Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy New Year!

I haven't written anything on this blog in quite some time.  3 months have gone by and I have many games to write about.  I will sit down eventually and check a few of them off.  I have kept my beaten games of 2011 page up to date though. 

I hope everyone has a great new year!!!

Thanalis

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Pool of Radiance - Graveyard and Storming the Castle!

Finally I have sat down and finished Pool of Radiance!  I left off after clearing out my quest log in the wilderness and was about to set off to Valhingen Graveyard.

As I approached the graveyard, the sky turned dark as if in perpetual night.  When I entered I was attacked by a group of skeletons wandering around.  The poor creatures were no match for me, and the clerics had no problem turning them.  I noticed there was a tower to the south of where I was standing that had a noxious gas pouring from the doorway.


I entered and climbed to the top of the tower.  I surprised a spectre who was in the middle of making skeletons.  If I could stop him, that would be one step closer to clearing the graveyard.  If I let him go, he would probably continue to make new skeletons indefinitely.  We all charged in and killed him before he had a chance to retaliate. 


Going deeper into the graveyard, we started to run across zombies.  Like the skeletons, there must be another spectre making these as well.  We spotted another tower and  headed toward it.  Sure enough, when we entered the tower we came across a spectre churning out zombies.  Like the last one, we charged in and destroyed it before it could do anything.  Another step in clearing the graveyard down.


As we left we noticed another tower in the middle of the graveyard and headed that direction.  On the way we started encountering wights.  These more powerful undead took a toll on us as we approached the tower.  When we entered the tower, we set off a trap that sent bolts of lightning through the hallway.  Upstairs we came across another spectre.  We interrupted it in the middle of summoning another wight.  This time we weren't so lucky and Cenia took a hit, draining her of two levels.  After defeating this spectre, Cenia used one of the scrolls that had been given to us to restore the lost levels.


With the spectres out of the way, we continued to explore the area.  We came across a crypt shaped like a cross, and inside was a lone coffin.  There were broken glass vials and broken holy symbols scattered about.  Knowing that we would eventually come across a vampire in this place, we sanctified the area and destroyed the coffin.  Hopefully if the vampire were to retreat from us, he would find no safety here.  Also inside was a scroll, which is recorded under journal entry 42.


Now we had to go hunt down this vampire, as he would most likely set up spectres to start creating undead again if we left for too long.  In the northeast corner of the graveyard, we found a set of stairs leading down into a pit.  At the bottom we were set upon by the lord of the graveyard, a vampire.


When we attacked the vampire and his wolf allies, the efreet from the bottle we had recovered joined in the fight.  A couple of well placed stinking clouds helped to keep the wolves at bay.  We left an opening wide enough for the efreet to charge in and attack the vampire.  With the combined might of us and our efreet ally, the vampire succumbed fairly quickly.

After finishing off the wolves, the vampire's body dissolved into a cloud of mist and blew out of the crypt, no doubt to recover in his coffin.  Since we knew were he was headed, we gave chase.  We found the vampire by his coffin.  Since we had destroyed it earlier he was unable to recover from his battle with us.  In his weakened state, he was easily defeated for good. 


With the vampire defeated and the graveyard now clear, we returned to Phlan to collect our deserved reward.  We were given a reward for clearing the graveyard, plus a bonus from the council for taking care of the problem.  After resting and recovering our spells, we headed back out into the city to take on Stojanow Gate, the entrance to the castle where Tyranthraxus was waiting for us.


Before we approached the gate, we saw a man hauling a cart of supplies.  We stopped him and he offered to sell us his cart.  Thinking this would be a good way to get behind the gate rather than taking the monsters on head on, we bought it from him for 250 gold.  He warned us not to talk too much to the bugbears patrolling outside the gate, as they were upset about being sent outside when the ettins took over the guard towers.

As we approached the gate, the bugbears came forward and demanded the usual payment of 15 gold to pass through which we happily paid.  They led us through both gates to the northern side and left us.  We had passed through the gate and now had the element of surprise.


