couldn't find it. After awhile, it stopped making its gurgling call.

Later on she wound up at that same maze, and we heard the lizard again. So she goes to the entrance of the maze but THIS TIME it was RIGHT THERE coming for her! Damn, I almoist had a heart attack!


Posted by: mirocu Jan 26 2014, 04:24 PM

Not sure if I should continue with Arena and do the questline or if I should fire up Daggerfall and give that one a go now...


Posted by: Acadian Jan 26 2014, 05:13 PM

So many games, so little time! tongue.gif

Posted by: mirocu Jan 26 2014, 05:26 PM

QUOTE(Acadian @ Jan 26 2014, 05:13 PM) *

So many games, so little time! tongue.gif


Even now when I donīt have a job! rollinglaugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 26 2014, 07:02 PM

QUOTE(Acadian @ Jan 26 2014, 11:13 AM) *

So many games, so little time! tongue.gif

You got that right. Sheesh.

I play Arena rather casually. None of the misc quests seem to work for some reason, so RG mostly just runs around while I enjoy the pixelated atmosphere of Dunstad Grove. I'll probably switch to Daggerfall sometime during the spring, Fallout 3 during the summer, and Morrowind during the Fall. Imagine that? Me playing Morrowind.

I've cut Skyrim back to naught now that I've got PC / Oblivion going, but I'll probably play Skyrim once every other week. Kahreem is once a week. Snaat Rayag is my new beau, so I'll be with him almost every day, unless he dies. I have one more OB character I want to introduce, she'll be mostly living in the I.C. though, while I explore Better Cities. I'm also starting up a Sims game, which will appear in the Fan Art section.

But the good news: Lady Saga will return, this time on PC. I'm pretty psyched about her return. Been missing her.

Posted by: Vital Jan 27 2014, 12:10 AM

An arena/daggerfall thread? Why hadn't I seen this before?

Hmm... Maybe one day I'll try daggerfall again, for now I'm stuck in the same situation as you Renee, there are way too many games I want to play.

Renee, you'll love morrowind. I played it after oblivion (although I bought if first laugh.gif ) and had a great time. I'm currently playing through it again, between skyrim, oblivion and a bit of Dishonored.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 27 2014, 12:21 AM

Yes, we've even got a thread for older games, absolutely. I only started playing Arena a month ago myself. In the spring I'll try Daggerfall and in the fall Morrowind. That's my plan. smile.gif I want to experience the series sequentially, you see.


Posted by: mirocu Feb 8 2014, 04:52 PM

Played some Arena this afternoon. Went around Dunstad Grove at night fighting monsters and breaking into stores. Thing is I have been away from it for some time now and I canīt really see myself come back to it again. Itīs still not impossible for me to do the MQ but at this point Iīm more inclined to play Oblivion and later on Fallout 3.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Feb 9 2014, 03:28 AM

I just like messing around with Arena, just for that 'back in time' feeling, but I'm not really all that serious about it. If I can figure out how to start the MQ, I will go ahead and try to do it, but so far I can't even get RG's random quests going.

I am going to play some Arena in a moment. After that's over, I'm going to have a 'mystery guest' in another game. wink.gif


Posted by: Vital Mar 25 2014, 12:04 PM

Well, after stumbling across a video of Arena on the internet I decided to give it a go! So far so good biggrin.gif


o0o0o


Benethor the Breton Rogue:

IPB Image

He's been making his way through the sewers after escaping from his cell in the Imperial prison, with a little help from Ria Silmane. He's using a steel longsword he found to dispatch of any Goblins and rats as he escapes the sewers, resting frequently along the way. He's just found the portal out before I left him. biggrin.gif

Posted by: mirocu Mar 25 2014, 12:19 PM

Yay, another Arena gamer! To replace me as Iīve stopped for now.. tongue.gif

Maybe I will pick it up again some time.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Mar 26 2014, 02:05 AM

I'll pick it up again, too. I've decided I'm going to do Arena's Main Quest even if it takes me a year or more. I'm not moving on to Daggerfall until I'm done with TES 1.

How did you get that picture, Vital?


Posted by: mirocu Mar 26 2014, 08:52 AM

I thought about doing Arenaīs MQ but Iīve lost interest in it now. Much the same as with FO3 Iīve been away for too long and moved on with Lothranīs game but Iīm glad Iīve played it for some time. Though Iīm not saying I wonīt ever pick it up again smile.gif



Posted by: Vital Mar 26 2014, 11:30 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Mar 26 2014, 12:05 PM) *

How did you get that picture, Vital?

It's just a screeny from the character menu smile.gif

Benethor is lost and a little confused in the town of White Haven. He has no idea where he is and now he's being attacked on the streets?!?! There seems to be no inn and he's resorted to breaking into houses laugh.gif

Posted by: mirocu Mar 26 2014, 12:20 PM

I found that not even inns are always 100% safe. At one point I got attacked in there at night! blink.gif


Posted by: Renee Gade IV Mar 26 2014, 12:55 PM

Vital, what province is Benethor in?


Posted by: Vital Mar 26 2014, 01:07 PM

High Rock I believe, although I can't actually figure out how to get a world map, only the local one....

Posted by: mirocu Mar 26 2014, 01:11 PM

QUOTE(Vital @ Mar 26 2014, 01:07 PM) *

High Rock I believe, although I can't actually figure out how to get a world map, only the local one....

Same button, you just right-click instead of left-click or vice versa. I think...

Posted by: Vital Mar 27 2014, 11:58 AM

Turdas 3rd of Hearthfire, 3e 389. Tales and Tallows holiday.

Benethor was quite lost when he found himself in an unfamiliar town at night, however he eventually found his way to The Silver Ogre Inn, thanks to a woman he encountered on the street named Belladonna Greenton. He rented a flea-ridden single room, but was too tired from his escape to really care.

He had another vision of Ria Silmane, telling him to locate Fang Lair. Initially he was confused how to do so, however he asked around and the townsfolk managed to point him in roughly the right direction; Hammerfell. He'll head out there soon, but today all he was worried about was getting some supplies.

Ben bought somehttp://imgur.com/mpnMTSs which he looks quite good in. I love the http://imgur.com/dT3TpIO!:lol: He then headed into the http://imgur.com/t6yOUOp to buy some potions and sell a crystal, I also rp'd this was were he asked about Fang Lair, despite their being no dialogue option for it. Later Ben paid a visit to the temple, or http://imgur.com/j7YNMJG. I don't think he's very religious but he is from a religious family and those things rub off, I guess.

Soon Ben will slowly journey to Hammerfell, stopping at each town to gain some experience. There he will inquire further about Fang Lair, since the locals should know a bit more. Wow, I really love this game so far biggrin.gif



Posted by: mirocu Mar 27 2014, 12:15 PM

So youīre really taking the MQ upon yourself, huh? smile.gif

Nice pixies, but how do you take them? I tried fraps but it didnīt work.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Mar 27 2014, 01:48 PM

QUOTE(Vital @ Mar 27 2014, 06:58 AM) *

. Wow, I really love this game so far biggrin.gif

It's got a charm to it, does it not? I think I'm going to get back into Arena once my main Skyrim game atm (Mycharonna) has come to a close.


Posted by: Vital Apr 9 2014, 09:38 PM

Benethor has been traveling between towns and doing some grinding on his way to hammerfell. Nothing exciting but still enjoyable smile.gif

I've noticed this game requires a huge amount if grinding, certainly early on. I'm pretty the sure the MQ involves lots if big dungeon crawls and I don't know if these are level scaled so I want to be a decent level before I give them a go.

Posted by: mirocu Apr 10 2014, 07:39 AM

QUOTE(Vital @ Apr 9 2014, 10:38 PM) *

I've noticed this game requires a huge amount if grinding, certainly early on. I'm pretty the sure the MQ involves lots if big dungeon crawls and I don't know if these are level scaled so I want to be a decent level before I give them a go.

My thoughts/approach exactly. Of course, I donīt play it any longer to fully enjoy all that grinding and preparation.. tongue.gif

Posted by: Vital Apr 11 2014, 10:26 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Apr 10 2014, 04:39 PM) *

QUOTE(Vital @ Apr 9 2014, 10:38 PM) *

I've noticed this game requires a huge amount if grinding, certainly early on. I'm pretty the sure the MQ involves lots if big dungeon crawls and I don't know if these are level scaled so I want to be a decent level before I give them a go.

My thoughts/approach exactly. Of course, I donīt play it any longer to fully enjoy all that grinding and preparation.. tongue.gif

I think it'll be quite a while before I get to enjoy the results of grinding. I never play this game in long goes (unlike other TES games) as the grinding can get a bit tiring. Even still I 'm really enjoying it

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 12 2014, 02:11 AM

Where are you, Vital? What province?

Posted by: Vital Apr 14 2014, 11:55 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Apr 12 2014, 11:11 AM) *

Where are you, Vital? What province?

High Rock, still. Wind Keep to be precise, near the Hammerfell border.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 19 2014, 10:01 PM

Hey does anybody know where Arena puts character saves? On my comp I'm seeing this...

C: \\ Program Files (x86) \\ Bethesda Softworks \\ Arena \\ Arena...

that last Arena folder is packed with files, but I can't tell which ones (if any) are saves. I'm going to transfer my saves to a different computer so I won't have to start the game all over again.

Never mind, I went ahead and started all over again at the beginning. This time Renee Gade I has found a battleaxe. viking.gif She's also chosen Battlemage for a class instead of Warrior, which is what I chose on my old PC.

Posted by: Lopov Apr 23 2014, 07:32 AM

mirocu, can I sometimes post my stories from Morrowind in this thread?

Posted by: mirocu Apr 23 2014, 08:12 AM

Renee, did you find where those saves are? I donīt remember but I can check so you know next time smile.gif So you started over, huh?

QUOTE(Lopov @ Apr 23 2014, 08:32 AM) *

mirocu, can I sometimes post my stories from Morrowind in this thread?

I decided itīs way overdue for Morrowind to have its own CU thread anyway, so I went ahead and fired it up so feel free to go nuts there! laugh.gif


Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 23 2014, 03:58 PM

Cool, I'm excited you'll be posting some MW stuff here, Lopov. smile.gif

QUOTE(mirocu @ Apr 23 2014, 03:12 AM) *

Renee, did you find where those saves are? I donīt remember but I can check so you know next time smile.gif So you started over, huh?


I was trying to figure it, it seemed like saves can't just be cut & pasted like they can in later games. I read something about needing to mess with the hex editor, and that's as far as I got. [censored] that. I'll just start over. *shrugs*

So yeah, I started a new game, but it's still RG1 at the helm. I am glad she's Battlemage instead of a Warrior. viking.gif Having the ability to heal up makes all the diff. RG1 has (so far) managed to...

1). Find a general store in the town of Amol. She sold her battleaxe along with a 'Mark" (whatever that is), and a couple other items from the starting dungeon. The Mark earned her quite a bit gold, somewhere over 400 gp. blink.gif That's way more than anything which can be sold from Oblivion or Skyrim's beginnings, the difference is that Arena also has a steeper learning curve. It's a tougher game, so surviving the Tutorial feels more rewarding.

2). RG1 also found a temple and healed herself up.

3). She found the Mage's Guild, and bought a couple Stamina potions, along with a Light spell.


I recently did some reading about the early days of Bethesda, which is pretty fascinating. Arena was supposed to have shipped for the Xmas '93 season but the small staff of Beth was having some difficulties, so the game didn't ship until March of '94. Only 3,000 copies initially were produced I think, and it looked as if it would go nowhere. But every month people kept buying it, its reputation spread by word-of-mouth mostly. smile.gif Thank goodness, otherwise we'd all be playing something else

Posted by: mirocu Apr 23 2014, 09:22 PM

@Renee - The Arena savegames can be copied and pasted just as easily as with the other games. Youīll find them in the main directory, scroll down and youīll find them somewhere in the list. They are called SAVEGAME.00 - SAVEGAME.09

And thanks for the brief Beth history lesson smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 12:33 AM

Awesome I found the saves ye speketh of. And you are welcome about the history lesson. I also learned that during Arena's day, there were literally dozens of other RPGs out there. Some were great, some were mediocre, some were gems but they did not get noticed by the masses. A lot of games flopped, which drove gaming studios out of business during the '90s.

But nobody had made something on the scale of Arena. There wasn't really anything new in Arena: several other games also had 3D, 1st person perspective, and things and people you could interact with, and also full-fledged stat / class systems. But none of these others were as massive as Arena. And this is the part that early TES gamers must have been wowed about the most... like wow, I can go anywhere and do anything?

I'll have to post a link to the article I read yesterday at work.



Posted by: mirocu Apr 24 2014, 07:42 AM

Imagine coming from Wolf3D or Doom where you can only run and shoot, to a game where you can talk to people, buy and sell things, get rich and powerful and maybe even bother to go fetch the emperor. Minds must have been so blown indeed! laugh.gif

Posted by: Lopov Apr 24 2014, 08:27 AM

If it were possible to play A & D in the 3rd person, I'd definitely try them. But being forced to play in the 1st person doesn't appeal to me, also I get dizzy if I turn around a lot.

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 12:32 PM

Thanks for the history lesson Renee biggrin.gif

I vaguely remember hearing some of that information before but I can't remember where :lol :

I think people loved Arena and Daggerfall for their lore and open world. From what I know these games were much more setting based than other RPGs of their era and this gained them the cult following that ultimately made Bethesda a mainstream success.

Also I just realised that Arena was actually meant to be an arena game where you travel around Tamriel and fight other gladiator teams. It's probably common knowledge among you guys but I had no idea tongue.gif As the developers out more detail into the world and gave more options for exploration and side quests it became an RPG. They kept the name 'Arena' because they'd already marketed it as that. Then they came up with the whole "everyone calls Tamriel the Arena because it's so dangerous" thing.. If you go in the wiki it will often tell you the intended name for each city's Gladiator team.

And I also realised that the Arena cover is used as a poster for the Arena in Oblivion ohmy.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 03:40 PM

mirocu: Doom is mentioned several times during that article (which I can't find now, of course) as one of the better games. I know it's one of your faves, right?

QUOTE(Vital @ Apr 24 2014, 07:32 AM) *

I think people loved Arena and Daggerfall for their lore and open world. From what I know these games were much more setting based than other RPGs of their era and this gained them the cult following that ultimately made Bethesda a mainstream success.


Yeah, and by the time Daggerfall came out, Bethesda had a good many fans waiting for it, so it was an instant hit. The only problems people had in those days was (obviously) tons of bugs, and also the fact that some gamers didn't have computers that could even load up the game! .. imagine that. But from what I've read, ALL games (especially RPGs) were buggy back then, and since the Internet was still rather new, it wasn't like anybody could DL a patch that took care of things. wink.gif

The next 2 games that came out (Redguard and ... I forget the other one) weren't very successful, plus they weren't as 'open world' as Arena and DF, and because of this Bethesda was about to go bankrupt. But Bethesda's founder was a board member at Zenimax, and managed to bail the company out with fat pockets. Beth had to get it right for Morrowind, otherwise they'd be out of business for good. So thank goodness MW is such a great game.

This concludes today's history lesson. And there will be a pop quiz. blink.gif biggrin.gif

QUOTE
Also I just realised that Arena was actually meant to be an arena game where you travel around Tamriel and fight other gladiator teams. It's probably common knowledge among you guys but I had no idea tongue.gif As the developers out more detail into the world and gave more options for exploration and side quests it became an RPG. They kept the name 'Arena' because they'd already marketed it as that. Then they came up with the whole "everyone calls Tamriel the Arena because it's so dangerous" thing.. If you go in the wiki it will often tell you the intended name for each city's Gladiator team.

And I also realised that the Arena cover is used as a poster for the Arena in Oblivion ohmy.gif

Yup, all of this is canon. smile.gif

Posted by: Lopov Apr 24 2014, 07:29 PM

The poster is similar but it's not exactly the same. Anyway, that was interesting to read about Beth's history, thanks Renee.

Speaking of Doom, it was one of the first games that me and my older brother played together, and we really liked it. It was difficult and scary at times, but we played it almost constantly until we finished it.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 24 2014, 08:05 PM

I saw the same vid about Bethesda's history as Renee. http://youtu.be/a0_PiTtSp_I. It is almost an hour altogether, but well worth the time. It is a fascinating look into not just one of our favorite game developers, but also just a peek under the hood at how the industry in general works.

Like Renee said, Morrowind basically saved the company from bankruptcy. But it was Oblivion that really put the company on the map as a AAA developer, and of course Skyrim cemented it's position as a pop culture icon.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 09:15 PM

Oh actually the history lessons that I found were strictly text. Some website. Hold on, I think I can find it in a minute. But that's cool seeing that there's also a series of vids to watch. I'm going to do so in a few.

