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"Our Demo Reviews -Here-"

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Conferences Wizardry(r) 8 Conferences Wiz 8 - Destination Dominus (Protected)
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Katscan (Guest) (7 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 05:57 AM (Pacific)
"Our Demo Reviews -Here-"

I must say, I was semi-skeptical before the release because I was expecting something similar to Wizards and Warriors (which would have left me in tears)..

But I am *PLEASANTLY* .. no, no.. I mean VERY pleasantly surprised..

**Congratulations Sir-Tech and Linda .. EXCELLENT job!!** and I believe you made an excellent decision to bypass publishers and go straight to EB..
I really hope that the "real reviewers" will do the game justice.

Anyway, for my -brief- review..

THE GOOD: The game feels just like a Wizardry game! Combat is balanced but tough in the traditional wizardry style. Large encounters are the norm. It is well thought out with ranged attacks/weapons not dominating the game.
Critters look good, sound good, and are well animated and balanced. They aren't cutting edge in their detail, but they still look good and are crisp. Searching functions very well (as one would expect). Area effect spells are SO easy to use and understand. Spell system is great in typical Wizardry style.

THE BAD: Sometimes it is difficult to accomplish tasks in the interface (inventory) due to the wealth of information. But I believe if I had a real manual and experience with the game, I would be more efficient and know how to use it better. And why do most creatures 'explode' when they die ?? even if its from a normal arrow ?? hehe, I'm nitpicking tho.

THE UGLY: Its not ugly, but the graphics aren't great. Don't get me wrong *I* like them, and they run like SILK on my computer (better than any other game I have run on it) but I think it will get docked by the critics. Lets face it, due to the problems the SirTech has encountered with publishers, the graphics are out of date. It isn't so much that the graphics are simplistic/bad, its that the indoor (and somewhat outdoor) graphics are so SPARSE. There are few 'decorative' items lying around. Once again, *I* don't mind since the graphics are to the POINT and functional and crisp, but some critics will complain.

SUMMARY: Even based on the demo, I can tell this will be a worthy successor. This is clearly my favorite RPG of all time (a little hasty but I believe it will pan out from what I have seen so far). And EASILY the best RPG of the year.
I just wish there was more "stuff" lying about and decorating the environment.

**Congratulations Ian and Linda ! You have done it!**


Katscan, M.D.
New England Medical Center
Department of Radiology
Boston, MA

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Garion (60 posts) Click to EMail Garion Click to send private message to Garion Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 08:53 AM (Pacific)
1. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
First of all: it rocks!!

I especially like the way skills were implemented in the game, for example when the ranger detects bullet stones or heal potions hidden somewhere. I'm slightly scared they notice monsters before I do, though
Took a while to find all the necessary screens, but the weapons-swapping and especially the casting are done very nicely.

Haven't gotten used to the formation, yet. Kind of confusing, 'cause I always think it's facing in the direction you are looking, but as you can see in the formation screen, this is oftentimes far from true.

Must get back to playing to find out more.

BTW: I liked the way area spells were implemented, too.

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Maverick (Guest) (6 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 02:19 PM (Pacific)
10. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
My 2 cents:

Graphics: Yes, the graphics look slightly out of date compared to some games, but that's because they are out of date compared to some games. But, they're fast and smooth, even on a mid-range system at 1280X1024 32 bit. That in itself is amazing as many games with better graphics won't play smoothly on even high-end systems. In fact, given the lengthy publishing delays, I had expected the graphics to be much worse and was pleasantly surprised at how good they really are. Besides, since when has the Wizardry series ever been about graphics? I've played them all, many back in the Apple II days and this series has always been about great gameplay and compelling storylines.

Sound/Music: Excellent - Seemed to fit the scene or situation nicely without getting intrusive.

Interface: It was a little difficult at first. Given the wealth of information and options available, it's easy to get lost. But after a short period of time it's pretty intuitive and finding exactly what you need isn't a problem.

Combat: EVERY RPG game should have a phased combat system like this. It's easy to give/change orders and things progress smoothly without it ever becoming a Diablo-esque click-fest.