We moved into the west tower first.  Upstairs we came across two humans and three ettins.  We charged in and took them all by surprise.  Our casters concentrated on keeping the mage of the group too busy to cast while the rest of us took on the ettins.  The caster never got off a spell, and with some stinking clouds, we handled the rest with ease.  During the battle, an alarm was sounded and we were met by a similar group when we left the guard tower.  Using the same strategy, we easily cut through this group as well.




We returned to the gate and approached the castle.  Around the outside of the castle itself, there are all of the support buildings and barracks required to support the residents.  There is a large wall with two large gates that lead into a hedge maze around the castle itself. 

As luck would have it, the first building we entered turned out to be a laundry room.  Inside were some women cleaning.  When they spotted us, they fled to a corner of the room until they realized that we weren't servants of Tyranthraxus.  One half-orc woman approached and told us that they were tired of Tyranthraxus sending their men off to die, and wanted to be rid of him.  She offered to disguise us and to keep quiet about our presence.  We accepted and went back out to find a way into the castle.


The disguises worked well.  We wandered around the outside of the castle without incident.  In one room that was converted into a makeshift cell, Cadorna himself had been chained to the wall.  He looked much different than when we had last seen him, his hair having been shaved from his head.  He pleaded with us to free him.  Regardless of his earlier treachery, we released him and sent him on his way.  He'll find no friends in Phlan, either with the council or with Tyranthraxus. 

Cadorna where he belongs.
In another building we ran across some files and records about what has been happening around here.  We sifted through them a bit, learning that the Red Wizards of Thay were allied with Tyranthraxus.  His ultimate goal is to conquer all lands south of the Moonsea.  That's a lot of area, including all the Dalelands!  It all stops here today...

We had another encounter in a kitchen.  Inside there were three slaves being watched by a gnoll overseer.  We attacked the gnoll, but he took off trying to get away through the door.  One of the slaves tripped the gnoll on the way out the door and we quickly rushed in to silence him for good.  One of the thankful slaves reached into one of the gnolls pouches and gave us a slip of paper.  This, he said, was the password to the gates around the maze.  With that, they left.  Now we had the info we needed to get into the hedge maze. 


We headed towards one of the gates and entered using the password.  Once inside we wandered around, trying to keep our bearings as to where we were headed.  Many times we thought about bashing through the hedge, but doing so could have been deadly as the hedge is made up of poisonous plants. 

We wandered until we came to a building in the northwest corner.  Inside was a middle aged man who presented no threat to us.  He said he had come here seeking knowledge and was captured by Tyranthraxus.  He was forced to work and just wanted to leave.  We released him, hoping that he didn't alert anyone to our presence as he left.


After hours of wandering around the maze, carefully mapping our way through, we finally came to the keep in the center.  When we entered, we came into a room that really had nothing remarkable about it save for one thing.  The south wall was an illusion, and behind the illusion was a set of stairs.  We climbed the stairs and came to a room at the end of the hallway.  The room was apparently kept as a waiting room or reception room.  A man was sitting inside playing with his dagger as he waited.  A voice from the adjacent room shouted for him.  We sat and waited as he went inside.  A few minutes later he emerged, shoving some papers into his pouch as he left. 

We went inside the office and came face to face with Tyranthraxus' second in command.  Genheeris was his name.  When he saw us a look of panic crossed his face.  He told us that instead of us killing him, he would make us generals and help us kill Tyrantraxus himself.  We declined his offer and slaughtered him at his desk.  Funny how all these evil people turn on their friends at the slightest hint of danger.

Loyalty is not on this guy's resume.
With only one option left, a set of stairs leading downward, we prepped ourselves for what could only be our final confrontation with Tyranthraxus.  Cenia cast bless and prayer, and Minelrie cast haste on all of us before heading down.  At the bottom of the stairs, we came into a room without a ceiling.  In the center of the room was a glowing pool, the Pool of Radiance.  In the other corner a bronze dragon lifted itself from the floor.  It looks to a group of warriors approaching us and tells them to get rid of us.