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Articles.Detail&id=12, and http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/issues/issue_83/471-Bethesda-The-Right-Direction. There is also this http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1571/the_history_of_computer_.php, which talks about the climate Arena was released into. Other games and studios, and what happened to them.

Isn't it wild that the guy who started Bethesda (Christopher Weaver) had what seems to be a 0% background in gaming? .. That blows my mind. He worked in government, and also in television, before starting his own computer games company out of the blue. He and some other early Beth employees were also responsible for creating the engine which the very first edition of John Madden football would use. EA (creator of John Madden) would basically rip-off Bethesda somehow, so Bethesda actually tried to sue EA for 7 million dollars. That's so crazy-awesome.

I get the feeling that by the time Arena was in production that Chris Weaver was probably only a minor player, if he was involved at all. He's never mentioned in any text I've read, except early on when Bethesda was mostly making sports games, and later on when he bailed Beth out from bankruptcy.

Posted by: mirocu Apr 24 2014, 09:37 PM

So... does anyone have an update on either game? biggrin.gif

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 09:58 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Apr 25 2014, 06:37 AM) *

So... does anyone have an update on either game? biggrin.gif

rollinglaugh.gif

Well I've only played Benethor a little and he's basically been going into people's houses and killing monsters to grind. I'm not sure the rogue is a brilliant class because he dies alot, it's incredibly frustrating... He doesn't so much damage it seems and he has little health and no magic. I have spent so much gold on healing potions tongue.gif Also the whole stealth thing isn't great, I've leveled up his intelligence, agility and willpower but he still can rarely open locked door..

This game is tough tongue.gif

Posted by: mirocu Apr 24 2014, 10:00 PM

It is tough but it probably will get easier. My character can withstand and kill almost anything by now but it was a long way to this point and I also have spent sooo much gold on restore health and magicka potions! laugh.gif

What level is he now?

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 10:15 PM

Nine... Or ten..

I'll have to check wink.gif

But yes, I'm sure he'll get better

Posted by: mirocu Apr 24 2014, 10:17 PM

Heīs just a kid then! tongue.gif Get him up to 25-ish and heīll be fine. Probably.. biggrin.gif

I think my own character is still in Skyrim. Heīs ready to take on the MQ, he just needs me a little bit.. tongue.gif

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 10:29 PM

laugh.gif

'rocu.... MQ...

blink.gif

panic.gif

I was thinking I needed him about Lvl 20 before he sets out tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 25 2014, 02:10 AM

QUOTE
'Tis the 8:02 PM, 8th of Hartfire, the Year 389 of Third Era. I, Renee Gade, shalt keep a jornal describ my travellings. As of now I resid in the town of Amol, located in the depths of Skyrim. Have made my esscape from dungon. The evil wizard Jagar Tharn is of blames. But I have made my escpae solid, as was saying. That he should make attempts to casue ..

As tonite I shall make my rounds. Am reside in inn here in Amol, and have gatherd heerings of monsters and goblins roming these streest at nite.

I gather my armour and my brodsword, and tonite these sstreest of Amol shalt be saved,

Posted by: mirocu Apr 25 2014, 07:59 AM

Ooh, a journalistic update! Nice one, Renee! biggrin.gif

Posted by: Lopov Apr 25 2014, 08:46 AM

A journal - how nice. I love the spelling mistakes too, they fit the story. Damn, you guys make me want to play Arena.

Posted by: mirocu Apr 25 2014, 08:47 AM

QUOTE(Lopov @ Apr 25 2014, 09:46 AM) *

you guys make me want to play Arena.

I make me wanna play Arena too! rollinglaugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 25 2014, 03:48 PM

QUOTE(Lopov @ Apr 25 2014, 03:46 AM) *

A journal - how nice. I love the spelling mistakes too, they fit the story.

That's something I got the sense of while 'she' was writing it. For some reason I see this young, 18 to 20-year old girl wanting to start a journal, but she's not entirely educated. She's good with weapons, and also a fledgling spellcaster, but hasn't had time to perfect her writing skills.

Back in the middle ages only some royalty or the religious (monks and such) were truly educated. Renee Gade has had some education, but not the sort where her folks send her away to some monastery for years and she comes out like a sage or a scribe.


Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 1 2014, 01:55 AM

QUOTE
9th or heartfire, 389

Have made delivrance of a sacrd tome to the bartensder at the Drunken Huntsman. Sed tome was found witin the Mages Guld and upon bringing it I have erned 80 gold!


Renee's very first quest completed folks! It's a random quest. I gotta say, finding the Mage's guild wasn't that hard because I've been marking everything on the map, but finding the correct INN was getting frustrating. There's so many damn inns in the town she's in (which is Amol). I've marked several of these on the map, but they all say "INN". So she visited over a half dozen of these inns. Finally she found an inn which was not marked, and this was the correct one.

This is a small victory for both of us because in the original Arena game on my old comp we couldn't get any quests to work for some reason.

QUOTE
10th or heartfire, 389, erly in morn

Have kilt some more baddes from the streets, a rat, too govlins, and one tall green man with a tale. And one evil wzzard, on wich I find 19 golds.

Shall rest and in morn find shopes for


She managed to kill a lizard man, two goblins, and a rat. Those were rather easy, but then she came across a wizard. bluewizardsmile.gif Her first one. The guy didn't use any spells, ironically it was Renee who managed to hit him with a fire dart. She also used her broadsword to take the wizard down, but by the time she did this she had already healed herself twice, and her Magicka was gone. So it's a good thing she 'kilt' him before he kilt her. smile.gif

Posted by: mirocu May 1 2014, 08:35 AM

Her first quest done! They grow up so fast, donīt they..? biggrin.gif happy.gif

Renee, do you mark the inns and other places by writing the names yourself? There is a feature where you can right-click ( I think) on a door to an inn/shop etc in the game and it will mark its full name on your map smile.gif

Posted by: Lopov May 1 2014, 11:12 AM

Nice story Renee, it's good to hear that Renee is doing fine. Can you loot armor or clothes from NPCs in Arena?

Posted by: mirocu May 1 2014, 11:14 AM

You can indeed, Lopov smile.gif

You can loot whatever they have which usually is low-grade armour and weapons. Sometimes they have potions and other misc objects too.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 1 2014, 03:27 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ May 1 2014, 03:35 AM) *

Renee, do you mark the inns and other places by writing the names yourself?


I didn't do this in my original game (couldn't figure out how) but in the new game I have been doing this. Makes things much more convenient because Arena's towns are waaaaay more confusing and 'generic' than those found in later games. It's amazing I used to think Bruma or Windhelm (in OB and Sky, respectively) were confusing.

But note to self: if I ever get any more random quests, I need to start writing 'quest' next to the inn where I got the quest.

QUOTE(Lopov @ May 1 2014, 06:12 AM) *

Nice story Renee, it's good to hear that Renee is doing fine. Can you loot armor or clothes from NPCs in Arena?

Sometimes. So far, most of the things she has found are near-useless. A daggar here, a few gold there. Most enemies carry nothing at all, which explains why they wind up wandering into towns I suppose.

The only significant items she's found are an Elven Amulet which lowers her Armor Class by -1, and a couple of "Marks" worth over 400 gold each. But all of these were found in the starter dungeon. Maybe she should go back there and try to get some better loot, but I can't find the place now because when she left the Tutorial she was pretty freaked out, and simply wanted to run towards the newest inn. panic.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 9 2014, 02:28 AM

QUOTE
Hartfire 11, 389

Gray and snow in outsyde Amol. Today made 80 golks golds just for bring lady named by Hana to Magi's Giuld!


Yeah, she's rolling now! RG is really getting the hang of random Arena quests. It's easy to make money in this game, and there's lots to do that is actually non-violent. In this case, all she did was (1) pick up a tip from a townsperson that somebody in the Dirty Pit Inn needs an escort. (2) Found this person. She wanted to go to the Mage's Guild (3). RG1 takes her to Mage's Guild *boom* that's 80 gold. The entire quest was done within an hour or two.

Posted by: mirocu May 9 2014, 07:53 AM

Yeah you can plow through four-five quests in a day that way and you donīt even need to talk to people. All you gotta do is walk into random inns and try to talk to the inn keeper. If one inn doesnīt work just go to the next smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 15 2014, 02:46 AM

http://s936.photobucket.com/user/xenaclone/media/c418811b-6c10-4d18-bdee-2a6a68eb9a05_zps202742ae.jpg.html


QUOTE
'Lordas, Hartfire 12, 389

Make way today to find palase, as bar-man tells of grate golds to be had!
Find palacse, many gards and lotsa stonne. Find Lady who speak of many golds, but she want me go far, go far ride horss much miles to cave. Find man with spells and sord.
0
I not want to go to far away from Amol. I not feel reddy. And not much gold from Lady if return for safe



Yeah, so Renee got a tip to visit the palace, where the Baroness lady (or queen or whoever she's supposed to be) up above gave my battlemage a quest, but this quest involved traveling 58 days away to some cave. The reward was only 160 gold, and I got the sense that RG1 did not want to do this. It's too far away.

Between me and her, I'd like to see her keep building up her gold and her XP right here in Amol. I've been watching some Let's Plays of Arena, and by golly some of those dungeons are tough out there. So I won't mind if RG1 keeps hanging out in Amol, and even becomes somewhat of an Uber.

The Let's Play I've been watching is by a British guy named Shellibix, if you're interested. It's funny because Shellibix jumps right into the MQ without buffing up his toon at all! ... As a result, he gets pwned over and over again once he's out in some dungeon.

Posted by: mirocu May 15 2014, 07:47 AM

Your experience with Arena is very similar to my own, Renee. I also opted out on a baron quest because I felt my character wasnīt ready by a long shot. I decided Iīd rather lose that quest and just deal with it instead of doing what I was told. Interestingly enough, when after that long shot tongue.gif he finally was ready, it wasnīt too late to do the quest! smile.gif

Getting your character stronger by doing what youīre doing is imo a very good idea before tackling dungeons and whatnot. Btw, isnīt it awesome that shield spells arenīt limited by time!? biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 15 2014, 02:16 PM

Shield spells aren't limited by time? What do you mean? You can cast a shield spell and it lasts for hours? Wow, Rg's gonna have to get that. So far her spellbook includes the default healing and Fire Dart spells for Battlemages, and she's managed to buy Orc Strength and Light as well.

It was funny when RG turned down that quest the Baroness lady was like "You young Nords today are so unambitious!" laugh.gif That cracked me up.


Posted by: mirocu May 15 2014, 07:09 PM

If Iīm not mistaken, shield spells are active as long as theyīre not depleted. In other words, they only decrease when youīre taking hits smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 20 2014, 02:29 AM

QUOTE
'Tirdas, Hartfire 22, 389

Many times run round 'n' round town of Amol, makeing lots of golds! .. Miss home, but twas goog good to make it here. Amol. In not t... Man and woma* need many thing delivirred, and me make esscort to yung girls not much yunger than me.


At nite kilt lotsa enymys. wizzards and rats, gublins and lzzard mens. Soon time will be that I, Rened Gade, shalt need leeve Amol and find FAng Layr. Find wikzard who take Emporor, and kilt him dead!


My Arena gal has made it to Level 6, and has an even 600 gold at the moment. I dumped a point into Personality (she's always chatting with people, after all), a point into Strength, 2 into Intelligence I think, one into Endurance, and one into Willpower. She's pretty well-rounded with the stats, methinks.

Even though her game is not officially dead-is-dead, it's been awhile since we've had a death. She can heal herself, and also doesn't go outside at night unless she's got at least 3 potions, either for Magicka or Health.

Posted by: mirocu May 20 2014, 07:46 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ May 20 2014, 03:29 AM) *

My Arena gal has made it to Level 6, and has an even 600 gold at the moment... Even though her game is not officially dead-is-dead, it's been awhile since we've had a death. She can heal herself, and also doesn't go outside at night unless she's got at least 3 potions, either for Magicka or Health.

Sheīs coming along fine, I see. Taking on the MQ and all smile.gif And I did just the same when Thor was young; never went out at night without those potions. I really need to come back into his game but I reckon that wonīt happen until fall.

Why? Because thatīs when I started to play Arena last year and Iīm a Creature of Habit Extraordinaire™ and if I start out playing in a certain way I have to keep playing like that if I donīt want the feel for the game to disappear smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 21 2014, 12:06 AM

There's no magicka regen, so you gotta have some backup potions, just in case.

Posted by: mirocu May 21 2014, 07:47 AM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ May 21 2014, 01:06 AM) *

There's no magicka regen, so you gotta have some backup potions, just in case.

Definitely smile.gif

Btw, whatīs the worst monster youīve encountered so far?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 21 2014, 02:32 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ May 21 2014, 02:47 AM) *

Btw, whatīs the worst monster youīve encountered so far?

Lol pick one! .. I'd say nightblades and wizards are pretty tough. And skeletons are surprisingly tough. OMG no more one-hit kills there.

I'm not sure how leveling works in this game, do a lot of enemies level with the player like in Oblivion? I kinda don't think so, and hope not. I don't want to be losing almost all my character's health at higher levels over one damn skeleton.

I've been playing a little bit of Arena every night (literally a half-hour to an hour) and Renee managed to find her first dungeon, just outside of Amol. The very first enemy was a skeleton, which nearly pwned her, but she managed to defeat it. Then a nightblade showed up. By now, her potions had shrunk to just a couple, so she got the hell out of there. panic.gif

Another weird thing is last night I was looking at the way fast-travel works. It's weird because the nearest town is Winterhold. In Skyrim (TES 5) getting from where Amol is to where Winterhold is would only take an hour or so of Earth time, but apparently this takes much longer in Arena if you try to walk there without FTing. It's like proportions of distances are much greater or something. I read on some wiki site that somebody tried to walk between a couple of towns in some province (not Skyrim, some other province) and he was still walking 10 hours later!

Posted by: ghastley May 21 2014, 02:45 PM

Daggerfall had the longest travel times, I think. There were quests that had a month's time limit that were hard to achieve in that time because the travel took too long if you were "cautious", and you'd get ambushed if you weren't. Ten game hours would be a really short trip to the next town.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 21 2014, 07:33 PM

Hah, that's interesting. Daggerfall's going to be interesting in general, simply because it's way more complex than Arena (or any other ES game from what I'm hearing)

Posted by: mirocu May 22 2014, 08:08 AM

Thereīs no scaling in Arena so you donīt have to worry about that, Renee. On the other hand stronger enemies will appear as you level up but at higher levels youīll easily kill lizard men, skeletons etc with just a few hits.

Unless you put all points in Personality of course... wink.gif

Edit: Manuals are now available in the Download and Instructions OP smile.gif

Posted by: stargelman May 23 2014, 11:46 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ May 21 2014, 03:32 PM) *

Another weird thing is last night I was looking at the way fast-travel works. It's weird because the nearest town is Winterhold. In Skyrim (TES 5) getting from where Amol is to where Winterhold is would only take an hour or so of Earth time, but apparently this takes much longer in Arena if you try to walk there without FTing. It's like proportions of distances are much greater or something. I read on some wiki site that somebody tried to walk between a couple of towns in some province (not Skyrim, some other province) and he was still walking 10 hours later!

Yeah and he'd still be walking a million hours later. Arena is the only game in the series where you cannot walk from one town to the next. You can shuffle through the landscape endlessly and you can find little settlements and dungeons and farms and all that, but you can't actually arrive at any location on the map. It just keeps generating random stuff for you to explore.

In Daggerfall, you could spend stupid amounts of time just walking, but in the end you'd arrive someplace. If you weren't walking towards the edge of the "world" map, that is.

Concerning the worst enemies, that's clearly undead warlocks. They kick the living crud outa ya before you even know they're there. They're real bad. Of course, there's ways to cope with that, too, but the first time you meet one of those suckers? Bad. Oh, and vampires. Generally, all fleshy undead are really bad news.

Posted by: mirocu May 24 2014, 03:29 PM

No enemy is a real problem for my character nowadays thanks to his high-leveled Absord/Reflect Magic and Shield spells. Just gotta pay attention to when theyīve either run out or been depleted... biggrin.gif

Posted by: stargelman May 24 2014, 04:54 PM

Did you ever fight Jager Tharn? The first time I did I fought him for like an hour or so, until he was finally dead. It was only then I discovered there was something I should've picked up....

Posted by: mirocu May 24 2014, 05:12 PM

No I havenīt started the MQ yet. I imagine heīs tougher than the monsters Iīve fought up until now, though.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 25 2014, 12:52 AM

QUOTE(stargelman @ May 23 2014, 06:46 PM) *

Yeah and he'd still be walking a million hours later. Arena is the only game in the series where you cannot walk from one town to the next.


