New player and some questions!

[Magburner]

Hi all.

I recently started playing BT1 on dos box. A game I last played in about 1989 when I was 11 or so!

I had some questions which I would love some thoughts on!

1.) AC below LO - what is the definitive answer on levels below this. I have read from people who have examined the code that ac below LO is not possible yet also people saying the game does indeed. tracks below -10...., obviously if never below -10 then can leave more equipment slots open.

2.) what are your thoughts on the best weapons? Am I right in thinking it is crystal swords for wa/pa and mournblades for hunters (or is it best to just give high level hunters a shield staff as you get ac and he has critical) This leads to...

3.) Death daggers/stone blades/wizwands never drop in the game? I presume you need to do the "all equipment" patch thing to get these?

Thanks!

[drifting]

1.) AC below LO - what is the definitive answer on levels below this. I have read from people who have examined the code that ac below LO is not possible yet also people saying the game does indeed. tracks below -10...., obviously if never below -10 then can leave more equipment slots open.

The game does not track below -10. The code basically does:

Code: Select all

if (ac < -10) then
  ac = -10
endif

[Flanimal]

It is my belief that BT1 (C64 version) does permit keep track of AC past -10.

You see, I used to not care about armour once my party were all LO, but I found that I was not able to run from some fights and that my characters never got the first hit in combat.

Years later, I took AC into consideration when equipping my party, so that my AC would be well below -10, and lo behold my characters started getting the first hit in combat rounds.

So this is not scientific evidence, but it is my personal experience with the C64 version that leads me to believe that AC below -10 is effective.

So now the Original Poster is back to square one

[drifting]

It is my belief that BT1 (C64 version) does permit keep track of AC past -10.

You see, I used to not care about armour once my party were all LO, but I found that I was not able to run from some fights and that my characters never got the first hit in combat.

Years later, I took AC into consideration when equipping my party, so that my AC would be well below -10, and lo behold my characters started getting the first hit in combat rounds.

So this is not scientific evidence, but it is my personal experience with the C64 version that leads me to believe that AC below -10 is effective.

So now the Original Poster is back to square one

In the DOS version, running away from combat and attack priority do not use the AC at all. They use a combination of luck, level and dexterity.

It's entirely possible that the C64 (and Apple) versions had different mechanics than the DOS version. Since OP is using the DOS version, AC below -10 is not used.