Finally!  The Pool of Radiance!
The guards set upon us in a fury.  Thankfully with the haste spell we were able to gain the upper hand.  The clerics all cast hold person on as many as they could as quickly as they could.  The rest the mages went after with fireballs and stinking clouds.  Eventually all the guards were either frozen in place, or laying on the ground, coughing and wheezing. 

As we killed the last of the guards, the dragon came over to speak.  He was impressed by our combat prowess, and promised anyone whop joined with him that they would be generals in his army as they swept across the Moonsea.  His gaze passed from person to person, each refusing the offer.  As the last of our group refused, the dragon set upon us. 


Immediately, he reared back his head and from his mouth flew bolts of lightning, Thanalis was the only one caught in the blast, but managed to survive the bronze dragons breath.  To minimize the dragons breath weapon, we all encircled the beast, each attacking the best we could.  In the end, Naemissa was able to sneak around to the backside of the dragon, avoiding the slithering tail as Shargralar kept its attention.  With a powerful stroke, Naemissa was able to find a weak spot in the dragons hide and dealt the final blow.

As the dragon collapsed, the fire subsided around the dragon and coalesced into a spirit floating above the pool.  This must be Tyranthraxus' true form.  It spoke to us, telling us that he could never be defeated.  Just as the spirit lunged at us, it seemed to be stopped by an invisible force.  Tyranthraxus shouted to the skies.  Bane was displeased with his servant and pulled him back into the pool from where he came.  The glow in the pool dimmed, until the pool looked like normal water. 


Tyranthraxus was gone.  We walked triumphantly back to town, the remaining humanoids loyal to Tyranthraxus gave us a wide berth as we walked.  Most ran away as we passed, others cowered in the shadows.  We returned to the council building and received our reward for freeing Phlan.


Our quest over, and weighed down with all the money we could ever need, we retired to the local inn to recover from our ordeal.  All we needed to do now was rest and find a place to spend our hard earned money.

It has taken me about 38 hours of playing to get through this game.  It took a long time, a few months to journey through it.  Much longer than I thought it would, though mostly it is my fault.  In the end, I only played a few hours a week.  I think since this was my second play through of the game in my lifetime, the last being about 18 years ago, slowed my progress.  That, and my attention span has diminished in recent years. 

All in all though I am glad I went through this.  It is still a wonderful game.  I do look forward to getting into Curse of the Azure Bonds, though I probably won't for a little while.  When I do, I doubt I will transfer many, if any, of the characters from this game.  Curse has different classes that I want to incorporate into my party. 

I'm not sure where I will go from here.  I am in the middle of a post about Borderlands, and I still need to write one about Breakthrough which I also finished today.  Maybe I'll let fate decide and use my collection program to choose one I haven't finished at random.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Back home!

Since the launch of GRAIL I haven't had that much time to play games.  I have been home in Colorado now for a week.  There are lots of changes to work through now, with a new job, new boss, new co-workers...  I am happy to finally be home.  Now will be the time to get back into a routine again and get used to life as usual. 

Just a brief note on games...  I have been playing Borderlands with my girlfriend, and I have been working on a post to cover what has been accomplished so far in it.  I am still sitting at the vampire in the graveyard in Pool of Radiance, unable to push past.  I will revisit it this weekend and try a few new strategies.  I have also been spending a little time playing the second expansion of Medal of Honor called Breakthrough.  I will make a post about it as well very soon.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

GRAIL Launch!

I know its been a while since my last entry.  I've been putting off this blog list trying to come up with what to say about the culmination of over 2 years of work.  There really isn't any words to describe how it feels to have been a part of this.  Building and testing a half billion dollar pair of machines that are, as we speak, on their way to the moon.

I do have to say, as I was taking my girlfriend back to the airport on Monday morning, looking up at the moon brought a real feeling of accomplishment.  Something I made, a piece of me and of those who helped and sacrificed with me, is gone from this world forever. 

Well, on to some pictures and a description of what it really is.