Movement: Am I the only person on earth that misses the old 10'x10' grid system? On these 360 degrees of movement games just lining up to get through a door can be a hassle. It's not enough to make me want to not play the game, but some sort of more controlled movement would be nice, even as an option. Anyone remember Betrayal at Krondor? It allowed full, any direction movement, but also had a neat pathfinding feature to let you easily follow roads once you were on them. That would be a big plus.

Stability: Excellent. I was unable to make it crash or bog down. Given the sorry state of the Pool of Radiance game release, it's amazing to see a demo this polished. I hope the finished product is this stable.

Size: Thank God for cable modems, a nice simple 15 minute download. But it would be nice if they had offered it in smaller chunks for those on dial-up

Verdict: Thumbs up. If you're at EB on the 15th you'll see me handing over my money.

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Marukusu (76 posts) Click to EMail Marukusu Click to send private message to Marukusu Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 10:01 AM (Pacific)
2. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
What can I say about the demo? It's excellent. I can't wait to have the full version This just got me a lot more addicted.

The graphics are OK, I think. (If you want to fry your video card with special effects, go play an action game.) As said by Katscan, the incoors could use some more decoration, (as well as the outdoors..) but we're yet to see them. The interface is perfect, I can't even say anything bad about it. Combat is really good, formations are maybe a bit hard to get accustommed to (like myself charging in only to realize that my mages are on front :O ) but making battles very realistic. (turn undead was a good idea, too.)
Not having any manual, lots of things seem quite arcane to me now (like the mechanics of the new class changing system) but it looks like it's been thoroughly tested. The only thing which bugged me was the Swallower not getting stuck by a low ceiling (lower than himself), but getting stuck trying to go thru a door in an interesting angle. Oh well, stuff like this usually happen in 3d games..
As I see, ranged attacks are more usable, partly because it's hard to determine the range of close combat. It was good to see my projectiles missing, too

Hmmm. What else. Oh yeah. How can you quick-save? It only told me that quicksavegame didn't exist. I don't know if you can jump, too, or another way to get out of that small lake by the bridge.
Oh yeah, I couldn't jump down from the hillside where that little guy was. Dang, can't remember his name.

Summarizing everything: I can't wait to get the full version! Looks like I'll have lots of sleep deprivation in the weeks to come

Great job, Ian, Linda and the rest of Sir-Tech (Canada)! Thanks for making this game.

-- Gondolkodom, pedig vagyok!

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Darth Roel (54 posts) Click to EMail Darth%20Roel Click to send private message to Darth%20Roel Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 03:30 AM (Pacific)
7. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
Just a quick tip: You can quicksave by pressing "Q" and quickload by pressing "SHIFT + Q".
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Decado (Guest) (69 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 12:34 PM (Pacific)
3. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
I really like what I've seen so far. I, for one, was quite impressed with the graphics. Oh, I'm sure the critics will dock W8 for it, but it is a hell of a lot better than Wizards and Wariors. Hopefully there will be a decent variety of landscapes.

I love being able to choose the power level of my spell. Hopefully there will be enough spells considering the length of the game.

My only concern in combat is the same one I always seem to have for fantasy CRPGs: It looks like Fighter style characters are going to be dull as anything to use. It could very well be that I don't know what I'm doing, but it seems to me 90-95% of their actions in combat is just going to be "attack". I was hoping for a bit more depth and variety. Slash, thrust, chop etc. commands for swords...at least several for each weapon type (shouldn't have been too hard since there are no weapon animations). Oh well (correct me if I'm wrong).

Overall, though, I'm really impressed with the combat system as I've seen it (especially considering it is a FP party game). This is what M&M6-8 *should* have been like. Hopefully with a manual in hand I'll be able to get even more out of it.

Still not sure if I'm going to like character development (important, for me). Hopefully the Daggerfall style has been kept to a minimum.

Was 200/600 monsters a typo? Could swear it was 200 models, combining w/ varieties for 300. Hey, 600 is fantastic as long as they're balanced.

I'll keep an eye out for W8 and will start clearing my HD. After the moderate disappointment of Arcanum, and the huge disappointment of PoR2, all I have to say is: its about bloody time we got a CRPG that lives upto its potential.