Oh 'phew' I'm glad I read this. I recently had the notion that I should try walking from Amol to Winterhold once my character gains more confidence. So good thing you posted this, thanks.

QUOTE
Concerning the worst enemies, that's clearly undead warlocks. They kick the living crud outa ya before you even know they're there. They're real bad. Of course, there's ways to cope with that, too, but the first time you meet one of those suckers? Bad. Oh, and vampires. Generally, all fleshy undead are really bad news.

sad.gif


Posted by: mirocu May 25 2014, 10:25 AM

No worries, Renee. Just plan your spells and level them up till you drop and your character will breeze through undead like Van Helsing laugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 25 2014, 05:11 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ May 25 2014, 05:25 AM) *

No worries, Renee. Just plan your spells and level them up till you drop and your character will breeze through undead like Van Helsing laugh.gif

What do you mean by 'level them up?'

Posted by: mirocu May 26 2014, 05:25 PM

Spells level up in Arena. I talked about that on the first page biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jul 6 2014, 10:09 AM

QUOTE
4:55 Tirdas, Forstfall 1

I bord in amol, leeve town, to find place to go. Find places. Many. 1 inn, they need help gard place from atacs. I be hired, and will stand gard o*tside of inn, protct safe the peple inside.


I am still buffing my Arena toon with plenty of menial grinding. I'm not touching the Main Quest until she's good and ready. She got bored inside of town though, and decided to venture outside. Found an inn to stay at. She got bored here too, though. There was attacked by just one mage, and one lizardman, and this is after hours of roaming around the inn. Sheesh, she'd see more action if she had stayed back in Amol!

She decided to go exploring in the dark. blink.gif She would try to stick to paths, but at some point she got lost, and now she can't find the inn. But she did find another place; an ordinary house. I learned awhile back that it's possible to bash doors with our weapon, and this can be used to break into places. So this is what Renee did. Inside this home, an orc is her first encounter.

The game said 'Stop Thief!' when she broke into this house, but honestly, she's just looking for somewhere safe to be, since she can't find the damn inn.

QUOTE
Find hous to stay, but full of danger ins-de. Try sleping and orc show up. try sleping agan, and mayge come.


Yeah, if she was bored, she was no longer so after staying in there. There were no occupants in there except that orc. And every time she tried to rest, she'd get interrupted by rats, or other enemies. Some of these were tough. A ghoul (I think) showed up and this sucker was too strong. RG wound up dying.

She later found her way back to town (in the dark!) somehow. Stayed here for a few hours, rested, tried to look for work but there is none, so she's out exploring again. She found a small crypt full of rats. She scored big time here: no other enemies other than those rats, and lots of gold, like 300 gp or so.

Posted by: mirocu Jul 6 2014, 03:39 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jul 6 2014, 11:09 AM) *

Yeah, if she was bored, she was no longer so after staying in there. There were no occupants in there except that orc. And every time she tried to rest, she'd get interrupted by rats, or other enemies. Some of these were tough. A ghoul (I think) showed up and this sucker was too strong. RG wound up dying.

Thatīs what happens if you try to camp inside someoneīs house, same as in a dungeon. I used that alot to quicker level up my character. The only safe places to sleep at are inns.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jul 23 2014, 02:50 AM

QUOTE
7the day of rr Frostfall.

I make way find winters-hold. Travel hard thrd through much snow. Now find work here in winters-hold. Much work and much gold! On way I find layre full of gold. Make me much happy! ** but lady atack. She atack and i fite, and i kilt her good. But much lose poshiun and some food


Just when I think this game's starting to get easy, it'll throw a curve at me. RG1 met a spellsword, and this lady nearly killed her, even though Renee is Level 7 and she's been seeing spellswords since Level 1. And I know why this is. It's because enemies in this game have a larger variety of health and damage possibilities. For instance, and orc can have as little as 15 health, but as much as 40, at any level. It can do as little as 2, but as much as 12.

So just imagine meeting a 40 hp orc that the dice rolls 30 to 40 hit smashes several times in a row. blink.gif That's one way to get your toon pwned in no time, assuming he or she is not buffed with good stats & loot.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jul 30 2014, 02:35 AM

QUOTE
Frostfall

I so scairt! scairt of man ousyde! but I kilt man. man smell much of a deth! But I kilt man of smell, yes.

And no many gold in winters-hold. I many folk ask, and no much work. But me ask for find palase. Find palase, speek to king, king of win*ters-hold. king of pala.e say he give many gold, me find lady. Lady be ben take in cayv. Me find lady in cayv, I make many golds


Winterhold is .... well .... really hard to find work in. It's not like Amol, where every other NPC points you to a place to make some easy gold. NOBODY in Winterhold has pointed her anywhere, instead they say "another Nord down on her luck" or something snarky like this. indifferent.gif But just as she's thinking of leaving town she finds the palace, and the King offers her 2,310 gold. Just find some lady who's been taken to a lair southeast of Winterhold, and it's yours.

This is gonna be tough, but we're gonna go it. Renee just stocked up on health potions. She's going to try to find the lair during daylight, during the day there might be an enemy here and there, but they rarely show up.

Oh, and Renee was 'scairt' because it was the first time she saw a ghoul. That sucker gave her some sort of disease, and boy was he hard to take down.

Posted by: mirocu Jul 30 2014, 02:11 PM

I swear, Renee. Just like tmar keeps dragging me back to Fallout 3 so will you drag me back to Arena! tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Aug 16 2014, 08:01 AM

RG1 reached Level 8. I got her the Invisibility spell in celebration.

Posted by: mirocu Aug 16 2014, 04:48 PM

How long does it last?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Aug 17 2014, 02:47 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Aug 16 2014, 11:48 AM) *

How long does it last?

I forget, and I'm not playing right now. I'm pretty sure it's 5 rounds + 1 extra round for each level. I forget how long a round is. Um.... I think a round a minute in real-time. EDIT: That is what my old DnD Player's Handbook (circa 1978) says, and I'm pretty sure Arena is heavily-based on DnD's rules. So if this is true, she can remain invisible for quite some time.

I haven't actually used Invisibility yet during combat. I wonder if making any actions causes this spell to disrupt, the way it does in OB and Sky. I'll soon find out

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Sep 1 2014, 12:29 PM

QUOTE
Turdas, 24 of Frost-fall

now in Dawn-star. need fine find work. may be man have arm hurt, and I help man



That is one thing which cracks me up, a lot of random quest-givers are like "oh yeah, I'm a great warrior, but I hurt my sword-arm. Even though it's broad daylight outside, and baddies only come out at night, I still need your help. Can you escort my niece to the XX for me? It's right across the street. I'll pay you 116 gold for your trouble!"

Anyway, Renee is in Dawnstar, which (in Arena) is a vast walled town. A city, actually. 250 years (or so) later in TES 5 it becomes a rather downtrodden village that hasn't even got a general store. She is ultimately headed south to some sort of mine, where she is supposed to rescue somebody. Assuming she does so she'll make several thousand gold.

EDIT: To answer your earlier question mirocu: Invisibility is a joke! .... It only costs 18 pts of Magicka, and since the way magic works is so basic, there is no skill requirement like there is in later games. Best part: casting Invisibility makes enemies give up instantly. Renee was about to get attacked by two rangers at once. She may have survived this encounter, but surely she would have to use all her resources (Health & Magicka) to do so. She's got a nice stash of healing potions and doesn't want to drink 6 or 7 of them just to outlast a couple rangers...

Decided to try Invisibility. The rangers literally stop what they're doing. No effort to try to search (as in later games) at all. laugh.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 4 2014, 05:17 PM

Morning Star 1, 3E 390

QUOTE
the first day of new year, I ma now am in Riften. Go to south to fimd Elsseware. I gave man very many gold find staff in Elsseware. Staff have many magic powers. Not no of if man tell lie to me. But I go.



Happy New Year, Renee Gade I! .. Like she said (in so many words, ha ha), she is currently headed south to the Province of Elsweyr. Some guy in a tavern in Winterhold promised to tell her where a magic staff (Staff of Magnus) is hidden. This staff has magical power; apparently it regenerates health and magicka. This will be a good item to have once Renee is tackling Fang Lair.

Here is what UESP has to say:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -
In-Game Description: The Staff of Magnus, one of the elder artifacts of Tamriel, was a metaphysical battery of sorts for its creator, the Arch-Mage Magnus. When used, it regenerates both a mage's health and mystical energy at remarkable rates. In time, the Staff will abandon the mage who wields it before he or she becomes too powerful and upsets the mystical balance it is sworn to protect.
Discovered In: Elsweyr, Valenwood
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All of this sounds great, problem is Renee had to pay close to a thousand gold just so that NPC would divulge info on where the staff is hidden. So hopefully she'll find it. In any event, it'll be good to get out of Skyrim finally.

`

Posted by: mirocu Oct 5 2014, 09:33 AM

So Renee is on the main quest now? Interesting. I might do the same with Thor when early winter sets in... biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 5 2014, 12:49 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Oct 5 2014, 04:33 AM) *

So Renee is on the main quest now? Interesting. I might do the same with Thor when early winter sets in... biggrin.gif

Cool! Hope you get back to Thor.

She's going to do the MQ eventually, but has a desire to become strong and worthy first. And from my perspective, I don't want to just jump into it and try to 'beat da game', I am taking my time.

By the way, I've been using Fraps to take screenshots here and there. There's some hilarious dialog in Arena, just some of the things NPCs say crack me up. We just met some guy who said...

"I'm Erik Haronsson, I've been here for awhile, I know everything there is to know about Riften."

So Renee says "Where's the Mage's Guild?"

"I'm really not sure, try going west and ask there."

I mean seriously? .. There's only one Mages Guild in each town, and you don't know where it is, especially after claiming to be a know it all? laugh.gif rollinglaugh.gif

Another thing I'm noticing is that as Renee travels south to Elsweyr, she's been going from town to town instead of fast-traveling the entire way.

Right now she's still in Skyrim. It's interesting to see that there's some variety & differences in the villages and towns, even in this early TES game. For instance in Winterhold, Windhelm, a lot of other northern areas, there will be frost everywhere. It's often snowing. Well in Verminwood and Riften the air is foggy. There are rain puddles and grass instead of frost patches and snow. I like how there was an effort made at subtle variety like this. `

Posted by: mirocu Oct 5 2014, 04:22 PM

Yeah, claiming to know it all and then say "I donīt know.." laugh.gif


Are you sure the frost and snow isnīt because of the calender? I thought there always was going to be snowy in one town but after some time it was all green which was when I checked the calender and lo and behold, it was summertime...

Posted by: mirocu Oct 19 2014, 03:28 PM

Today I briefly visited Arena smile.gif

Iīm planning to get into it again as Iīve said and Iīll begin with my usual routine; breaking into homes and fight monsters, just to get back in shape biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 19 2014, 07:18 PM

Wow you break into homes eh? .. I've been wanting to try playing a Thief class character, maybe I'll do this casually. But I only have so much free time so...

It is the 10th day of Second Seed, 3rd Era 390 in Renee 1's game. She just finished plunging into a couple of dungeons, and is now in the Elsweyr village of Rimmen, selling her wares. She found a mithril longsword (ooh) which she's going to keep, but she's going to see the ebony helmet she found. She's a Battlemage, so she can't wear it anyways. She also found dozens of unidentified potions, a couple of magical items, and made over 2,000 gold during this one trip out-of-town. ohmy.gif

She's eventually headed to a mine where some sort of map is supposed to be found. This map shows the location of the Staff of Magnus, or at least some pieces of it.


Posted by: mirocu Oct 19 2014, 08:00 PM

Breaking into homes to fight monsters is a great way to get experience. If you break your armour or run out of potions you can always go to the right place without having to backtrack etc smile.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Oct 19 2014, 08:18 PM) *

It is the 10th day of Second Seed, 3rd Era 390 in Renee 1's game. She just finished plunging into a couple of dungeons, and is now in the Elsweyr village of Rimmen, selling her wares. She found a mithril longsword (ooh) which she's going to keep, but she's going to see the ebony helmet she found. She's a Battlemage, so she can't wear it anyways. She also found dozens of unidentified potions, a couple of magical items, and made over 2,000 gold during this one trip out-of-town. ohmy.gif

Those little trips can sure fill up your coinpurse biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 20 2014, 04:52 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Oct 19 2014, 03:00 PM) *

Those little trips can sure fill up your coinpurse biggrin.gif

You aren't kidding, Crow. Holy crisis I played some Arena last night before going to bed, check this out... Renee sold that ebony helmet ... guess how much she got for it?

30,000 gold!!!

wacko.gif She already just over 3,000 before walking in that shop, which (up to this time) was the most she ever had in her life. I couldn't believe the profit margin. Sheesh, I really think she holds the personal record for most gold-in-pocket out of all my characters in any TES game. ohmy.gif

Anyways, with all this gold, she went on a crazy buying spree, of course. Bought a couple magic items, and visited the Mage's Guild for the Spellmaker. Made several new spells: Create Wall, Destroy Wall, a mega-Shielding spell with nearly 200 hp, and a Spell Reflection spell that should come in handy when she faces those who try to get her with spell-damage.

What class is your character?

Posted by: mirocu Oct 20 2014, 05:00 PM

30K for just that helmet?? Geez! wacko.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Oct 20 2014, 05:52 PM) *

What class is your character?

Battlemage. I like to use both weapons and a lot of magic smile.gif

Whatīs Renee again?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 20 2014, 05:15 PM

Renee is also Battlemage. It seems like one of the easier classes to play, despite the lack of available armor. The original Renee (on my old computer) was a Warrior I think, but it's just weird not having Magicka. I don't think I could dungeon-dive in Arena without at least the ability to heal up.

Yeah, that 30K helm almost seems like a glitch. I had to count the number of zeros being offered by the smith three times just to make sure my eyes weren't going bad. And what's weird is after Renee sold it to him, he listed it (for sale) at 7,500 gold or somewhere around there. So it's probably a glitch, but a welcome one. She's never going to have to worry about running out of money, ya know?


Posted by: mirocu Oct 20 2014, 07:13 PM

Once sheīs higher levels sheīll have more moneyz than sheīll know what to do with, just like any Beth game laugh.gif

I think Thor has about 250.000 gold, plus tons of Magicka Restore potions smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 20 2014, 10:20 PM

250,000? Yikes! What level is Thor?

Posted by: mirocu Oct 21 2014, 04:53 PM

25, and I think thatīs gonna be his last. It will take too much grinding to reach level 26. Just going from 24 to 25 was a huge painstaking grind wacko.gif

Edit: It was actually 292,027 gold... biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Oct 21 2014, 06:59 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Oct 21 2014, 11:53 AM) *

25, and I think thatīs gonna be his last. It will take too much grinding to reach level 26. Just going from 24 to 25 was a huge painstaking grind wacko.gif

Edit: It was actually 292,027 gold... biggrin.gif

How do you all get so much gold?

I like the way leveling is nice and slow in Arena. It's this way also in tabletop games.


Posted by: mirocu Oct 21 2014, 07:12 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Oct 21 2014, 07:59 PM) *

How do you all get so much gold?

Taking stuff from enemies when grinding up levels and then sell biggrin.gif

I like leveling as an idea and I enjoy it in all Beth games really smile.gif Do you mean that Arenaīs way with XP is close to the tabeltop games?

Edito: Been playing for awhile now and itīs fun. I do a lot of quests for the Lord of Dunstad Grove plus a little free-roaming. I think itīs kinda hard though to find dungeons out in the wild.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 5 2014, 04:46 AM

Have you ever found one of the staffs? We are looking for the Staff of Magnus, and it is supposed to be in a lair called Vojridon in Black Marsh. We are definitely in this lair.

I found this http://i.imgur.com/HXqSVgp.png?1, which I've never seen before. I am thinking this has to be the staff. We've been though this entire dungeon. Yet when we try to grab that burning-looking thing, nothing happens. Or if we grab the monster-looking thing, nothing happens.

I am just wondering if this is what the staff is supposed to look like.


Posted by: mirocu Nov 5 2014, 05:56 PM

Iīm not on the MQ so no, I havenīt. Strange that nothing happens when you click on those things, are you sure you stand close enough? Is there perhaps a hidden room visible on the map that you havenīt been in or a staircase you didnīt notice?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 5 2014, 06:18 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 5 2014, 11:56 AM) *

Iīm not on the MQ so no, I havenīt. Strange that nothing happens when you click on those things, are you sure you stand close enough? Is there perhaps a hidden room visible on the map that you havenīt been in or a staircase you didnīt notice?

This is not part of the MQ, the Magnus Staff is an artifact quest. I did click on the thing up close, far away, side to side, up and down, you name it. It cannot be activated. I went on a mad search for a picture of Arena's Staff of Magnus (so I know what it's supposed to look like) but I can't find anything on Google or UESP, or anywhere else. The main thing that comes up is Skyrim's Staff of Magnus, of course.

