Which version of Bard's Tale III (3) is the best?
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:25 am
Hello Folks!! The internet truly amazes me. Recently, I was rummaging through my belongings as I do every so often, and came across an old game manual for Bard's Tale II. As I held it, and thumbed through the pages, I realized that I'd never finished that God Forsakenly (yes, that's a word b/c i say so!) involving game. So, there I was, 15+ yrs later, attending to some Unfinished business!!
Perhaps a month or so later, I finished playing the MS-DOS version of Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight (via DOSBox 0.74 on a Windows 7 system). Whew!! No longer will that hard-copy Manual or Clue Book Haunt me!!
So, my original interest, was only in playing, and finishing, Bard's Tale II. Alas, I vaguely recall playing BT III back in the day as well. Now, I've began flirting w/ Bard's Tale III (also via DOSBox 0.74).
Now, here's my dilemna: I feel like BT3 (DOS version) is an annoying pain to play compared to BT2:
1) The rate of Monster Encounters seems absurd. I mean, it's CONSTANT!! Even with some maps I've collected, I feel like I don't have the patience (after playing BT2) to just "grind" constantly!! I'd rather focus on exploration!! Even w/ "Speedboots" imported, and playing the "Safety Song" to both avoid, and run-away from combat, I'm still annoyed!! I even tried changing the speed of the CPU cycle via the Emulator, but that slowed down the navigation too much. Ugh!!
2) I have no control over the combat text scrolling speed (like I did in BT2). In BT2 I could use [<] to slow down the scrolling speed, or [>] to speed up the scrolling speed. Is there a way to change this I don't know about?
3) What's the deal w/ using [K] to open doors versus the straight arrow key, like in BT2? What a Pain!!
4) Casting Spells requires selecting from a List... seriously? WT*?
BLaH!! I guess I just felt the need to vent. Here I am w/ Level 50 Characters from BT2, that I successfully transferred into BT3 only to find that "Non-Magic Users" transferred at Level 35, with stats stuck at 18 (layover from BT2). On a side note, does anyone know what the max/ceiling on stats are in BT3? I've only played through Unterbrae, and found my highest stat to be ~27. Also, my Level 35 Rogue that I transferred over only has a 60% rating on all of his abilities (Hide in Shadows, Critical Hit, Identify Items, etc.). Now, as a test, in comparison, I ran my Level 1 Paladin/Monk/Bard/Rogue through Unterbrae w/ my imported Mages to see how the stats would compare. The Rogue ended up w/ 99% in all areas at Level 36 after seeing the Old Man @ the Review Board.
Now, on the other hand, if you transfer some Archmages w/ equivalent experience points from BT2, you end up w/ some seriously powerful Archmages in BT3!!
Anyhow, I feel stuck flirting w/ all the mechanics to see if playing the DOS version is really going to be worth it. I REALLY wanted to have the benefit of xferring both my Characters, and their Items (Hello Speedboots & Nospin Ring!!) I've read most of the posts throughout this forum, and I'm wondering if starting fresh w/ the C64 would be better. Thoughts anyone? Also, if going w/ the C64 is your opinion, do you have a preference on which emulator to use? I've seen/heard of VICE and the one on this site - CCS64.
Any/all Feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
Perhaps a month or so later, I finished playing the MS-DOS version of Bard's Tale II: The Destiny Knight (via DOSBox 0.74 on a Windows 7 system). Whew!! No longer will that hard-copy Manual or Clue Book Haunt me!!
So, my original interest, was only in playing, and finishing, Bard's Tale II. Alas, I vaguely recall playing BT III back in the day as well. Now, I've began flirting w/ Bard's Tale III (also via DOSBox 0.74).
Now, here's my dilemna: I feel like BT3 (DOS version) is an annoying pain to play compared to BT2:
1) The rate of Monster Encounters seems absurd. I mean, it's CONSTANT!! Even with some maps I've collected, I feel like I don't have the patience (after playing BT2) to just "grind" constantly!! I'd rather focus on exploration!! Even w/ "Speedboots" imported, and playing the "Safety Song" to both avoid, and run-away from combat, I'm still annoyed!! I even tried changing the speed of the CPU cycle via the Emulator, but that slowed down the navigation too much. Ugh!!
2) I have no control over the combat text scrolling speed (like I did in BT2). In BT2 I could use [<] to slow down the scrolling speed, or [>] to speed up the scrolling speed. Is there a way to change this I don't know about?
3) What's the deal w/ using [K] to open doors versus the straight arrow key, like in BT2? What a Pain!!
4) Casting Spells requires selecting from a List... seriously? WT*?
BLaH!! I guess I just felt the need to vent. Here I am w/ Level 50 Characters from BT2, that I successfully transferred into BT3 only to find that "Non-Magic Users" transferred at Level 35, with stats stuck at 18 (layover from BT2). On a side note, does anyone know what the max/ceiling on stats are in BT3? I've only played through Unterbrae, and found my highest stat to be ~27. Also, my Level 35 Rogue that I transferred over only has a 60% rating on all of his abilities (Hide in Shadows, Critical Hit, Identify Items, etc.). Now, as a test, in comparison, I ran my Level 1 Paladin/Monk/Bard/Rogue through Unterbrae w/ my imported Mages to see how the stats would compare. The Rogue ended up w/ 99% in all areas at Level 36 after seeing the Old Man @ the Review Board.
Now, on the other hand, if you transfer some Archmages w/ equivalent experience points from BT2, you end up w/ some seriously powerful Archmages in BT3!!
Anyhow, I feel stuck flirting w/ all the mechanics to see if playing the DOS version is really going to be worth it. I REALLY wanted to have the benefit of xferring both my Characters, and their Items (Hello Speedboots & Nospin Ring!!) I've read most of the posts throughout this forum, and I'm wondering if starting fresh w/ the C64 would be better. Thoughts anyone? Also, if going w/ the C64 is your opinion, do you have a preference on which emulator to use? I've seen/heard of VICE and the one on this site - CCS64.
Any/all Feedback would be greatly appreciated!!