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Charles (Guest) (3 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 02:29 PM (Pacific)
4. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
It's been a while since since I looked at the numbers, but I remember them as:

--More than 200 models/major skin variations.
--More than 600 monster types (different stats, names, etc.)
--More than 1000 encounter types (different groups of monster types that travel together.)

Charles

Wizardry 8 monster wrangler and designer

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Scary (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 01:49 AM (Pacific)
6. "Welcome"
Hey, Charles, welcome. It's going to be nice to finally see your work, and we ALL look forward to getting a close up look at the whole game later this month. You have all done a great job. We hope you've landed on your feet after the shut down. (Or are you one of those who has stayed on to provide technical support?)
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Asrial (228 posts) Click to EMail Asrial Click to send private message to Asrial Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Oct-31-01, 03:31 PM (Pacific)
5. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
I downloaded the demo ::lovingly pats his DSL modem::

I installed the game ::lovingly pats ZoneAlarm Pro::

I played the game ::lovingly pats Linda:: j/k ^_^

I only played for about 5-10 minutes, and these are my initial thoughts:

1) The graphics seem sub-par with what's out there today, however, that's a good thing -- that means that the game isn't graphics intensive and doesn't require a super machine to run

I have an AMD-K6-II, 500mhz; 296 megs of ram (my saving grace); and a Voodoo3 16 meg Graphics Accelerator -- the demo runs smooth as silk (as someone put it).

I loved the feel of Wiz 7, it felt like a classic. I personally, don't need to be overwhelmed with visual stimuli to get enjoyment out of Wiz 8.

2) The fighting seemed fun, just hitting enter over and over and my characters are off and killing without further prompts. I LOVE the auto-weapon change. Much cleaner than Wizards and Warriors.

3) I found moving a bit disconcerting. However, I haven't adjusted any settings or anything, so this should go away with time and finding a style that works (I was using the keyboard and mouse, ala Unreal Tournament and Quake).

.

Now, these are my thoughts after reading the document that came with the game.

Dear gods!

This game smokes Wizards and Warriors!

It sounds like everything has been hammered out, all the little details are in there and what made Wizards and Warriors a burden has been smoothed over here in Wizardry 8.

My hope is that the storyline lives up to the fun factor of the game.

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Katscan (Guest) (7 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 06:09 AM (Pacific)
8. "Will our $$ go to SirTech ??"

Just a quick question..
Will the money we spend on the game (portion thereof) go to SirTech ? I certainly hope so.

Is it possible that SirTech will be able to start up operations again ?? What I mean by this, is if Wiz8 is a great success with excellent sales, will they be able to reopen their doors and continue work on Wiz9 and Jagged Alliance 3??

I would really be happy if SirTech was able to resume operations.


Katscan

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Sphynx (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 06:40 AM (Pacific)
9. "Graphics"
I noticed the graphics on the demo were rather simple as well.
I also noticed that the full release requires an 8 MB 3D graphics
accelerator card. Since I can run the demo without one, I suspect
that the quality of the graphics will be much improved in the release, n'est-ce pas?
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Llevram (5413 posts) Click to EMail Llevram Click to send private message to Llevram Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 11:18 PM (Pacific)
13. "I believe graphics are the same as the full game"
I think the requirements state a 3d card is required, even though there is a software mode. I think that is because no one would like playing it in software mode (and the 3d card modes are so stable).

Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit

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Erithiel (5 posts) Click to EMail Erithiel Click to send private message to Erithiel Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 03:29 PM (Pacific)
11. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
I like it....a lot, in fact. DLing wasn't easy on my modem (thank
God/Goddess/the Gods for hcgamer.hu), but it runs like a charm
on my not-entirely-cutting-edge computer (P2 Celeron400, 32meg
TNT2, 128M RAM] in 1024x768x32 mode! Weeeeee! As for the
graphics...eh. Deus Ex (which is supposed to have 'uber'
graphics) is actually WORSE, because I have to settle for
640x480x16, lo-res textures, no shadows / dynamic lighting /
music / voices, etc. etc.
Gameplay...it lives up to the Wizardry name and is actually
balanced better than Wiz7 IMNSHHO. Never would've I thought
rangers/bards/thieves/fighters could ever be useful...heh.