No hidden rooms, I did check the map. Renee 1 has a Remove Wall spell, so she even dug through the walls a bit looking for ... just anything she could find, but there's nothing. sad.gif We may have to abandon this quest.

It sucks because I got all excited. You know how it is in this game, right? You spend all this time trying to achieve something, and when you finally do, it's SO rewarding, so that's why it feels really lame to have to possibly abandon this one.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 5 2014, 06:31 PM

I just got a quest myself that seems to be broken, canīt get the Mages Guild guy to hand me a scroll. First time that happens to me.

It would suck if you had to abandon this artifact quest. Hang on for awhile, maybe someone else knows what to do here.

Posted by: Lopov Nov 5 2014, 09:47 PM

I don't know if this helps but I found a screenshot where a warrior is holding the Staff of Magnus. Scroll down until you see the pic.

http://oaklock.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-staff-of-magnus.html

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 6 2014, 01:45 AM

Okay, that helps a bit. Where on Earth did you find that??? laugh.gif I probably spent about an hour trying to find some Arena site with pics.

That write-up is interesting to read too. I'm reading it right now, I'm sure it'll help. I don't know what the heck that thing I found is supposed to be; I've never seen anything like it in Arena before, that's why I assumed it must be the staff.


Posted by: mirocu Nov 6 2014, 06:12 PM

Where did you go to get the artifact quest, Renee?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 6 2014, 08:24 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 6 2014, 12:12 PM) *

Where did you go to get the artifact quest, Renee?

It started way up in Skyrim actually. Some NPC gave us a rumor, and this rumor took us to Elsweyr, where we found a map in one of the major dungeons. The map said the Staff of Magnus (not the Staff of Chaos) is found in a major dungeon in Black Marsh.

But I went on UESP, and this site said we can only find the staff in Valenwood or Elsweyr. It does not mention Black Marsh at all, so maybe this quest is broken.

Posted by: Lopov Nov 6 2014, 09:14 PM

This was one of the things I noticed when reading that blog, that it's supposed to be either in Valenwood or Elsweyr but definitely not Black Marsh. I did some more googling but can't help you any further. Maybe you should write a rant mail to Bethseda, cursing them for making a bugged game. biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 7 2014, 12:25 AM

OH yeah Lopov you got that right. I'll rant and rage and tell them I'm never buying another Bethesda product again until they FIX this.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 7 2014, 04:32 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Nov 6 2014, 08:24 PM) *

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 6 2014, 12:12 PM) *

Where did you go to get the artifact quest, Renee?

It started way up in Skyrim actually. Some NPC gave us a rumor, and this rumor took us to Elsweyr, where we found a map in one of the major dungeons. The map said the Staff of Magnus (not the Staff of Chaos) is found in a major dungeon in Black Marsh.

Exactly what has now happened to Thor from Valhalla! Only his quest is to find Warlockīs Ring, also in Black Marsh. Maybe heīll run into Renee... wink.gif

This is actually the first time Thor has been outside of Skyrim since his jail break. He first had to go to Morrowind to go through a five-level deep dungeon to find the map and right now heīs standing just inside the Black Marsh dungeon smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 7 2014, 05:01 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 7 2014, 10:32 AM) *

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Nov 6 2014, 08:24 PM) *

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 6 2014, 12:12 PM) *

Where did you go to get the artifact quest, Renee?

It started way up in Skyrim actually. Some NPC gave us a rumor, and this rumor took us to Elsweyr, where we found a map in one of the major dungeons. The map said the Staff of Magnus (not the Staff of Chaos) is found in a major dungeon in Black Marsh.

Exactly what has now happened to Thor from Valhalla! Only his quest is to find Warlockīs Ring, also in Black Marsh. Maybe heīll run into Renee... wink.gif

This is actually the first time Thor has been outside of Skyrim since his jail break. He first had to go to Morrowind to go through a five-level deep dungeon to find the map and right now heīs standing just inside the Black Marsh dungeon smile.gif


Yeah wouldn't that be funny if they ran into one another? smile.gif Anyway, I just went on UESP, which says Warlock's Ring can be 'discovered' in Morrowind or Elsweyr. Not Black Marsh. Maybe they are talking about where the actual MAP is discovered though, you know? Not the artifact itself.

By the way, isn't it neat traveling through different provinces? As primitive as this game is, I like the way each province has a different feel. We've only been in Skyrim, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh so far. I like visiting the dungeons, but also going through plenty of towns & villages, and also exploring the local (random) wilderness outside of towns.


Posted by: mirocu Nov 7 2014, 05:07 PM

Well, I found the map in Morrowind and it told me the ring was in a Black Marsh dungeon so thatīs all I have to go on. Iīll search it through and if I donīt find it at leastīheīs been to two more provinces, albeit heīs only seen the insides of dungeons wink.gif

Update: I did in fact find the Warlockīs Ring inside that Black Marsh dungeon! Goes to show you apparently cannot trust everything you read online, Renee!


But can you trust this...? wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 16 2014, 01:51 PM

Oh wow, so you DID get that ring? Was it inside a chest? Or was it inside that weird flaming thing pictured a few posts above?

Renee 1 is not doing so well. She foiled yet another quest. This time she's in Black Marsh. The quest was: she needed to deliver something to a village in Black Marsh. Fair enough. The village was easy to locate, and she had 32 days to get this done.

So she goes to the village. Takes 12 days. Wow, that was easy. She starts searching all over the place for her quest location (which is a shop called Adventurer's Merchandise or something such). She can't find the shop, so she asks an NPC. In the dialog option, there was no shop in this town called Adventurer's Merchandise.

So we had a brainstorm. Are we even in the right town? *facepalm* turns out we weren't. There are two villages in Black Marsh with very similar names. I forget the name of the place, but it's easy to get them confused. Dangit. And it would have taken 25 days to get to the other place. 12 + 25 = 37, five days too long. sad.gif

Last I saw, she was on some other quest. One of those "my sword arm is hurt, I can't deliver this satchel across the street with all these dangerous enemies around (in broad daylight), can you deliver it for me?" quests. Congrads to Thor for finding the Warlock's Ring. smile.gif

Posted by: mirocu Nov 16 2014, 03:58 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Nov 16 2014, 01:51 PM) *

Oh wow, so you DID get that ring? Was it inside a chest? Or was it inside that weird flaming thing pictured a few posts above?

Like the map, it was inside a very snassy chest biggrin.gif

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Nov 16 2014, 01:51 PM) *

Last I saw, she was on some other quest. One of those "my sword arm is hurt, I can't deliver this satchel across the street with all these dangerous enemies around (in broad daylight), can you deliver it for me?" quests.

IPB Image

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Nov 16 2014, 01:51 PM) *

Congrads to Thor for finding the Warlock's Ring. smile.gif

He sends his thanks laugh.gif

But in fact he has no use of it so if Renee 1 wants it, tell her to go to Dunstad Grove biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 22 2014, 03:24 AM

My battlemage has finally decided to take up the search for the Staff of Chaos. She is now in Hammerfell. She'll do some preliminary asking around for Fang Lair, but I already happen to know she's in the right place, this time.

I had a rather vague dream about Daggrfall last night by the way. Don't remember any of it, except the jump in complexity from one game to the next was the theme of this dream.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 22 2014, 09:43 AM

So Renee 1 is doing the MQ? Nice smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 30 2014, 03:30 PM

Yeah she's is doing the MQ. Got into it last night, gamed until 2:30 AM. laugh.gif She is now in Hammerfell, and Queen Blumbaka told RG1 to go to a lair called Stonekeep. RG1 got deep into this lair, and I got to the point that I was gaming for so long I couldn't see straight! wacko.gif Stonekeep seems to be designed for a lower-level character. It's full of goblins, wolves, rats, orcs, and a few lizardmen. These enemies are all walkover-material for my Level 12 Battlemage. She's barely using any magic, and has a mithril cutlass backed up by a silver mace, so it's mostly a huge a$$-kicking fest.

You know what I realize? A lot of people say these early dungeons are tough, and in a way they certainly are, but in another way they're not so bad. As long as I cheat use the map. They're all based in a rectangular grid, which means each level has a sort of 'confinement'. I would say Oblivion's dungeons are actually harder sometimes, assuming no map / compass is used. The only thing tough about Arena's dungeons is that they're so massive sometimes.

I'll bet Daggerfall is the same way: everything is based inside a huge rectangular grid. OTOH, I bet DF has some better traps, and the monsters will be harder to deal with, because I HAVE heard how DF's dungeons are the toughest. We shall see though.

Anyways, Renee has to find some sort of stolen item for Queen Latifah Blumbaka, and once she brings this item to the queen, the queen will be able to discern some sort of map (something like this) and will then reveal where Fang Lair is!

Posted by: mirocu Nov 30 2014, 04:35 PM

I guess what people mean with the early dungeons being tough is regarding the enemies. They can certainly kill a low-level character with ease (think about the tutorial dungeon). As for the dungeon itself, I use the standard labyrinth method of hugging either the left or the right wall and eventually you find the correct way smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Nov 30 2014, 10:49 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Nov 30 2014, 10:35 AM) *

As for the dungeon itself, I use the standard labyrinth method of hugging either the left or the right wall and eventually you find the correct way smile.gif

Oh wow, that's an interesting technique. biggrin.gif I sometimes use a 'radiant' system. Everything is either left or right. Enter dungeon, make a left, is there a door coming up on the left and the right? Choose the left one. Leave that room, go left. Passage dead-ends to turn around and go through the door that's now on your left... See what I mean? it's like the character is radiating through the dungeon, one passage at a time.

Of course, there are plenty of times we are forced to improvise. Sometimes you gotta go right. Or left.
\

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Dec 10 2014, 02:57 AM

Middas, 1:31 PM, Evening Star 2, 3E 390

My infamous battlemage has returned to Rihad, where she is to present a scroll to Queen Blumbaba or Blumbaka or something. She managed to find this scroll in Stonekeep, and so the Main Quest is off to a great start!


Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 6 2015, 02:08 AM

wink.gif I have fallen behind on updating this thread. RG1 found the first piece of the Main Quest staff a couple weeks ago. It was in Fang Lair, in a room guarded by a word-puzzle. I cheated on the word puzzle by going on a search engine and typing in its question. It went like this.

Neither fish nor flesh
.. Feather nor bone
but still has fingers
and thumbs of its own


The answer (which we can type into the game's HUD) is



After I cheated I realized that if there are any more word puzzles, I want to figure them out on my own. If I really think about it, I could have figured that answer.

Anyway, so last night I was gaming Arena again, and we were Ice Fortress. Again, there was another word-puzzle, once we found the correct room to search.

I touch your face
I'm in your words
I'm lack of space
And beloved by birds...

What am I?


This time, I guessed the answer right! smile.gif Took me about a couple minutes of thinking, but it sure felt good to beat dis game just a little bit more. laugh.gif


Posted by: Lopov Jan 7 2015, 08:45 PM

When you have guessed the answer, how exactly did you tell the game what is right? Do you have some possible choices to choose from and you have to click on the correct one?

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Jan 7 2015, 11:18 PM

QUOTE(Lopov @ Jan 7 2015, 02:45 PM) *

When you have guessed the answer, how exactly did you tell the game what is right? Do you have some possible choices to choose from and you have to click on the correct one?

You must type it in. Literally, think about the puzzle, come up with an answer, type this answer into the game, and press ENTER. biggrin.gif So hardcore. It felt really really good to guess that second answer without cheating.

Here, you try it. Give yourself 5 minutes to guess the answer, and really think about what is being asked. What can possibly go on your face? .. What causes words to happen? .. The 'lack of space' one I don't really get. It doesn't fit in. The 'bird' line is on-topic though. It fits in.

I touch your face
I'm in your words
I'm lack of space
And beloved by birds...

What am I?




Posted by: mirocu Jan 26 2015, 09:46 AM

So, how far along the MQ are you now, Renee? wink.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jan 26 2015, 06:32 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 7 2015, 05:18 PM) *

QUOTE(Lopov @ Jan 7 2015, 02:45 PM) *

When you have guessed the answer, how exactly did you tell the game what is right? Do you have some possible choices to choose from and you have to click on the correct one?

You must type it in. Literally, think about the puzzle, come up with an answer, type this answer into the game, and press ENTER. biggrin.gif So hardcore. It felt really really good to guess that second answer without cheating.

Here, you try it. Give yourself 5 minutes to guess the answer, and really think about what is being asked. What can possibly go on your face? .. What causes words to happen? .. The 'lack of space' one I don't really get. It doesn't fit in. The 'bird' line is on-topic though. It fits in.

I touch your face
I'm in your words
I'm lack of space
And beloved by birds...

What am I?



It sounds like it has to be

Posted by: mirocu Feb 17 2015, 09:59 AM

So I guess I wonīt be playing any more Arena until November comes along, creature of habit as I am... biggrin.gif


But hey! Before we know it summer is over and soon itīs gonna grow colder and darker again so no worries, eh? wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Feb 17 2015, 02:18 PM

QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jan 26 2015, 12:32 PM) *

It sounds like it has to be



Correct. You get the cookie. err... no cookie emoticons here at Chorrol, so you get this weird explanation point-looking thing. excl.gif

mirocu: I got about halfway through Labyrinthian before I began modding Skyrim, and then ... well ...

Labyrinthian is not very fun. indifferent.gif I'll get back into Arena eventually, matter of fact RG1 has the 'Destroy Walls' spell, which makes any lair much easier. But it's still not as fun as Oblivion and Skyrim.


Posted by: Renee Mar 22 2015, 12:05 PM

I did some Arena last night. RG1 got to the next major point of Labyrinthian, before I stopped the game. I'm just glad she found this point, sheesh this dungeon is big.

There is another word riddle, and I stopped the game because I want to think about what the answer could be, even if this means mulling over the riddle this week instead of gaming. I want to pretend it's 1994 again, and there is no Internet to cheat from.

Posted by: Lopov Mar 27 2015, 11:01 PM

I can assure you that in the end Renee will solve the riddle. Because when Lucius arrived there 200 years later, there wasn't any riddle to solve anymore. tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Jun 1 2015, 06:08 PM

Finally got out of Labyrinthian. smile.gif I had to cheat for one of the puzzle-doors, because its answer was one of those trick questions... but I managed to guess the very last puzzle on my first try. Behind this final puzzle-door was the second piece of the Staff of Chaos. This is 2 out of 9, I believe. ohmy.gif


Posted by: Renee Aug 8 2015, 02:13 PM

Played some more Arena last night. Now we are in a place in Valenwood called 'Selene's Lair', which has a lot of spiders roaming around. panic.gif RG1 mostly stays invisible though; which saves all sorts of time (and equipment damage) because TES1 really packs these lairs full of enemies, way more than later games. She usually only fights an enemy if it blocks a hallway, or prevents her from trying to rest. After we find the "sacred jewel" (or whatever it's called) then we can return to the queen of whatever city-state is supposed to have the info to the next staff piece.

And last night, I figured out something new about this game. I assumed it features digital movement only (one speed) but if I move the cursor slightly upward (so that it turns into an arrow) and press a certain button on my controller, now the pc moves at variable speed.

Why is this important? ... Because it adds to imm. *sigh* IMMersion. laugh.gif This way, when RG1 goes into towns, it feels more like she strolling at various speeds, instead of running all the time. I also noticed that when she walks (instead of runs) the NPCs won't constantly stop what they're doing to turn and look at her, instead they will keep doing whatever they're supposedd to be doing (moving randomly). Again, this adds to ... the I word.

Posted by: Lopov Aug 8 2015, 08:39 PM

So while Renee Gade III is busy dancing fighting in the Arena, her grandmother Renee Gade is sneaking past spiders and learning that moving too fast isn't always good. wink.gif

I wonder whether we'll ever find out who were the impregnators in the Gade family? We have RG1 that had a daughter-> RG2 and she gave a birht to RG3 but who where their fathers? bigsmile.gif

Posted by: Renee Aug 9 2015, 12:32 AM

QUOTE(Lopov @ Aug 8 2015, 03:39 PM) *

I wonder whether we'll ever find out who were the impregnators in the Gade family?


That's a good question, thanks for asking. I like to think that RG2 was born after her mother was done saving the world from Jagar Tharn / the events of TES 1: Arena, while RG3 was born sometime before I did any gaming with RG2. In other words, the gal I gamed with on PS3 already had her child before she became a lonely rogue-warrior, followed the Pilgrim's Way (badly), and then became a Knight of the Nine. How did RG3 wind up in Skyrim? I don't know. Who are the fathers of all these ladies? Really don't know. Stuff to think about.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 9 2015, 02:28 AM

I think it was one of the gods who did the deed each time. And even if it wasn't, that's probably what each Momma Gade claims anyway! laugh.gif

After all, if you look at all the great heroes and rulers of RL ancient history, they had at least one god in the family, sometimes two or more (Alexander claimed descent from Heracles on one side of his family, Achilles on the other, and eventually threw in Zeus as his actual father for good measure as well. That was a busy bed!).