GRAIL stands for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory.  It is a pair of nearly identical spacecraft that will travel to the moon and measure small changes in the gravity of the moon to help map the surface and the interior of the moon.  I can sit here and repeat everything that has been written about GRAIL, but I won't do that.  Instead I'll post some links to videos and websites that have done the job much more thoroughly than I. 

GRAIL Mission Episode 1: Why a Gravity Map of the Moon [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4omBkcvWjM

GRAIL Mission Episode 2: How to Get a Hi-Res Gravity Map of the Moon [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyYsoiuqFW8

GRAIL Mission Episode 3: How We Get to the Moon [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxgIIVkKBqw

GRAIL Mission Episode 4: How to Make it Happen [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJomWAeNTPQ

GRAIL Mission Episode 5: Testing the Team [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Csq1dK5x8

GRAIL Mission Episode 6: Commanding the Spacecraft [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViqBLOK4qOo&feature=related

GRAIL Mission Episode 7: High Heritage Builds High Confidence [720p]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4eSKbIrFqE&feature=related


These videos describe the program very well.


Launch #2 (view from the beach): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmTlgnVrdkQ

Spacecraft Separation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKxiuk0MhA4



This set of videos is from launch day of course. GRAIL launched on the third morning after its window opened. The first day was scrubbed due to 'excessive high level winds'. The second day was cancelled to work on a heater problem. The third was almost scrubbed again for the high level winds but did take off on the second launch time of the day.

Here is a link to view photos taken throughout the programs development. This is on the NASA website, and is hard to find if someone doesn't point you in the right direction.

http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/

GRAIL photos are located under the Expendable Launch Vehicles list, also along with a lot of other various programs throughout NASA's history. A great place to look at photos.

And now, a few of my own photos.









Unfortunately, my camera broke the day of the launch.  I got a few photos of us standing around on the pier at Jetty Park, but the ones of the launch itself are not viewable.  Time to get a new one, and definitely time to get a much better one. 

Now this week, we have been packing up our stuff to go back to Colorado.  I'm excited to finally go home after nearly 5 months down here.  It has been a great experience, and I am hopeful that I will be back down here for another launch campaign in the near future.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pool of Radiance - Finishing up the Wilderness Quests

This post is going to cover a lot of ground.  It'll cover my trip up the Stojanow River to the Sorcerer's Island, The Lizardman Keep, The Buccaneer's Camp, and Zhentil Outpost.  Many of these areas had alternate methods of clearing them that doesn't include killing every creature on the map.  This is really the first time in the game there is an opportunity to role-play a little. 

I traveled up the river banks from the city.  The river was polluted and had turned the area around the river into a nasty, poisonous marsh.  I traveled further north to a lake.  In the center of this lake was a pyramid with a black sludge flowing from the top and down channels in the sides.  This liquid was obviously what was polluting the river and whatever inside that building is responsible for it. 
The river's pollution affecting the area.
I crossed the lake using a rowboat I found on the northern shore.  I found a not so well hidden entrance on the northern side of the pyramid.  I entered and found a long passage that traveled the full length of the structure to another entrance on the south side.  About midway down the hallway were a couple of alcoves.  Inside one of the alcoves was a pile of stones.  As I entered to examine them there was a flash of light and I was standing someplace else.  Apparently whoever resides here uses the teleporters to move around. 

I explored this new hallway, finding secret doors all along its length.  I passed into one that looked like an alchemical storage area.  Vials and beakers of strange liquids filled the room.  Also in here were many large vats of the black liquid pouring into the river.  Further down the hall I found another room where there were a few lizardmen being kept.  These lizardmen approached me, accusing us of being servants of Yarash.  I couldn't convince them otherwise and they attacked.  They had been here a while and were too weak to attack effectively and were easily dispatched. 