... now if only shipping to Hungary didn't cost twice the price
of the game itself ...

-- E.
'sleep deprived since nov 1'

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FenrisOne (73 posts) Click to EMail FenrisOne Click to send private message to FenrisOne Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 04:22 PM (Pacific)
12. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
I played the Demo in about 5h stait. (old time wiz fan can do that. The graphics are OK/good/better than I was expecting, and run smooth as "silk".
The "taunts" of the characters is *balanced* thanks for that. And it gives a very familiar feeling to have each char with its own personality - Great. I do realize now, that every char should have a short/long range weapon combo, so one of the most important weapon choices will be the best combo for each char, maybee not the best *one* weapon.
This game gives you the *good old feeling* from Wiz7 - good job.
The stat. info screen are very clean and slick. I like the right mouse clicking to get info on items, you can do this on various places, like when you are browsning before buying stuff - love that. Sometimes it good to use the "walk" so you can get your fighters to go Meele.
Downside: None and that is very good even for a demo!
The fact that publishers did not fight over Wiz8 says more about them than about Wiz8.
Tech note:
The Demo was installed on a fresh WinXP, Geforce2MX, cel.667, 256MB SDRAM. 1024*768*32, DX7, Software Sound, and no bugs detected and it was stable as rock.
It did consume a tot. of 512MB RAM on this "one start to finish run" (prob. fixed in rel.) I did only notice this because of the long time it took to quit the demo. Testing to run it for 1h did not have this RAM hogging eff.
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Llevram (5413 posts) Click to EMail Llevram Click to send private message to Llevram Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-01-01, 11:20 PM (Pacific)
14. "Memory loss"
Did you install then go right into playing your 5 hours? If so, that may account for it. A reboot is not required, but I always do anyway.

Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit

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FenrisOne (73 posts) Click to EMail FenrisOne Click to send private message to FenrisOne Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-02-01, 04:06 AM (Pacific)
15. "RE: Memory loss"
Yes I always do that (reboot after install). I have detenator 21.83 WHQL Certified (not the default nvidia drivers) installed for the Geforce2MX and a fixed swapfile 184MB that will expand.
Go here for these drivers http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers

/FenrisOne

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Terwin (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 06:17 AM (Pacific)
16. "RE: Amazing"
I stayed up till 5am playing the demo. I didn't even get to finish it. it's simply amazing. The demo is better than half the full version games i've played. I hear some people complaining about the graphics. They look fine to me. Real fine. I hope it sells well, and gets great reviews. Maybe there would be a chance for another one. I hate to see the series end.
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jersey (1 posts) Click to EMail jersey Click to send private message to jersey Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 07:16 AM (Pacific)
17. "RE: Amazing"
I like the graphics too. Can't wait to see the rest of Dominus. After I finished the demo for the 5th time (and still coming across beasties I hadn't before) I slept outside and got to see the nighttime. Very nice indeed. The moon and the night sky. Very nice.


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FenrisOne (73 posts) Click to EMail FenrisOne Click to send private message to FenrisOne Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 09:03 AM (Pacific)
18. "RE: Amazing"
Yes take a look at the Moon - I mean it
I know we should be thankful... (insert Monk here) But I hate to see the series end...
/FenrisOne
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Terwin (Guest) (0 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 05:31 PM (Pacific)
20. "RE: Amazing"
I didn't see the moon. When did you see it?
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jersey (1 posts) Click to EMail jersey Click to send private message to jersey Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 05:35 PM (Pacific)
21. "RE: Amazing"
I went outside and camped where you crash land. I woke up at night. Very nicely done too. Just keep sleeping and waking up until you get night time.

j

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Jan K (Guest) (13 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-03-01, 02:48 PM (Pacific)
19. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
Hello everybody,
I've just finished the demo (after a few hours of continuous gameplay) and it really surpassed every my expectation. I don't care what some people say about updated gfx, this game has an atmosphere!
I'll try to summarize my first feelings:

+
1, Graphics! Yes, it is, because it portrays everything, what it means to portray. You can have a game with milion triangles aso. but I think, that in this case it won't be so usefull. I too like it's simplicity (not so heavy furnished) because it keeps the game running and not leaving me searching one room for an hour.
2, Sound. Good voice acting, monsters are fine, nice thing someone thanked me for better armor.
3, Combat. At first I was a bit confused, but after an hour I got used to it and it is much better.
4, NPC interaction. Btw. anyone managed to kill that thief Burz? Also posibility to see weapon stats when buying items aso.
5, Common inventory is a good idea.
6, Playability and replayability. Even such a short demo will be pleasure to play over and over again.
-
1, TOO SHORT DEMO
2, Music is OK, but I fear that all will be in this style (I've also downloaded some mp3 called T'rang and Arnika.) It's a pitty, because for this game there should be some contrast between magic and science, which is present in it's plot. If someone played Planescape:Torment, there is wonderful variety from medieval style to modern styliyation of movie music.
3, A few gfx. bugs. The most common is when there is some messagebox with text, after clicking it out rests on screen a bit of black junk. Ok and don't tell me I need to upgrade my drivers, because it's not the cause.
4, THE BIGGEST CON IS THAT WHAT I FOUND AFTER OPENING THE SAFE!!! I expected at least some good sword.

The demo runs really smooth. (although I have AMD 800 with
GeForce2 MX-400 so it really should.) I can't wait for the release. If someone knows about posibility how to buy this game in Europe without credit card please say me.

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Geldonyetich (Guest) (18 posts) Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-04-01, 10:17 AM (Pacific)
22. "RE: Our Demo Reviews -Here-"
It's as another poster said, Wizardry 8 really seems to raise the bar on the whole party-integrated 3D CRPG genre. Wizards and Warriors, the previous (if bugged) heavyweight of the genre doesn't really hold a candle to Wizardry 8. (Which is I pity because I've taken to playing it in order to burn away the time between now and the mid month release date.)

Graphics:

The graphics, though some may call them dated, are nonetheless good looking and very well animated. The screenshots don't do the graphics justice - there may not be a very high polygon count on the monsters themselves (probably a neccessity considering there can be alot screen at once) but the way they *move* is great.

I'll tell you one thing, I don't think I'm EVER going to get bored of lining up 10+ monsters and unloading a barrage of magic missiles from my mage. That's pure gaming bliss.

Audio:

The music is pretty well composed, I look forward to listening ot the pieces in the other areas. The sound effects are professionally done. I think nearly everybody loves the personalities of the different characters. I saw in a screenshot that you can actually choose from 10 different kinds of personalities behind the voices of each of your characters, that should be fun to play with.

Gameplay:

Graphics and Audio have been a secondary requirement to a good RPG. What's really great about Wizardry 8 is that it brings in a nice feeling of well developed old school RPG play. It proves to me that the Wizardry style of RPG is not dead, it was just waiting for a good modern implementation.

The combat system in W8 is great. I especially like the formation system. Moving characters around where they're needed to block attacks is something I like so much that I think it's now mandatory in games like this. All the major damage radius types are implemented: direct damage, cones, area of effect centered on party, area of effect centered at range. Spells fizzle.

The monster AI is actually moderately challenging. Monsters will defend if they can't attack, and will sometimes seek alternate routes to your party.

Overall:

This game's got my $50. It'll be all I'm thinking about for the next couple weeks - and I've got a PS2 so that's competing with Metal Gear Solid 2 anticipation.

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Llevram (5413 posts) Click to EMail Llevram Click to send private message to Llevram Click to view user profile Click to check IP address of the poster
Nov-04-01, 03:56 PM (Pacific)
23. "Audio - minor correction "
For the personalities, there are nine personalities to choose from, each one of those having two voices each (Like Laidback #1 and #2). All totalled, that is 36 (9 personalities X 2 choices X 2 genders) voices for your characters.

On top of that, all (or most) of the NPCs have their own voices, too.

Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit

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