Posted by: Renee Aug 10 2015, 12:35 AM

smile.gif That's a tempting explanation SR. smile.gif "Divine intervention" did it. ha ha

Posted by: Decrepit Oct 4 2015, 11:49 PM

QUOTE(Renee Gade IV @ Jan 7 2015, 05:18 PM) *

QUOTE(Lopov @ Jan 7 2015, 02:45 PM) *

When you have guessed the answer, how exactly did you tell the game what is right? Do you have some possible choices to choose from and you have to click on the correct one?

You must type it in. Literally, think about the puzzle, come up with an answer, type this answer into the game, and press ENTER. biggrin.gif So hardcore. It felt really really good to guess that second answer without cheating.

Here, you try it. Give yourself 5 minutes to guess the answer, and really think about what is being asked. What can possibly go on your face? .. What causes words to happen? .. The 'lack of space' one I don't really get. It doesn't fit in. The 'bird' line is on-topic though. It fits in.

I touch your face
I'm in your words
I'm lack of space
And beloved by birds...

What am I?


I guessed it! Didn't think I had it in me at my age. Full disclosure . . . I played Arena to completion at launch so obviously guessed it back then too. But that was many years ago. I had totally forgot the question, much less its answer.

As for myself, I really ought to resume my years-old on again - off again Daggerfall playthrough. Likely not gonna happen in the immediate further, but at least I'm thinking on it.

Posted by: Renee Oct 5 2015, 01:20 AM

Yeah, those puzzles are pretty neat. I had to cheat on the last one, which got to me because I was so close to the answer. But the one before that (in Elden Grove or whatever it's called) I guessed right on my first try. Which is really satisfying.

I'm really looking forward to Daggerfall. Honestly, Arena's main quest is so repetitive: go to Mage's Guild > Go to dungeon > Go to castle > Go to dungeon > Go to castle > Go to dungeon.... and those dungeons are HUGE sometimes. Maze-like. I can only play TES 1 for maybe an hour at a time, once or twice a week. I still enjoy it, but the game's really a huge dungeon crawl, without a lot of the subtler elements I've read about in Daggerfall.


Posted by: Decrepit Oct 20 2015, 11:43 AM

After a too-long hiatus my avatar snapped out of his coma in the Daggerfall City Temple of Kynareth, where he had been about to grab an assignment. This proved to be a simple delivery run to an inn in Charentown (?), the only complication being his getting jumped en route by two thugs hired by a rival Temple.

Craving a more meaty assignment, he headed to Knights of the Dragon where he often receives lengthy dungeon crawls. As luck would have it they needed him to dispose of an Orc Warlord in the depths of Tricergon. The foes he encountered there posed little threat. He was never in any great danger of dying. What's more, he looted a daedric pauldron which netted him a pretty penny . . . errrrr, Septim. Entering the dungeon he was faced with two travel paths. He chose one and set out. Exhaustive exploration followed without finding the Warlord. I called it a night with him still roaming the dungeon. Woke this morning and resumed the search. Nothing but dead ends. He made his way back to the entrance, loaded loot onto his wagon, and set off down that second passage. Not a minute later he spied a secret doorway. Behind that door were two mobs and the Warlord!

Back in Daggerfall City he sold loot, banked, visited his home, received quest credit from the Knights of Kynareth, identified two magic items and received training in Illusion at the Mages Guild, and is about to solicit an assignment from that organization.

Posted by: mirocu Oct 20 2015, 09:01 PM

Arrggh! Youīre making me wanna play Arena again, Decrepit! laugh.gif


And I will, soon enough. I just love the atmosphere in that game.

Posted by: Renee Oct 21 2015, 02:04 PM

Arena's a neat game and I'm glad I have it, but i can't wait to get to the end, and officially have it over with.

*there, I said it*

smile.gif

It's such a grind, especially those HUGE dungeons. I'm sure Daggerfall will be much more interesting. I know DF has huge dungeons too, what I'm saying is that DF also has a much-more fleshed-out world, overall. That'll be neat to see.


Posted by: Decrepit Oct 23 2015, 02:10 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Oct 20 2015, 03:01 PM) *

Arrggh! Youīre making me wanna play Arena again, Decrepit! laugh.gif

And I will, soon enough. I just love the atmosphere in that game.

QUOTE(Renee @ Oct 21 2015, 08:04 AM) *

Arena's a neat game and I'm glad I have it, but i can't wait to get to the end, and officially have it over with.

*there, I said it*

smile.gif

It's such a grind, especially those HUGE dungeons. I'm sure Daggerfall will be much more interesting. I know DF has huge dungeons too, what I'm saying is that DF also has a much-more fleshed-out world, overall. That'll be neat to see.

I enjoyed my play-through of Arena back when it was new and shiny. It's the one 'major' TES title I have next to no interest in playing again. Almost everything about it was improved upon in Daggerfall. Those few areas where it bests Daggerall aren't overly important. That said, I don't rule out a replay though it will definitely take a back seat to contemplated replays of Morrowind and Skyrim, this time heavily modded with all expansions/DLC.

As to the subject at hand, Daggerfall City's Mages Guild gave my avatar a simple task . . . travel to Tunbeth Hamlet, enter the Palace, and kill an undead, in this case a vampire. Returning to Daggerfall he accepted an assignment to dispose of a Gargoyle in the Lair of Alabore. This proved rather challenging as the Lair was inhabited by casters of various sorts, some pretty darn tough. Quickly accessing the situation, he stored his beloved Daedric Warhammer and equipped himself with tower shield and a lesser quality mace enchanted with paralysis-on-strike. The mace does not guaranty paralysis, but did help even out the odds. The gargoyle itself was deep within the Lair. Following its demise I worried that, after my long hiatus, my avatar might have trouble finding the exit. (He's magically gimped and likely will never have enough magicka to cast teleportation.) Thankfully he has not lost his sense of direction. Within a very few minutes he was at the entrance carting a decent haul of Daedric weapons for the trip home. (I hold the apparently minority view that Daggerfall's dungeon map in 3D perspective mode, combined with the mini map insert, make finding dungeon exits a breeze a good 95% of the time. For dungeon exploration I stick to 2D mode.)

That out of the way, he solicited a too rare civilian quest during which he was sent to Baelworth Hamlet to check on the father of a Daggerfall City merchant. Not a happy ending.

He then traveled to Penbury (???) Hamlet for training in Medical at a local Temple. I left him as he reentered one of the Daggerfall City gates.

Posted by: Renee Oct 24 2015, 05:40 AM

My issue with Arena isn't actually those huge dungeons, it's all the enemies that show up, almost all the time. I wish there were a way to make them less frequent.

I'm the sort of gamer who likes downtime. I like battles & challenge, but I also like some breathing space. TES 1: Arena doesn't give us much of this, not in most dungeons, anyways.

On the other hand, one of the great things about Arena is that it's pretty much bug-free, I've noticed its coding is very solid, for an older game which was made without much budget, and probably not much beta-testing, either, since only one guy did most of the beta stuff back then. Todd's first job, lol.

QUOTE
enchanted with paralysis-on-strike. The mace does not guaranty paralysis, but did help even out the odds. The gargoyle itself was deep within the Lair. Following its demise I worried that, after my long hiatus, my avatar might have trouble finding the exit. (He's magically gimped and likely will never have enough magicka to cast teleportation.) Thankfully he has not lost his sense of direction. Within a very few minutes he was at the entrance carting a decent haul of Daedric weapons for the trip home


What sort of character have you got here? I can see he's more of a fighter than a magic-user. Also, what version of DF do you use? I mean, is it from a floppy disc, or from Bethesda's website? I've got DF on the Anthology disc set, one of these days I'll finally get to try it.


Posted by: mirocu Oct 24 2015, 08:13 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Oct 24 2015, 06:40 AM) *

My issue with Arena isn't actually those huge dungeons, it's all the enemies that show up, almost all the time. I wish there were a way to make them less frequent.

Shining in the Darkness for the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) had a spell you could cast that gave you some breathing room by keeping monsters away for awhile. Loved that spell.

QUOTE(Renee @ Oct 24 2015, 06:40 AM) *

I'm the sort of gamer who likes downtime. I like battles & challenge, but I also like some breathing space. TES 1: Arena doesn't give us much of this, not in most dungeons, anyways.

*points at self with both fingers*

-Me too!

Thatīs why I loved Oblivion so much coming from Doom 3. No more scripted attacks and no more constant fighting!! wacko.gif wacko.gif

I love just walking around the towns in Arena, talking to various people smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Oct 24 2015, 09:13 AM

Yes exactly, Crow. In my case, I came from Tomb Raider, which is ultra challenging sometimes. In comparison, Oblivion and Skyrim are not as hard, but this is okay. I like the lack of frustration in these games.

Oh, and you can stop pointing at yourself now. hee hee.


Posted by: Decrepit Oct 24 2015, 10:46 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Oct 23 2015, 11:40 PM) *

My issue with Arena isn't actually those huge dungeons, it's all the enemies that show up, almost all the time. I wish there were a way to make them less frequent.

I'm the sort of gamer who likes downtime. I like battles & challenge, but I also like some breathing space. TES 1: Arena doesn't give us much of this, not in most dungeons, anyways.

<snip>

QUOTE
enchanted with paralysis-on-strike. The mace does not guaranty paralysis, but did help even out the odds. The gargoyle itself was deep within the Lair. Following its demise I worried that, after my long hiatus, my avatar might have trouble finding the exit. (He's magically gimped and likely will never have enough magicka to cast teleportation.) Thankfully he has not lost his sense of direction. Within a very few minutes he was at the entrance carting a decent haul of Daedric weapons for the trip home


What sort of character have you got here? I can see he's more of a fighter than a magic-user. Also, what version of DF do you use? I mean, is it from a floppy disc, or from Bethesda's website? I've got DF on the Anthology disc set, one of these days I'll finally get to try it.

Daggerfall's dungeons aren't an improvement if you prefer a less stressful, slower paced environment. They can be quite brutal indeed, especially when populated by Vampire Ancients, the bane of my avatar's existence. He's ill suited to cope with any powerful caster, but those things are the pits. Finishing a quest with them around can be a lessen in frustration, as my avatar is experiencing first hand in his ongoing assignment for the Temple of Kynareth. With a custom-built uber character and a bit of game savvy it can be a walk in the park, but my avatar is far from uber.

I deliberately created him magically gimped. He can cast self-made watered-down versions of many spells, but lacks the magicka for powerful magics. Some spells are totally beyond him, such as teleportation. That's no biggie for me, as I enjoy finding my way out of Daggerfall's labyrinthic dungeons, as well as the challenge of completing missions within sometimes alarmingly tight time constraints.

While not gimped as a warrior, he's not uber in that regard either. I sometimes wish made him a bit more powerful, but suspect I'd soon grow bored with an avatar who walks through dungeons without chipping a fingernail.

http://i.imgur.com/TPA0eHh.jpg. At most he's one level higher now, if that. (Even discounting my hiatus, he levels very slowly.) The magic item that buffed his intelligence to '100' has long since broken. He still hasn't found Daedric gauntlets to finish out his armor set. Note also that I goofed up and show 'Decrepit' as both character and class name.

As to game version, I'm a fan of http://wiwiki.wiwiland.net/index.php?title=Daggerfall_:_DaggerfallSetup_EN, which includes all official patches, numerous unofficial patches and fixes, and additional content. Comes pre-configured with DOSbox, making installation a breeze. I suggest you accept all additional content with the possible exception of DagSkills, which is more cheat than fix, raising skill-caps from 100 to 200.

Posted by: mirocu Oct 24 2015, 11:04 AM

Nice to see your Daggerfall avatar, Decrepit. He looks like he means business smile.gif


The DaggerfallSetup is recommended and can be accessed in the pinned thread as well as Arena. Iīve downloaded both myself but only played one so far.

Posted by: Renee Oct 24 2015, 05:09 PM

Early game discussion. I am loving it! hehe.gif The cool thing about Daggerfall (from what I'm hearing) is that it's like a modern TES game, in the sense that there's so much else to do, I won't have to jump into the Main Quest (whatever that is) for a good while. Another thing about Arena is that other than the Main Quest and some random fetch / capture / kill quests, there isn't much else to do. I can RP my character running around towns or the countryside for awhile, but that only lasts for so long.

Yes I saw the "Decrepit" class, how does that work? Are there Majors and Minors? What are his Majors and Minors, if so?

QUOTE
I sometimes wish made him a bit more powerful, but suspect I'd soon grow bored with an avatar who walks through dungeons without chipping a fingernail.


Lol, this is pretty much how I game with Renee Gade I in Arena. She's a Battlemage, and spends most of her time invisible, so I don't have to deal with fight after fight!



Posted by: Renee Oct 25 2015, 09:53 PM

Good news! I managed to find some stone tablet in the last temple RG1 was in! This tablet was guarded by a puzzle-door, and I guessed this one right after only 3 tries. Now .... to the Halls of Collossus, where the next staff piece is supposed to be.

Posted by: Decrepit Oct 28 2015, 11:46 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Oct 24 2015, 11:09 AM) *

Lol, this is pretty much how I game with Renee Gade I in Arena. She's a Battlemage, and spends most of her time invisible, so I don't have to deal with fight after fight!
There's something to be said for stealth. Though my Cyrodiilic avatar nowadays seldom employees it in the execution of his normal daily routine, earlier in his post incarceration career he made regular use of stealth. Come to think on it, he still relies heavily on it during his periodic cleansings of Rockmilk, though the ideas is 'not' to avoid combat but to achieve a tactical advantage. My Daggerfall avatar utilizes it in tougher dungeons.

Speaking of whom, my Daggerfall avatar made no progress in resolving his primary objectives for quite some time. He waited patiently to be contacted by agents for the major players involved. And waited. And waited. It dawned on him that said contact might not materialize. That being the case, he decided to revisit those players, who, last he canvased them, gave him the cold shoulder. One such player, I'll not say which to avoid spoilers, netted new info. He now has what he needs to soldier on.

He has, however, decided to hold off for the time being, until he rises one rank in the Mages Guild, which will open up the magic item maker. He's two skill-ups in Restoration away from that. Weak as he is in magicka, those skill-ups won't be a walk in the park.

I should mention that his stay in Dunore Laboratory wasn't as harrowing as we feared. Nor was the assignment itself quite what it seemed. The same can be said for his Mages Guild task to guard the Hall against Daedric invasion. He got two enchanted Daedric round shields from that one.

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 1 2015, 11:36 AM

My avatar decided to take advancement in the Mages Guild seriously and devote himself almost exclusively to raising Restoration. This was done. He now has access to the guild's magic item maker. Thus are he has made:

. . . a gem enchanted with item repair and 50% extra carrying capacity, active while held/worn.

. . . a gem enchanted with armor strengthening and extra spell points, active while held/worn.

. . . a Daedric dagger enchanted with Recall (anchor/teleport) when cast.

. . . an additional item repair while held/worn enchantment. (They are supposedly cumulative.)

. . . a gem enchanted with Water Breathing when held/worn.

I'm a bit leery of how effective the two repair enchants will be. The others have already proven their worth.

When I left him last night he was deep within a dungeon on the Emperor's business.

Posted by: Renee Nov 2 2015, 06:28 PM

I like the dagger of Mark / Recall. I've heard this is a good spell to have.

... Gem of Water Breathing; so this means we can drown in Daggerfall, eh? In Arena, we can swim, but we can't drown.

Posted by: ghastley Nov 2 2015, 07:11 PM

I don't remember exactly, but I think Daggerfall starts dropping your health immediately you submerge, rather than Oblivion's period of breath-holding first. Or maybe it was instant death after you couldn't hold your breath any more. Anyway, one countdown only. And unlike Oblivion, if you surface and re-submerge, the spell keeps going.

Daggerfall also has a different water-walking spell, in that it helps walking through water (higher speed) rather than on water. Useful in totally flooded dungeons.

Most players would try and wear items enchanted with both "on equip", so water is not an obstacle, and you don't need to cast. The downside is that they wear out even when not in water, unless you swap equipment.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 2 2015, 10:48 PM

QUOTE(ghastley @ Nov 2 2015, 07:11 PM) *

I don't remember exactly, but I think Daggerfall starts dropping your health immediately you submerge, rather than Oblivion's period of breath-holding first. Or maybe it was instant death after you couldn't hold your breath any more. Anyway, one countdown only. And unlike Oblivion, if you surface and re-submerge, the spell keeps going.