At the end of this hallway, I came to another pile of stones.  This time I approached with the intent of being teleported.  There was a flash and I was standing in another hallway.  This place did not have the straightforward path the prior hall did.  This area seemed more like a maze, designed to confuse your sense of direction.  I had fallen into a trap, along with others.  There were other creatures and groups of humanoids wandering in here as well.  I was attacked by a group of dwarves.  Unfortunate, they must have been driven mad with wandering in this place.

In a corner of this maze I ran across on old priest.  His time here had not been very kind to him as well, and only got him to talk to me after repeated attempts.  He did mention that he had been digging a hole in the wall to try and escape the maze.  He said he felt he was close to the outside, but lacked the strength to finish.  I agreed to help.  Sure enough, after only a little while, we had broken through the side of the pyramid.  The priest thanked man and left across the lake. 
The priest in the maze.
Now standing at the base of the pyramid again, I retraced my step beginning at the north entrance.  I passed through the alcove and was in the long hallway where I had encountered the lizardmen again.  This time as I approached the end of the hall where the teleporter was located, I picked up and threw a rock against the wall.  With a flash, the rock was gone.  I followed after it.  This time the teleporter deposited me in an unfamiliar place instead of the maze like before.  I walked along this hallway, twisting along the interior of the pyramid.  At the other end, there was another pile of rocks.  This has been the telltale sign of a teleporter.  I picked one up and tossed it in front of me.  As before, with a flash, it was gone.  I followed after.

I did this a couple more times, picking up a rock and tossing before me every time I came across a pile.  Eventually I came to a short hallway with a door at the end.  Above this door was a note written in Dethek.  I translated it as NOKNOK.  The door was locked, and no means of opening it was available.  I said the word aloud and heard the familiar click of a lock.  The door was now open to let me pass. 

On the other side of the door was a crowded a noisy room full of pipes and pumps.  Here it looks as though the clean water from the lake is mixed with the poisonous sludge and pumped out of the room through the ceiling.  I did my best to destroy any pumping equipment and anything I could find that was fragile enough to break easily.  There came a low rumble as pressures built up inside the mangled pipes.  I went back through the door I came through to avoid any explosion caused by this damage.  As soon as I closed the door I heard the groan of metal giving way to the pressures built up.  After opening the door again, I saw that we had done a good job of destroying everything in the room that could have been useful.  Water no longer flowed through the ceiling. 

There were a couple of pipes coming from a wall to my right.  These had once been used to pump the black liquid into the clean water from the lake.  I followed the wall around and walked into the room.  Inside the room were a couple of large vats of the black sludge.  There were a few lizardmen pouring barrels of the black liquid into the vats.  They were chained to the wall and had the telltale marks of a whip across their backs.  I went over to their chains and freed them from the wall.  The lizardmen, thankful for my help, told me their story. 

In this pyramid, a sorcerer named Yarash has been experimenting on the lizardmen.  The lizardmen told me that they were constantly getting rid of the bodies from his experimentation.  Heads mangled beyond recognition, chests burst open.  He promised to make them stronger, but has done nothing but cause death and misery.  They gave me a word that they use between the lizardman tribes to convey friendship.  They told me it could be useful if i met any other lizardmen in the wild.  Their story is under journal entry 35. 

We walked back out into the room with the destroyed equipment.  Along the northern wall was another door.  I opened this door and was confronted by an old man on the other side.  He told his guards to subdue us.  This was Yarash, the keeper of this place.  His lizardman servants had been horribly mutated in something hardly recognizable.  A couple of well placed hold person spells on Yarash made this a quick and easy fight. 

I searched the room afterwards.  On his desk I found some letters and such, some received, some unsent.  One letter from The Boss demanded his cooperation in allowing a garrison of forces at his island or to be destroyed.  There was an unsent reply waiting next to it.  Yarash had his own plans and wanted nothing to do with the tyrant, except to be left alone.  How long that would have lasted will never be known.  I've single handedly solved both of their problems. 

Two more papers were notices.  One was a bounty letter address to anyone willing to accept it.  It described a reward of 10,000 gold pieces for bringing a live sahuagin.  These aquatic creatures are what Yarash must have been trying to merge with the lizardmen.  The other was a notice about an active dragon taking up residence in the mountains.  I'm not sure if I want to go poking around out there to find a dragon.  These are all noted under journal entries 33, 49, 27, and 56.