Daggerfall also has a different water-walking spell, in that it helps walking through water (higher speed) rather than on water. Useful in totally flooded dungeons.

Most players would try and wear items enchanted with both "on equip", so water is not an obstacle, and you don't need to cast. The downside is that they wear out even when not in water, unless you swap equipment.

Oh, the horrors of game mechanics wacko.gif

Posted by: Renee Nov 2 2015, 11:39 PM

Interesting. I see. Well in that regard, Arena does have a sort of condition for swimming in water: we lose Stamina as we swim. We lose it pretty slowly though, so it's not really a "breath meter" like it is in later games.

I must say, I am impressed with Halls of Colossus so far. It's not the usual run through a maze, which is mostly unfilled with anything but monsters. Instead, there are six keys we must find, which unlock a final door where I'm assuming the next staff piece lies. So in other words, the entire dungeon is a maze, but it's also a huge puzzle.

.. .. there are enemies all over the place, but so far they've been easy to deal with: lizard men and rats and lesser creatures like this. It's been awhile since I've seen these easier enemies.

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 3 2015, 12:43 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 2 2015, 11:28 AM) *

I like the dagger of Mark / Recall. I've heard this is a good spell to have.
Most players will likely create a character with enough magicka points to cast Anchor/Recall via spell, so not need to invest in an enchanted item with this ability. My avatar is not so gifted. Admittedly, he now has enough magicka via an enchanted item which increases his magic pool. But he's rather not rely on that buff being constantly available.


QUOTE(ghastley @ Nov 2 2015, 12:11 PM) *

I don't remember exactly, but I think Daggerfall starts dropping your health immediately you submerge, rather than Oblivion's period of breath-holding first. Or maybe it was instant death after you couldn't hold your breath any more. Anyway, one countdown only. And unlike Oblivion, if you surface and re-submerge, the spell keeps going.

Most players would try and wear items enchanted with both "on equip", so water is not an obstacle, and you don't need to cast. The downside is that they wear out even when not in water, unless you swap equipment.
In Daggerfall characters take no damage while submerged so long as their breath holds out. Once exhausted death comes quickly, with next to no grace period.

As to the ability to repair enchanted items, you are right in that this is not available in the vanilla game as installed. However, my research into item enchantment unearthed this juicy tidbit. I quote . . .

"Another very useful enchantment is the "Repair" ability. If you have such an enchanted item equipped, the health status of a damaged item increases by one level after about 8 hours of rest (example Almost New → New and so on). Sadly, this doesn't work while loitering or during fast travel. Items with the "Repair" ability work additively, meaning that by equipping two items the repair time is halved and so on. This form of repair is very useful to mend magic items (including artifacts), because these can't be repaired in other ways and get worn out after some time of use. The magic repair effect was removed from the game during a later patch, but it was provided again since patch 2.00. However, you must add the line magicrepair 1 to the Z.CFG file in your Daggerfall game directory to make it work, otherwise only non-magical items will be repaired in this way. The repair modus starts with the items you have already equipped and works then from the top of your inventory stack (wagon included) downwards. So, if you want a specific item repaired, position it at the top of your inventory or wagon stack. Drop all other items to the ground if necessary, until you only have the item you want repaired in your stack."

I enabled magic repair. I feared doing so would cheapen the gaming experience. Thankfully such is not the case. Not for me. One thing I learned early on . . . it takes a LOT of items enchanted with Object Repair to make repair practical. especially if your avatar carries and uses a decent number of enchanted items. One Object Repair item can't keep up. My avatar now wields five such items, maybe six. (He combines them with other enchants, so that one ring is enchanted with Armor Strength plus Object Repair, a diamond contains four magicka boosts plus Object Repair, his Daedric Warhammer has Featherweight, Wizard's Fire on strike, and Object Repair, and so on.) Even with so many Object Repair items, the resting requirement can be risky during quests with tight time limits. And of course there is the initial monetary investment, though this will pay itself off over time.


As for my avatar, he's progressed the Emperor's mission and finished another round of Guild assignments. Well, almost finished. He's hunting a giant in Belladausa Coven for the fighters guild as we speak. It's been a worthwhile quest in that he has already looted three (!) Daedric cuirasses. His toughest recent assignment was for the Knights of the Dragon. They once again sent him to a dungeon filled with Vampire Ancients. Man do we hate those things!

Posted by: ghastley Nov 3 2015, 04:04 AM

I have the repair option turned on in mine as well. The usual repair mechanism via smiths is too cumbersome compared with the later games' DIY option. My Orcs use about as many pieces with it as you do.

Yes Orcs, I made a mod for that.

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 4 2015, 11:11 AM

My avatar has completed another round of guild/organization assignments:

. . . For a civilian merchant he found and returned with a book hidden within the Ruins of Greencroft Manor.
. . . For the Temple of Kynareth he searched for and returned with a missing Temple member lost within Castle Hawkwing.
. . . For the Knight of the Dragon he searched for clues of the whereabouts of a missing Knight within the Tower of Buckingston.
. . . He stood guard over a meditating mage at the Daggerfall City Mages Guild.
. . . he tracked down and disposed of a Gargoyle within the Ruins of Old Carololda's Farm. Come to think on it, he might still be working on this one. (I was very groggy when I left him last night.)

None of these were walks in the park, excepting the Mages Guild assignment. Surprisingly, despise a heavy investment in Enchanted Item creation, he is now just shy of having 7mil septims in his bank account, thanks to a decent number of Daedric drops, including cuirasses. He now rarely bothers to loot even mithril unless a given mission is otherwise devoid of decent spoils.

He wants a second item enchanted with the four seasonal magicka increases and Repair Object. (We understand that Magicka increases stack, and know Repair Object does.) All that holds him back is lack of a diamond to put the enchants on.

He leveled, putting most of his six points in Wisdom (bumping him up to '70', for added magic resistance) and the remainder in speed.

QUOTE(ghastley @ Nov 2 2015, 09:04 PM) *

Yes Orcs, I made a mod for that.
I've heard mention of a mod that does this. Is it yours or do more 'playable orc' mods exist?

Posted by: ghastley Nov 4 2015, 01:45 PM

I haven't heard of any others. The tools are primitive for modding Daggerfall, so not many would bother, but when I found that I couldn't play an Orc without doing so ...

Posted by: mirocu Nov 4 2015, 04:40 PM

Today I finally got back into Arena! happy.gif

Immediately took on an assignment from the Lady of Dunstad Grove to deliver a note to the Thieves Guild in a town five days south. Attacks from a riviling Lady occured and a few other random ones, but Thor did ok. His spells are so good practically nothing can threaten him, as long as he uses them that is.. wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Nov 4 2015, 04:46 PM

ghastl.ey: That sounds like a neat little mod. I bet that must be tricky getting it to work. Well, for me it would be.

Decrepit: Wow 7 million??? ohmy.gif You might have tmar beat for the most amount of gold in an ES game. My character in Arena, Renee Gade, usually has somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000.... it's always fluctuating between those two amounts, because she tends to blow a lot of money on inns. She'll rent a King's Suite for instance for like 10 days, and only stay there overnight. Part of her RP, I guess. She also buys a lot of Healing and Restore Power (Magicka, basically) potions ... which is necessary in this game, of course, since resting in dungeons can be difficult.

mirocu: welcome back. How far into the Main Quest have you gone? Or are you doing the MQ at all?

Posted by: mirocu Nov 4 2015, 10:31 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 4 2015, 04:46 PM) *

mirocu: welcome back. How far into the Main Quest have you gone? Or are you doing the MQ at all?

As per m,y usual routine Iīm totally ignoring the MQ laugh.gif

I reckon I should since thereīs really not much else to do in Arena, but Iīm simply not interested anymore in following long plotlines kvleft.gif

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 5 2015, 11:54 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 4 2015, 09:46 AM) *

Decrepit: Wow 7 million??? ohmy.gif You might have tmar beat for the most amount of gold in an ES game. My character in Arena, Renee Gade, usually has somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000.... it's always fluctuating between those two amounts, because she tends to blow a lot of money on inns. She'll rent a King's Suite for instance for like 10 days, and only stay there overnight. Part of her RP, I guess. She also buys a lot of Healing and Restore Power (Magicka, basically) potions ... which is necessary in this game, of course, since resting in dungeons can be difficult.

Once Daedric plate starts dropping its relatively easy to gain massive wealth in Daggerfall. My avatar's biggest ongoing expense is likely buying training sessions at Guilds and Temples. At level 23 each such session costs him 2,300 septims. Creating enchanted items is far more expensive, but those are one-time costs, provided one creates enough of them with the Repair Object enchantment.

His most recent assignment saw him track down and disposed of a Lich for the Knights of the Dragon. No Daedric loot, but a number of adamantium weapons, adamantium greaves, and one Orcish katana. Of more interest, the Lich possessed a note hinting at the existence of a clue, located in a different dungeon, detailing the whereabouts of an object of great worth. Having sold spoils, banked and trained, he is about to check that out.

ADDENDUM: My avatar aborted his search for the artifact clue. He traveled to the dungeon in question and found the contact fairly quickly. Only, she offered him a mission to earn an artifact already in his possession. It resides in his pack. No sense in getting another. I reverted to the save made immediately before talking with the contact. He teleported to the the dungeon entrance, got in a few rounds of spell practice, and returned to Daggerfall City. Since return he has guarded the Mages Guild hall and is now tasked by the Fighters Guild to kill a dragon.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 6 2015, 08:42 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 4 2015, 04:46 PM) *

Decrepit: Wow 7 million??? ohmy.gif You might have tmar beat for the most amount of gold in an ES game.

Actually, I think his character Baa has over 30 million Septim... wink.gif




Editio!!

Today Thor of Valhalla managed to save the Ladyshipīs eldest son from the Dark Hood of Brothers. He found him almost immediately, eliminating the need to search the entire dungeon. As compensation he got 12357 gold and I cannot for the life of me understand where the Lady got that number from rollinglaugh.gif

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 10 2015, 03:34 PM

Since creating an enchanted item which boosts his magicka pool, spell practice has become much more time efficient. In consequence he has advanced yet another rank in the Mages Guide, becoming a Warlord, authorized to summon Daedra. I don't yet know to what extent he will utilize this benefit. My hope is that he is some day able to summon Hermaeus Mora, who's reward is a one-use-only book that lets avatars distribute 30 points between their attributes. I'm gonna need to print out those dates so he won't miss 'em.

He's completed another round of quests, including an all-too-rare nobility assignment. None stand out as worthy of detailing.

He hopes to create an enchanted item combining Repair Object and Spell Reflection (to better handle those dratted Vampire Ancients) but lacks a receptacle powerful enough to hold them. (A diamond would suffice.)

He has yet to find Daedric gauntlets . . . any gauntlets better than mithril for that matter. It's almost a running joke. Not a very funny one.

Posted by: mirocu Nov 13 2015, 09:36 PM

No daedra found in Arena, at least I havenīt seen that word there. Did they first appear in Daggerfall?



Small dungeon crawl today. The objective was to find a mage who apparently wasnīt too nice. Immediately upon entering the dungeon I got a message saying I could sense him, so no other levels than that one. Found him within the first minute Iīd say. Then I ran around looking for treasure. There were some, but not much.

Posted by: ghastley Nov 13 2015, 09:55 PM

QUOTE(Decrepit @ Nov 10 2015, 09:34 AM) *

He has yet to find Daedric gauntlets . . . any gauntlets better than mithril for that matter. It's almost a running joke. Not a very funny one.

It would appear that the way to find such items is to have created a character that can't use them. I have a number that took an armour restriction to leave more for other things. They all find plate armour in every chest.

My Orcs have trouble finding Orcish, but that's true for everyone. Looking for it does get you a lot of Daedric.

There's an easily exploited glitch that gets you Deadric weapons early and often, which is good for the economy, but it doesn't help with armour, and it's specific to Daedric, and useless for other materials.

Posted by: Decrepit Nov 14 2015, 03:24 PM

My avatar visited the castle of a 'major player' and accepted a mission whose reward was to have been information about one of his two Empirical tasks. Alas, it proved to be a bit of deliberate misdirection. The traveling involved tracking down this dead end consumed so much time he feels he must do another round or two of guild / organization missions before resuming work for the Emperor. He's on one such task at the moment, for the Temple of Kynareth, searching for a lost member within a dungeon populated with Vampire Ancients. Talk about slow going! Thankfully, this one has a 23 day window.

QUOTE(ghastley @ Nov 13 2015, 02:55 PM) *

QUOTE(Decrepit @ Nov 10 2015, 09:34 AM) *

He has yet to find Daedric gauntlets . . . any gauntlets better than mithril for that matter. It's almost a running joke. Not a very funny one.

It would appear that the way to find such items is to have created a character that can't use them. I have a number that took an armour restriction to leave more for other things. They all find plate armour in every chest.

My Orcs have trouble finding Orcish, but that's true for everyone. Looking for it does get you a lot of Daedric.
My avatar gets a good many Daedric weapon drops, and decent armor dops, except gauntlets. Speaking of Orcish, he grabbed a beautiful fluted Orcish cuirass during his last round of guild tasks. He added it to his collection rather than sell it, Orcish being so rare.

Posted by: ghastley Nov 16 2015, 02:56 PM

Posting here made me fire up Daggerfall for a quick thrash. Not a good idea, as you forget so much about the control layout when you're away. My Orc got killed by a Harpy when I tied to dodge sideways with the "A" key, after playing Skyrim all the time.

I have the same issue going back to Oblivion, where the E/Space and R/F swaps get me very time.

Posted by: Acadian Nov 16 2015, 03:40 PM

QUOTE(ghastley @ Nov 16 2015, 05:56 AM) *

Posting here made me fire up Daggerfall for a quick thrash. Not a good idea, as you forget so much about the control layout when you're away. My Orc got killed by a Harpy when I tied to dodge sideways with the "A" key, after playing Skyrim all the time.

I have the same issue going back to Oblivion, where the E/Space and R/F swaps get me very time.


That is so very much me! Not that I play TES I, II or III, but when I do (very rarely) try to play a different game from my primary game, my fingers go stupid and Buffy gets hurt. I'm sure that is why I get into a game and stay there for years then, when the time comes, pretty much relocate completely to another game. Such as it was with Diablo II, Baldurs Gate II, Oblivion and, now, Skyrim. Renee says I'm 'monogamous'. tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Nov 16 2015, 04:45 PM

That's one of the advantages of using a PC controller; I can configure movement and strafing any way I'd like. Too bad Turija doesn't post here, he'd be giving a small lecture on this topic. Seriously though, if I were to play Arena using Mouse & Keys, it would be pretty tricky, because my right hand is stuck with weapon swings, while my left would be controlling movement, jumping, weapon sheathing, etc. It'd be so awkward. I don't know how you M+K folks do it!


Posted by: mirocu Nov 16 2015, 10:06 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 16 2015, 04:45 PM) *

I don't know how you M+K folks do it!

The PC Master Race can do anything cool.gif wink.gif


Seriously, I donīt have a problem with it. Since Arena gameplay is quite slow and doesnīt have the smooth action movement of later installments, I have plenty of time lining up to a foe and get ready. Of course, my character always has a shield spell active and when in dungeons or at night in towns, also a spell that absorbs magicka. So heīs in no hurry, he can take quite a lot of hits without having to worry smile.gif



Posted by: Decrepit Nov 17 2015, 01:29 AM

My avatar has undertaken a variety of assignments, many of them convoluted dungeon crawls. On one such crawl he found Orchish gauntlets! He still hopes for Daedric, but Orcish is a definite step up from what he had been wearing. Just before I left him tonight he advanced a rank in the Mages Guild. This seems to be an interim tier that offers no additional perks. Next tier gains him assess to the teleporter.

He enchanted a Daedric Kantana with Paralyze and Featherweight to work his long blade skill. He has no real need to work long blade, it being miscellaneous. But Blunt needs no further improvement so why not? Speaking of enchantments, since enchanting his Tower Shield with Reflect Spell (when cast) to better survive Vampire Ancients not one single dungeon has contained them.

QUOTE(Renee @ Nov 16 2015, 09:45 AM) *

That's one of the advantages of using a PC controller; I can configure movement and strafing any way I'd like. Too bad Turija doesn't post here, he'd be giving a small lecture on this topic. Seriously though, if I were to play Arena using Mouse & Keys, it would be pretty tricky, because my right hand is stuck with weapon swings, while my left would be controlling movement, jumping, weapon sheathing, etc. It'd be so awkward. I don't know how you M+K folks do it!
When you get around to Daggerfall you'll find the controls fully configurable. Mine are set very much as they are in Oblivion and Skyrim, and Minecraft for that matter. Arena's non configurable controls would likely bug me to no end today. Back when the game was new and shiny (and I myself less mentally decrepit) they seemed par for the course.

You remind me that I was a long-time holdout for arrow-key movement. I first learned WASD for Morrowind, then converted back to arrow-keys with my return to EQ2 (or was it EQ1?). I relearned WASD for Oblivion, and have stayed with it ever since.

I think I avoided WASD as long I did because I did not teach myself to touch-type until relatively late in life. In fact MMOs were a prime cause of my deciding to learn to touch type. I needed to be able to chat with fellow group and guild members while keeping my eyes glued on the screen. Couldn't do that as a two-finger hunt-and-peck typist.

Posted by: Renee Nov 17 2015, 01:31 PM

Decrepit: yes I remember playing Everquest, which is MMO, and suddenly realizing I'd need to hook up a keyboard to my PS2. I was lucky in that I took a typing class way back in high school, one of the best classes I ever took in my life!

I had to configure Oblivion from WASD to arrows so that I could navigate menus more quickly. Tricky to explain, but if you can picture trying to navigate menus with a controller joystick ... panic.gif With directional buttons this is much smoother.

Well it's good to hear DF allows more customization.

mirocu: Yes those Shield spells rock in Arena. It's interesting how they did this back then; other RPGs which featured shield spells would still allow damage while the spell was active, they'd just allow less of it.

Well, I don't have any new Arena updates for y'all but I'll be playing some this week. I think I'm getting to the end of Halls of Collussus. viking.gif


Posted by: Decrepit Nov 19 2015, 04:19 PM

My avatar has performed a number of tasks for varying organizations. None proved overly challenging survivability wise. He was at long last able to test his Spell Reflect enchanted shield against Vampire Ancients. They are indeed now easier to cope with. To be fair, that particular crawl was one in which he rapidly found his objective. The sample pool was thus not as extensive as we might have preferred.

He's currently on a mission for the Mages Guild to dispose of six mutated former guild members. It's one of those assignments where quest mobs spawn nearby during rests. It feels 'cheaty' to me to have my avatar enter a dungeon, then rest over and over at the entrance until all targets have spawned and been defeated. What he usually does, unless on a very tight time schedule, is wander the passageways and rest naturally as he needs to heal and/or replenish magicka / stamina. Only . . . this dungeon is so easy he never needs to do those. What we'll prolly do is let him practice spell casting, resting between rounds to replenish magicka loads. He can certain benefit from such practice, a number of his spell schools still being in the mid twenties. (Restoration, the only spell school that counts toward his leveling, is an exception at circa 75, with Mysticism at circa 42.)

He's still at a dead end with his primary mission. We're not sure what to do about that at the moment other than go about our mundane affairs and hope he eventually receives further instructions.

Posted by: Renee Nov 23 2015, 12:04 AM

My avatar got to a puzzle-door in Halls of Collossus, and I think I know what the answer is, but I had to stop gaming for the day when I got that far. Anyways, this is probably my favorite Arena dungeon so far. We're supposed to



I like HoC because it's different than other dungeons in TES 1. I didn't expect there to be any variation at all like this.


Posted by: mirocu Nov 23 2015, 10:45 AM

Isnīt it great we can still have so much fun with these old games? Glad you got pleasently suprised by the dungeon, Renee happy.gif

@Decrepit - Hopefully your avatar gets the info that he needs soon. In the meantime, it might be good to practice on some skills smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Nov 29 2015, 05:06 PM

Fredas, 9:01 AM, 18th of First Seed, 3E 392

http://s936.photobucket.com/user/xenaclone/media/0d43a982-0872-4de8-8f73-6a67ba3b9978_zpsmrviokki.png.html

Renee Gade the first, born in the town of Amol, in the province of Skyrim, is now in the town of Tenmar Forest, in Elsweyr. It's been a long journey for her: from Skyrim to Cyrodiil to Valenwood, and now here, in this dinky little town. The air is pleasant because it's springtime, and Renee has just emerged from a 10-day stay at the Howling Daggar. 10 days in any one place is rare for Miss Gade, but she mostly did it so she could have her adamantium longsword and Round Shield of Personality (her two favorite combat items) repaired.

As usual, she had merely discarded all the pieces of leather armor she had worn into this shop several days earlier, all over its floor. With an average of 20,000 gold, she can easily afford a brand-new set of armor, all of which are common & unenchanted. As she returns to the Elite Weaponry Shop, she sees that the armor she'd worn into the place is now hanging neatly on a floor dummy. The smith explains that as her fame has grown, and people begin to know who she is, being able to place the very armor which Renee had worn into Halls of Collossus is going to increase his business. The leather is worn and beaten, and many men would pay a small fortune to have it, but this set of armor is not for sale.

The smith also explains that her sword and magic shield are not ready yet. Drats. One more day. Back to the Howling Daggar. Rumor has it that the place she had dreamed about several days earlier, the Crystal Tower, which is supposed to contain the next piece of the Staff of Chaos, is somewhere in the Summerset Isles. Renee looks forward to this journey, as always.

Posted by: Lopov Nov 30 2015, 07:50 AM

Neat that the smith put her armor on display to enhance his business. But does he at least give Renee lower prices too? wink.gif

Posted by: mirocu Nov 30 2015, 08:47 AM

Awesome that you included a pic, Renee! goodjob.gif You are hereby required to do so in every update from here on out! biggrin.gif

Whoīs ms. Gadeīs follower btw?

Posted by: Renee Nov 30 2015, 07:57 PM

Nice, huh? I didn't post any Kahreem (or anybody else) this week so my creative thoughts went elsewhere.

She doesn't have a follower; that pic in the top left is a glitch. Renee rescued somebody awhile back who looked just like her, ever since then that pic has been there.

All that stuff about the smith & increased business is my overactive imagination. wink.gif In case you play this game someday, it aint like that. Matter of fact, if you put items on the ground, it will respawn out of the game as soon as you leave the shop.


Posted by: Renee Jan 17 2016, 04:59 PM

Arena just got insanely hard. I'm at Crystal Tower, and all the sudden there's vampires. Even if there's just one of these, it's like instant death. sad.gif This game might just b34t me, instead of me b34ting it. Over half the doors are locked too. Since RG1 can't lockpick, she is forced to bash these doors with one of her weapons, which means they eventually wear out.

On the other hand, she's got some cool items I've forgotten about. Like this Ring of Far Silence, and these Bracers of Opening. Heh heh heh....


Posted by: mirocu Jan 17 2016, 05:52 PM

My character scoffs at vampires. Then he kills them cool.gif


I hope ms Gade da First makes it through!

Posted by: Renee Jan 17 2016, 06:34 PM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Jan 17 2016, 11:52 AM) *

My character scoffs at vampires. Then he kills them cool.gif

How? How is he ridding them? ... Fortunately, I haven't seen any more of these in Crystal Tower. Crystal Tower gets really interesting too. There's a section which has .. well I don't want to spoil it for ya. Then again, you're not doing the Main Quest.





Posted by: mirocu Jan 17 2016, 09:45 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jan 17 2016, 06:34 PM) *

QUOTE(mirocu @ Jan 17 2016, 11:52 AM) *

My character scoffs at vampires. Then he kills them cool.gif

How? How is he ridding them?

With spells. Heīs immune to theirs and has quite some powerful ones himself, one hit is enough to kill anything.

QUOTE(Renee @ Jan 17 2016, 06:34 PM) *



Whoa! ohmy.gif ohmy.gif

I would like to see some pics right about now biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee Jan 18 2016, 01:52 AM

QUOTE(mirocu @ Jan 17 2016, 03:45 PM) *

With spells. Heīs immune to theirs and has quite some powerful ones himself, one hit is enough to kill anything.

Can you give some examples? I was using a reflect spell but maybe it's not powerful enough.

I think I took some pics. I'll have to post 'em later.


Posted by: mirocu Jan 18 2016, 08:28 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jan 18 2016, 01:52 AM) *

Can you give some examples? I was using a reflect spell but maybe it's not powerful enough.

Hmm, Iīll have to enter the game and look them up. Most of them are low on effect though and you have to add the numbers up since they grow with each level. My character has a reflect spell too but he never uses it because it kills whoever attacks him instantly and he wants them to fill up his Magicka first tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee May 1 2016, 02:36 PM

Rene Gade 1 is in Crypt of Hearts, which is #6 out of 10 steps during the Main Quest. viking.gif I've been playing Arena occasionally, but not talking about it. Anyways, I'd thought I'd post a few Arena pics, okay?

http://i.imgur.com/9WrE54z.png

http://i.imgur.com/iyitzDx.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/CcTcbTG.png?1 -- ( I assume she's supposed to be a dark elf, hard to say. Could be Argonian. Races aren't as defined visually as they are in later games).

http://i.imgur.com/PDdyliX.png -- (I assume this is in Black Marsh)

http://i.imgur.com/wJQhJlr.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/7usk54a.png


Posted by: Renee May 11 2016, 10:06 PM

I am having an awesome battle right now in this game. I guessed the answer to the puzzle correctly, and there's two fire daemon in the room where the staff is found. Fire daemons apparently do not take damage unless you've got a mithril weapon or better. RG1 has an adamantine sword which she's been carrying around forever. I'm not sure if her weapon is good enough. Seemed like it wasn't harming the daemons much.

Then we decided to try some other ideas. In the next room there are a lot of pits. RG1 can levitate, so she starts levitating over the pits, moving away from the daemons (which cannot follow). She breaks out her Ring of Ice Storm to begin sending cold magic their way. Then she casts a Spell Reflection, and that's what did the trick. viking.gif

As the one daemon started hurling fireballs at her, it eventually died because here we've got a 10% chance of having each spell reflect back to its caster, but there's also a +5% chance per level. RG1 is level 17 right now. She wrote this spell a long time ago, probably when she was Level 3 or 4, so it's really 55% or 60% chance that spells reflect.

She drank a Resist Fire potion to eliminate taking any damage that isn't reflected, then she drank a bunch of potions (restore health and magicka). She moved in close to the first daemon, and touched it with a Damage Health spell, which causes 40 to 50 damage every 5 rounds (5 minutes in-game time). There is +3 to +6 damage per round with each additional level, and again, we're talking maybe 12 or so extra levels.

She took a huge chunk of damage when she went back into that room with the staff piece. The second daemon was hiding in there and he got her. But then he too began throwing spells, and pretty soon he was history. biggrin.gif




Posted by: Lopov May 12 2016, 09:27 PM

Reading about such battles reminds me of Baldur's Gate where a lot of spells were leveled dependent and if you planned things ahead, some tough battles quickly became much easier.

Good that she dealt with both daimons, she's not far from finishing the MQ, right?

Posted by: mirocu May 21 2016, 03:56 PM

Awesome updates, Renee! Cool that youīre still on the MQ. And I really liked the pictures, keep em coming! smile.gif


Those daemons... All my character needs to do is sneeze and boom; destroyed biggrin.gif

Posted by: Renee May 21 2016, 06:26 PM

Thanks mirocu, I will update more frequently this summer since I'm not playing Skyrim all summer. I also REALLY want to get to Daggerfall. viking.gif So I've been playing Arena maybe once or 2x a week lately..

Lopov: Yes, I think there are three more steps to the M41n Kw3$T. biggrin.gif I can't believe I've been doing the MQ in this game for over 2 years. How do people get it done in hours?


Posted by: Renee Jun 15 2016, 10:47 PM

We found the seventh staff piece! It was found in Black Marsh, the in the dungeon of Murkwood. This dungeon was surprisingly easy. It consisted of two levels: the first is an outdoor maze. The air was foggy, but the enemies were nothing we hadn't seen before. This maze was easy because most of it was foliage (bushes & trees), so as soon as we found a stone structure, we knew to go inside of it.

Came to a door. The question was this...


I tie and hold, capture and bind,
yet both knights and knaves crave me.
I faithfully enslave all within my grasp, whether or not they seek me.
Yet those who have never felt my unmerciful hand, are pitied by their fellow man.

and I went through 8 guesses before I got it right!




After guessing that one, we went down to the next level, which was simply a large room full of caged golems. sad.gif All we had to do was jump across one chasm, and the staff piece was right there behind a door! This time it took me just TWO guesses to get it right. After guessing wrong the first time, the cages opened, and all these golems might have attacked Renee Gade the first if she hadn't cast an invisibility spell. rolleyes.gif

I run smoother than any rhyme,
I love to fall but cannot climb,
I tremble at each breath of air,
And yet can heaviest burdens bear

I think this one is so easy I won't even post the answer. Who wants to guess?

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 16 2016, 12:04 AM

It sounds like water to me.

Posted by: mirocu Jun 16 2016, 10:32 AM

I agree, sounds like water.


Nice update, Renee! So now, ehm, Renee, has all the pieces but one? That dungeon sure sounds easy, no false passages or hidden rooms at all. I think itīs to let your guard down for the final dive... wink.gif

Posted by: Renee Jun 17 2016, 09:38 PM

Yes, the answer is water, very good you two. cake.gif

Yes mirocu, it seems like the early Bethesda team (which was like... two people, + Todd as a beta-tester!) didn't feel like putting much energy into Murkwood. Or maybe they decided to make Murkwood so easy, they were thinking most gamers would assume "how can it be so easy? There must be some trick." Whatever the case, I hope I am done with Arena soon. I really wanna try Daggerfall this summer.


Posted by: Renee Jun 19 2016, 03:02 AM

Fredas, 7:11 pm, Second Seed 11, 3rd Era 393

Renee Gade I

Level: 17

ST: 62, Int: 60, WP: 78, AG: 77, Spd: 50, End: 66, Per: 48, Lck: 64

http://s936.photobucket.com/user/xenaclone/media/8be6e13c-5012-4070-8ed8-11b3ac60428f_zpstiotc8yv.png.html

In the town of Narsis, in Morrowind now, Renee Gade walks at night, knowing at some point a minion of http://i.imgur.com/vQDhyNT.png is bound to show up soon. And tonight is the night. It is a vampire who faces the Nord Battlemage on the very streets of this town. Tharn tells her so, during a quick, omnipotent moment of time.

The vampire immediately begins throwing some spells at Renee, fireballs mostly. But she is quick. She counters by immediately casting a spell of her own: one which will reflect most spells. She grabs into her magic bag, and grabs a potion which will also resist fire. After these two simple moves, the vampire hasn't got a chance in Oblivion.

After the vampire's dismissal, she begins her search for an inn to spend the night. She may spend several nights in this inn, for her gear is in need of repairs. Things must also be bought, identified, and sold. She had managed a good looting back in the http://i.imgur.com/P1lb821.png, in the province of Black Marsh.

She is pleased to find an inn literally on the same block the vampire's ashes had fallen. As she rents a room, she muses upon the last words spoken by http://i.imgur.com/ERZse63.png, the spirit she had been conferring with over the past 4 years. Ria hold told her to come here, to Morrowind, and as usual she would need to ask the locals if they knew anything about the place Ria had mentioned, a place called Dagoth-Ur.

Posted by: mirocu Jun 19 2016, 03:00 PM

Ooh, things are getting tight now! The staff is almost complete and Renee will soon face the final battle. May the Force™ be with her and... Oops, wrong universe biggrin.gif

Posted by: SubRosa Jun 19 2016, 04:10 PM

Renee has almost beaten the game! Thrash it like a red-haired stepchild. smile.gif

Posted by: Renee Jun 20 2016, 01:21 AM

Ha ha you don't know how much I want to beat this game! laugh.gif I can't wait for Daggerfall. I have a feeling I'll get stuck in a Daggerfall / Morrowind phase for many years to come.

Posted by: Renee Jun 21 2016, 10:37 PM

Fredas, 1:01 pm, Mid Year 4, 3rd Era 393.

King Cosik, http://i.imgur.com/c2vSHQp.png, in the province of Morrowind, was surprised to see the lady he'd been hearing so many things about walk into his court. Cosik was expecting some sort of hulking she-man, a very physically-developed matron of warfare, or some such, but the lady before him was nothing like this. She was smallish, for one thing. And dressed in common leather, not some shiny armor suit.

"Might this be her? The one everybody's been referring to?http://i.imgur.com/0vC0ffP.png."

King Cosik's nearest page agreed, but said nothing. This page had heard plenty of things too. How a Nord (a Nord!) was the one who'd managed to collect all the staff pieces which had been scattered by Jagar Tharn, one in each of Tamriel's provinces.

Finally, the page spoke. Nobody ever said he couldn't speak...it was just something not commonly done. And besides, he thought he might be able to inform the king directly.

"Sh--she is not really a just warrior, milord, she has magical talents too. She is said be able to disappear from sight in the blink of an eye, walk over pits and rivers without falling into them, and cast the deadliest magics seen since the days of Uriel Septim III, under the banner ofTheodore Osbern."

"What did you say? Who are you?"