There was a teleporter in the corner of the room, with a multi-position switch next to it.  There were four settings on this switch.  Each setting must set the teleporter to a different location.  I experimented with it.  Each of the setting lead to a storage room filled with a bunch of useless magical apparatus.  Hidden among the junk though were a few magical items of use which I took.  The last setting took us back down the long hallway at the bottom of the pyramid.

I left the pyramid to head back to town.  As I left I saw that the black sludge was no longer running from the top of the pyramid and the river had already started to cleanse itself of the muck.  I rode into town to report what had happened to the council.  I was rewarded for stopping the pollution and given another task.  This time Cadorna himself again asked me to take a diplomatic packet to an outpost of Zhentil Keep. 

After cleaning up, resting and training.  I set back out into the wilderness to find the lizardmen.  I was hoping that my generosity at the pyramid would pay off.  After some traveling to the east I found an old abandoned keep in the swamp.  I wasn't approached until I entered on of the buildings in the keep.  I was contacted by an old lizardman, the chief of the tribe.  He said that he had received word that a band of adventurers stopped Yarash and his experiments and that they were given the friend word.  He asked if we were the ones who helped.  We spoke the word we were given.  Satisfied, he spoke to us. 

He was the chief of the tribe, but his following has been dwindling ever since a young upstart decided that serving Tyranthraxus would be the best course of action.  They had been training by raiding caravans and killing kobolds in the caves to the south.  The recent events at the pyramid have helped the old lizardman's standing, but its not enough to sway control back in his favor.  He told me that the young one would try to challenge his position, and that he or a champion of his would have to fight for control of the tribe.  His words are in journal 31.
An act of kindness repaid.

As soon as he was finished, the young lizardman came forward and challenged the old chief for leadership.  Thanalis took the position as the chiefs champion.  The duel was decided quickly.  The lizardman didn't seem to have that much combat experience, and Thanalis was a seasoned veteran by now.  When the young lizardman fell, the other who followed him slunk back into the background.  The chief thanked me for my service and pledged that he would not be joining with Tyranthraxus.  He warned me to leave quickly, as his people are still hostile and violent.  I left quickly and set back to the city to report.


We returned to town, reported our success to the council, and set about my routine.  I was not given any other tasks by the council this time.  I must be putting myself out of work!  That's good though, after this a long rest will be welcome.  I set out again to the east to find the buccaneers and see if I could locate this heir to the House of Bivant.

As we approached the compound, we were met by a group of riders.  They escorted us through the gates and led us to a place in the middle of the camp in which we could rest.  Here we were surrounded by other merchants, traders, and caravans. 

After taking a little time to rest, we started to wander around the camp to see what we could find.  Close by where we were camped was a large fenced area where there were a few ragged looking humans.  Hidden among them was a small child.  His face dirty and streaked from crying.  As I looked at the child, a fat man walked up and told me how that boy would fetch a fine price at Zhentil Keep.  I looked at him, said nothing, and walked away.  I had to find a way to get the child out before he was taken someplace impossible to retrieve him from.

I kept wandering around.  I walked past another large pen, this one holding hard animals.  Oxen, cows and such were crammed into such a small space that they had barely enough room to turn around.  The close proximity of the animals and the commotion going on outside the pen had the animals anxious and excited.  I took note and continued my search.

I ran across a man hiding behind one of the huts.  He called me over and asked if I wanted to purchase a pass to see the captain of the camp.  I had more than enough money from my adventures to see what this was about, so I purchased it.  I immediately went over to the captains hut.  I showed my pass at the door and was allowed inside.  A moment later the captain came out.

The captain told me he was busy and to keep it brief.  I asked about the child in the slave pens.  He didn't offer up much information, just asked if I wanted to purchase him or not.  Having an excess of cash, and no real inclination to battle the whole camp, I agreed to buy the child.  The captain left, and a few minutes later a guard returned with the boy. 