But before he could derive an answer, the Nord woman approached. And now that she was near, the king could see something about this woman before him. She definitely had the fire of a warrior in her eyes. But the air around her seemed charged, as well. Charged with magical energy, that is.

"By gracious," she spoke." "I am here to address the court on the matter of the location of a certain lair, known to your peoples as Dagoth-Ur."

"My name is King Cosik," he began, "and I have heard that you seek Dagoth Ur, the legendary home of of the Dwarven people. Perhaps we can help one another. I have in my possession", he rambled, "the Anvil of Mithos, greatest of the Dwarven blacksmiths. Only one object was strong enough not to shatter when used to shape metal upon the Anvil, the Hammer of Gharen."

"And I think I can guess the rest..."

"It is said that the ring of the Hammer upon the Anvil speaks to the user, telling him the entrance to the Mount of Dagoth-Ur. With the raw metals present within the mountain, my blacksmiths will be able to fashion the finest weapons and amor in the realm!"

"You want me to..."

"Recover the Hammer for me."

"Thought so."

"It was supposedly lost in the dungeon known as Black Gate. I will show you where this dungeon can be found. You will be rewarded for this deed with the location of the entrance to Dagoth-Ur. You can then journey there and explore it to your heart's content. Do you agree?"

"Of course I do."

... that was how King Cosik liked his subordinates, ready and obedient. And before him was the very queen of subordinates.

"You do me a great service, Renee Gade, one that I nor my people will easily forget."

And then, the lady before him, Renee Gade, the once demure nobody from Amol, in Skyrim, did the most amazing thing.

"Where-- where did she go?"

"As I said, milord, she has great magical talents.

King Cosik fretted a moment, unsure of what made him more uncomfortable: the lady warrior-mage disappearing, or the fact that he was now engaged in a conversation with one of his .... not so great subordinates.

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 15 2016, 01:11 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jun 19 2016, 07:21 PM) *

Ha ha you don't know how much I want to beat this game! laugh.gif I can't wait for Daggerfall. I have a feeling I'll get stuck in a Daggerfall / Morrowind phase for many years to come.

In my personal ranking of the five main TES releases in their virginal unaltered vanilla states, Daggerfall has long been tied with Oblivion for top honors. (Disclosure, I use and recommend Daggerfall Setup, which includes unofficial patches and corrections as well as additional content. But, its fixes and patches do not fundamentally alter any aspect of game play. There is one optional add-on that, after further study, I decided is a bit 'cheaty' and won't use again.) Add mods into the mix and I give Oblivion the nod, though Daggerfall remains a reasonably close second. In a sense I'm being unfair to Morrowind and Skyrim become I played those games at or near release pre-expansion/DLC and only lightly modded.

I really ought to return to my stalled Daggerfall playthrough, which I've not visited since early this year.

Posted by: Renee Jul 17 2016, 03:39 PM

Interesting I didn't know there add-ons for Daggerfall. I'll be playing it soon, I hope.

We did find the final staff piece in Arena, now all I gotta do is figure out the final word-puzzle. It's completely stumped me, but sometimes these things take time. Anyhow, soon we'll be messing around with Jagar Tharn up-close, hopefully. indifferent.gif


Posted by: mirocu Jul 20 2016, 01:38 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jul 17 2016, 04:39 PM) *

We did find the final staff piece in Arena, now all I gotta do is figure out the final word-puzzle. It's completely stumped me, but sometimes these things take time. Anyhow, soon we'll be messing around with Jagar Tharn up-close, hopefully. indifferent.gif

Oh, man. YouÂīve come a long way now, Renee. YouÂīre actually gonna beat Arena!! biggrin.gif

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 21 2016, 01:05 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jul 17 2016, 09:39 AM) *

Interesting I didn't know there add-ons for Daggerfall. I'll be playing it soon, I hope.

We did find the final staff piece in Arena, now all I gotta do is figure out the final word-puzzle. It's completely stumped me, but sometimes these things take time. Anyhow, soon we'll be messing around with Jagar Tharn up-close, hopefully. indifferent.gif

When you made the jump, keep in mind that two big differences between Arena and Daggerfall are that...

...unlike Arena, Daggerfall's controls can be modified to closely mimic what's we're used to in Oblivion and Skyrim.

...Daggerfall has, imo, the best custom character creation sub-game in the entire TES series ... discounting body/face customization of course. You can create super gimped characters, ultra OP uber characters, or anything in between. (My current avatar is rather gimped magically, and sufficient but not uber as a warrior.) Takes a while to learn the ropes. There are, or were, a number of guides for this online, but my experience is that most of them assume you want an uber avatar who sails through dungeons with his or her eyes closed. Not my thing, but to each his or her own.

I could and might later list a few creation pointers, but part of the fun is blundering your way through your first few builds.

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 22 2016, 04:07 PM

My avatar was tasked to find and dispose of a traitor to the Temple of Kynareth. He traveled posthaste to the Dungeon of Paristair, where said villain was said to hold up, traversed its many corridors, and at last unearthed the heretic within a vast chamber not terribly far from the entrance. Unpleasantries out of the way, he made his way back to the entrance (having forgot to cast ANCHOR), returned to Daggerfall City, took cart to the local Temple, and reported his success. He then sold his few collected spoils (the dungeon was inhabited almost entirely by ghosts and other spirits), banked, walked to the Knights of the Dragon, and was about about to ask for an assignment when I left him.

Posted by: Renee Jul 24 2016, 02:15 AM

QUOTE(Decrepit @ Jul 21 2016, 08:05 AM) *

I could and might later list a few creation pointers, but part of the fun is blundering your way through your first few builds.

Absolutely. I have this idea that I'll probably go back to my old character stats sheets from my DnD days, and try to recreate these guys & gals in Daggerfall as much as I can. Looking forward to this game.

I still haven't guessed the final word-puzzle in Arena, but I had a bunch of ideas, and wrote all of these down on a Notepad page. Next time I fire Arena up, hopefully one of these words will be correct.


Posted by: Decrepit Jul 24 2016, 02:00 PM

My avatar took credit for having disposed of a ghost for the Knights of the Dragon. The dungeon where the spirit holed up, which shall remain nameless, proved most perplexing. Unlike the vast majority of dungeons, this one consisted almost entirely of two humongous rooms of vast height, containing enclosed narrow stairwells and exposed stairways for passage between its numerous levels. Such side passages as existed soon petered out.

Yet we had a heck of a time finding our target. We were all but convinced that the mob was glitched and the quest unfinishable. Then, on a hunch, we 'revisited' a room reachable only via levitate. There we found and killed the ghost. Turns out it was a second unreachable-save-by-levitate room, more or less identical to the first.

In any case my avatar is back in Daggerfall City. He arrived too late in the day to sell and bank, so will spend the night in the Fighters Guild and handle those chores on the morrow. If standard quest rotation order is adhered to, as it likely will be, he will next solicit an assignment from the Mages Guild.

The above dungeon was full of high level undead, including many Vampire Ancients, the bane of our existence. I am happy to report that my avatar handled them extremely well this crawl, certainly more so than during prior like scenarios. I credit this to item enchantments made (at the Mages Guild) not long prior to my Daggerfall hiatus. In particular, one Daedric armor piece provides a long lasting REGEN when cast. A Daedric katana is enchanted with paralyze, which oft (but not always) reduces of even prevents Ancients' ability to do damage. (Those with sufficient magicka pools need not rely overmuch on enchanted items. My avatar, however, has the innate magicka of a turnip.)

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 28 2016, 12:08 PM

My avatar disposed of an atronach for the Daggerfall City Mages Guild. This found him exploring yet another labryinthian dungeon full of casters, both humanoid and undead. Wouldn't ya just know it, his target ended up being in the last remaining unsearched dungeon passage. We were sweating it for a bit, as the quest had a tight time limit and, due to battling casters, required numerous rests to replenish magicka. It all came out okay in the end. More than okay actually. Those human casters dropped something like six Daedric weapon, plus two Adamantium weapons, making for a very profitable haul.

Back in Daggerfall City, my avatar, in addition to selling loot and banking, practiced spell casting, gaining expertise in Restoration and another school that now eludes me. I left him poised to grab an assignment for the Fighters Guild.

Posted by: mirocu Jul 28 2016, 12:11 PM

ItÂīs nice to have someone in Daggerfall whilst we wait for Renee to arrive biggrin.gif

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 28 2016, 09:24 PM

The Daggerfall City Fighters Guild tasked my avatar to dispose of a gargoyle. In a dungeon of course. A dungeon inhabited to Vampire Ancients (and a few common vampires). I tend to save after every encounter if possible (it usually is except for multi-mob engagements) when dealing with those creatures. My avatar now handles Ancients far better than before he created good quality enchanted gear, but delayed saving just isn't worth the risk.

This was a particularly twisty-turny dungeon. Despite that, our target was eventually found and dispatched. Though he'd set an anchor-point at the dungeon entrance, my avatar elected to make his way back on foot, to hone his pathfinding skills. Piece of cake. He reached the exit in no time flat. (This is usually the case, though an occasional tricky dungeon throws us for a loop.)

Back in Daggerfall City, he identified several (crappy) looted enchanted items at the Mages Guild, reported success at the Fighters Guild, sold loot and banked. He's thinking to solicit a merchant quest, or maybe one from a noble.

QUOTE(mirocu @ Jul 28 2016, 06:11 AM) *

ItÂīs nice to have someone in Daggerfall whilst we wait for Renee to arrive biggrin.gif
Someone needs to hold the fort until the cavalry arrives.

Posted by: Renee Jul 31 2016, 12:22 AM

I like reading all your accounts Decrepit, keep 'em up! I'm getting really excited for Daggerfall.

Problem is, I am stuck in Arena, on that last word puzzle. Look at this list of answers I have tried so far... all of them wrong.




I really want to get this one without cheating. I feel like I'll eventually get it.


Posted by: SubRosa Jul 31 2016, 12:26 AM

I would have looked it up on the internetz about five minutes after my first wrong guess. laugh.gif

Posted by: mALX Jul 31 2016, 04:37 AM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jul 17 2016, 10:39 AM) *

Interesting I didn't know there add-ons for Daggerfall. I'll be playing it soon, I hope.

We did find the final staff piece in Arena, now all I gotta do is figure out the final word-puzzle. It's completely stumped me, but sometimes these things take time. Anyhow, soon we'll be messing around with Jagar Tharn up-close, hopefully. indifferent.gif



WOO HOO!!!!! I didn't know you were playing Arena!!! Awesome!!!





QUOTE(SubRosa @ Jul 30 2016, 07:26 PM) *

I would have looked it up on the internetz about five minutes after my first wrong guess. laugh.gif



Ditto!




Posted by: ghastley Jul 31 2016, 01:15 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jul 17 2016, 10:39 AM) *

Interesting I didn't know there add-ons for Daggerfall. I'll be playing it soon, I hope.

When you get to Daggerfall, you may find that some of the tools for applying the mods won't run. You may have to run those under DosBox, as well as the game itself. That's true for my playable Orcs, for example.

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 31 2016, 02:46 PM

QUOTE(Renee @ Jul 17 2016, 09:39 AM) *

Interesting I didn't know there add-ons for Daggerfall. I'll be playing it soon, I hope.

We did find the final staff piece in Arena, now all I gotta do is figure out the final word-puzzle. It's completely stumped me, but sometimes these things take time. Anyhow, soon we'll be messing around with Jagar Tharn up-close, hopefully. indifferent.gif

What you want when it comes time to install Daggerfall is http://wiwiki.wiwiland.net/index.php?title=Daggerfall_:_DaggerfallSetup_EN. With all its fixes and additions in place the game is very stable. Certainly more so than my modded Oblivion install. You'll still fall through the world every now and again, but Bethesda provides a handy means to escape that predicament (ALT-F11 pressed until you return to the spot just prior to the fall) so long as you apply it soon enough. Doesn't correct the occasional sound glitch triggered by proximity to light sources. Just move away from the offending source when this happens. In my opinion most of the fixes and additions are worth installing, except for foreign language packs if not needed (duh!). One exception: DagSkills. The Daggerfall Setup page describes this add-on as "fix skills and attribute rising". While it might well (or might not) do so, it for sure raises the limits from 100 to 200, which seems "cheaty" to me. It, like most of the alterations, is electable and easily ignored if you prefer to least the limit at 100. In any case DaggerfallSetup.exe makes installation a no-brainer.

I'll provide one bit of advice, a clarification some Daggerfall LPers don't pick up on. Once out of the starter dungeon and shopping/selling in town, as will eventually happen, you will at some point notice both a horse and a cart for sell. Be aware that the cart comes with its own horse. You need not buy a horse for it. (I'm not saying you will or won't want/need a separate horse, only that the cart does not require it.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wonder if I solved the final Arena puzzle without help back in the day? My mind was less muddled then, and I used to enjoy puzzle/riddle solving. I was gonna look up the riddle and give it a go, realizing I'm almost certain to crash and burn nowadays. But the one site I found that doesn't display the darn answers in plain view apparently doesn't list the puzzles in chronological order.

Posted by: Decrepit Jul 31 2016, 09:56 PM

Since last report, my avatar performed one meaty assignment, which saw him search for someone lost in a dungeon and return him to the Daggerfall City Temple of Kynareth. For once my avatar had a stroke of good fortune in that he found the fellow reasonably early on. He again thought to reach the exit on foot, but part way there said to heck with it and cast recall.

He also did three Daggerfall Castle Royalty fedex delivery runs and one civilian escort commission. The latter proved most rewarding. The Dark Brotherhood attempted to interfere. Dispatching their thugs netted my avatar four or five Daedric sabers and one pair of Daedric greaves, which sold for a pretty Septim back in Daggerfall City.

Posted by: Acadian Jul 31 2016, 10:05 PM

Can you get Emma to make you a Vilja in Daggerfall mod? tongue.gif

Posted by: Renee Aug 1 2016, 01:59 AM

QUOTE(mALX @ Jul 30 2016, 11:37 PM) *

WOO HOO!!!!! I didn't know you were playing Arena!!! Awesome!!!


Oh yes, I've been playing for 2 1/2 years now. smile.gif

Thanks for you all's help with starting up Daggerfall. I just had some major headaches trying to get Fallout 3 going (because this game apparently is not made for any OS beyond Vista? so I'm looking forward to getting DF going as smoothly as possible.

Chances are I won't mod it much (thank you ghastley) because I'm getting the feeling the base game will have tons to offer all by itself.


QUOTE(Decrepit @ Jul 31 2016, 09:46 AM) *

I wonder if I solved the final Arena puzzle without help back in the day? My mind was less muddled then, and I used to enjoy puzzle/riddle solving. I was gonna look up the riddle and give it a go, realizing I'm almost certain to crash and burn nowadays. But the one site I found that doesn't display the darn answers in plain view apparently doesn't list the puzzles in chronological order.

I was gonna ask if you played this game back in the mid '90s, when finding an answer wasn't just a google search away?

I'm the type of gamer who gets mad at herself if she looks up an answer, and then realize the answer was sooo obvious. Argh! OTOH, finally getting the puzzle right is quite satisfying. So far, there has only been one puzzle which I would never have gotten, not in a million years, because it had some sort of math equation for the question.

Posted by: Decrepit Aug 4 2016, 10:12 AM

Not much to report, RL endeavours having taken precedence over my ability to observe invents in Tamriel these past some days. My avatar has not been totally ignored. The Daggerfall City Mages Guild recently tasked him to retrieve ectoplasm from one of the Kingdom's numerous dungeons. I watched him navigate its many twisty hallways and several huge rooms until the ingredient was found, at which point he teleported to the exit and returned to the Guild Hall. Back in Daggerfall City he received credit for completing the mission, sold loot and banked, practiced spell schools but formally and informally, and is now poised to accept an assignment from the Fighters Guild.

One bit of luck: The Ectoplasm Dungeon contained no foe worse than Ancient Liches. Made it seem almost a holiday compared to battling Vampire Ancients as he all too often does these days.

Posted by: Decrepit Aug 7 2016, 03:18 AM

While watching a YouTube Daggerfall LP episode the other day, the presenter mentioned that his progress with the main quest had been stalled for a long time, and that he had only just recalled being given an oral clue as to the whereabouts of a certain point-of-contact following an early MQ quest completion. Boy did my eyes light up! My avatar's main quest progress has likewise been at a standstill. What's more, I too forgot about this point-of-contact reference, which leaves no trace in LOG or inventory. Since then, my avatar has journeyed to the contact, completed her mission, and is now in the process of returning to her, goods in hand. The dungeon she resides in is full of the those bloody Vampire Ancients. Not looking forward to clearing those again but hey, it's a living.

Posted by: mirocu Aug 7 2016, 01:25 PM

Gotta pay attention when you game, Decrepit wink.gif


At least you can make progress again now smile.gif

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