I grabbed the child up and left the hut.  We gathered our stuff from the camp and prepared to head back to town.  On the way out of town, I made it a point to walk past the animal pen and kick open the gate.  The animals streamed through the gate, trampling each other as they all tried for the opening.  This led to the animals panicking, and sent them into a blind stampede right there in the center of the camp.  A little mischief for making me come out here.  We left the camp behind with no incident.

We returned to the council to return the child to his family and were rewarded.  Again, no further jobs were offered.  All that is left for now is to clear Valhingen Graveyard, and to deliver the papers to Zhentil Outpost.  Not up for battling hordes of undead that even make The Boss uneasy, I decide to set out to the east once again to deliver these papers.

We set out to the east again in the morning.  We rode past the buccaneer's camp.  Further along the shore there was a proper looking outpost.  Stone walls, towers, a very defensible looking structure.  As we approached, a set of horsemen rode out to meet me.  They asked if we were the diplomatic envoys from Phlan.  I told them we were and we were led into the keep.  We were led directly to the Commandant's office.

The commandant greeted us.  I handed over the papers.  After skimming through them quickly he thanked us for our service.  He offered dinner and told one of his guards to take us on a tour.  We left the office behind our tour guide.  He walked us around, pointed out the barracks to the left.  He said it was one of six such buildings and that each could hold over 100 troops.  He then walked back towards the gate pointing to the towers on each side.  He said that those gates had withstood many direct assaults, even one from a dragon.  Afterward we was shown to my quarters and told someone would come when dinner was ready.  We just rested until then.
600 men!  Probably too much for the 7 of us to handle...
A few hours later, a guard came to the door and escorted us back to the commandant's office.  We sat down at our places at the table.  The commandant was interested in us, and tried to strike up some conversation.  We started talking about Phlan, both old and new.  He asked point blank if Bishop Braccio was the true power in the new city.  I know he is fairly influential on the council, but as far as being the head of power in the new city, I had to say no.  He noted that in the past, Phlan has had trouble with Tyranthraxus and was curious to know if the city was still having trouble.  I told him about some of the things we had done to combat the would-be conqueror.  He asked if Phlan's defences were able to hold up.  I told him they were.  He related a tale he had heard as a youth about a glowing pool and a barbarian.  It is noted under journal 46.  With that, he bade us good night and retired from the table.

We were returned to our quarters, which thankfully were close to the main gate.  Being uneasy about being here, we posted a watch as we rested.  Thankfully we did as just a couple hours later a group of guards burst into our room and attacked us.  The first group was quick to fall, but another group charged in just as we finished with the first.  These fighters were a little better equipped, but fell just the same. 

I left the room as an alarm sounded in the distance.  Hopefully not everyone will know what is happening and I can make a quick getaway to the gate.  I slipped through the commotion and headed for the gate.  I was met by meager resistance at the gate.  After a quick battle I slipped out and away back towards Phlan.  Why I was attacked is still a mystery.  I can only assume that something in the papers I delivered mentioned I shouldn't make it back to the city.  In that case, I was betrayed by Cadorna.  I'll have to pay him a visit when I return.

I quickly returned to the city and headed immediately for the council chambers.  When I arrived I was told that Cadorna had betrayed the city and has been labeled a traitor.  He is nowhere to be found, and I was told that if I see him, I should kill him on sight.  Apparently he has upset others like he did me.  I'll have to make sure to keep an eye out for him.

After giving me a reward, I was told that Lord Urslingen wanted to speak with me.  We went into his chambers.  Here is the moment I've been waiting for.  Lord Urslingen went into detail about the attack on the castle.  We must first secure Stojanow Gate.  It is too heavily defended to attack head on, so a small group needs to infiltrate it from inside and hold it until help arrives.  We have been picked for this important task.  Happy to accept, we left the council chambers. 

So now I have two tasks, with an extra if I can.  Clear out Valhingen Graveyard and take Stojanow Gate.  If I see Cadorna I'm to kill him.  I've put off the trip to the graveyard too long now.  That will be my next stop as soon as I rest up and restock supplies.  I'll be glad to not have to travel too far anymore.  I've tired of the wilderness trips.  My mission is here close at hand anyway.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Prince of Persia

No, this is not a post about any of the new games that carry this title.  This is about the one that started it all.  Jordan Mechner's original Prince of Persia in 1990.  I have many fond memories of this game from my childhood.  It has aged very well, and going back to it now feels the same as it did in 1990.  The graphics haven't become an eyesore, its easy to get to run on DOSBox, and it still has the same fluid game play.  I took a small break from my Pool of Radiance play through to sit down with this run down nostalgia lane.


The story in this game is pretty simple.  Its not anything really innovative or creative.  Just the standard 'rescue the princess' scenario.  You and the princess have fallen in love secretly, but while the Sultan is away his Vizier Jaffar eyes the throne and sees the princess as an easy way to get it.  He captures you, throws you in the dungeon, and give the princess an ultimatum.  "Marry me or die within the hour."  This sets the scene for the whole game. 

When this game says within the hour, it means within the hour.  You have to beat the game in its entirety within 60 minutes.  When you look at it, it seems an impossible task.  It is more than possible though.  You are allowed one save, and it will always start you at the beginning of the level.  No saving right before a though jump, or before an important battle.  One slip up, and its back to the beginning of the level.  There are 12 levels in all.

I took a fairly systematic approach to beating this game.  You aren't allowed to save the game until the third level starts so it is in your best interest to get through the first two as quickly as you can.  Once on the third level, I saved...  putting the clock at about 53 minutes left.  Once I was able to save, I worked my way through the level, exploring every place I could to determine the best route through the level.  Then I would reload my save and complete the level in the most efficient manner.  Cheating maybe, but effective. 

A fight on level 2.
The game starts you out in the dungeon.  Its obviously not a nice place to be.  As the game progresses, the environment changes.  At level 4, you are in the palace itself.  The style change is nice, and helps to give a sense of advancement.  There are a few setback along the way, but eventually you pass from the dungeons, through the palace, and into a tower. 

Most of the time, the levels are pretty much the same.  You fight guards, find a way to open the door to the next level, and try not to die along the way.  The game is pretty good at putting a few unique situations in front of you though.  For instance, in the third level I believe, there is a skeleton that block your path to the door after you open it.  It is impossible to kill so you have to work your way past it.



Another situation come up a little later on.  After opening the door to the next level, a mirror appears in your path blocking you from continuing.  When you run jump through it, a shadow version of yourself runs away.  This shadow prince hinders you a couple times along the way.  One time, he stands next to a pressure plate to close a gate you need to pass through.  This ends up sending you back into the dungeons to try and escape again.  At some other point, he takes and drinks a potion that gives you more valuable health.

The magic mirror.

He just drank my potion!
There are a couple of other instances that stand out.  While the princess is waiting for you to rescue her, she befriends a mouse.  There is a point where the path to open the door leads you to a point that is very difficult to return through before the gate closes blocking your path back.  This little mouse comes by and open the gate for you if you weren't fast enough.  Also, one guard in the game is larger than the others.  He's become the infamous fat guard on the internet.  Its these little details that really keep the game feeling fresh. 
The Fat Guard!
In the end, the final standoff against Jaffar is a little disappointing.  Aside from his appearance, he could be just any other guard.  It doesn't matter though, it feels good to get rid of him and go rescue your princess.

Jaffar.

Reunited!
I completed this game in about 5 hours of playing.  I completed it on August 31, 2011.  This is a game that I will probably pick up a few times again in the future.  Its a game that can be played casually just to pass a few hours of time.  Playing it again hasn't taken anything away from the way I remember it when I was younger, which is usually not the case.  We make the things from our past seem better to ourselves, and experiencing them again as we grow older usually robs us of that feeling.  I look forward to picking this up again in another 20 years, we'll see how it holds up then.