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Avantgarde: Just has to ask. Which version of Bards Tale I-III is it in GOG version?
Apple ][ versions, I think. Due probably to DOS versions (as well as Amiga versions) being slightly bugged.
Post edited March 22, 2014 by PetrusOctavianus
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PetrusOctavianus: BT2 is one of the most difficult CRPGs ever.
Kudos to the first Bard's Tale "virgin" to complete the GOG version of it.
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jsjrodman: Well partly in response to your original query, I just finished it!

I basically just said F the to-hit issues, got some speedboots and avoided most combat in Oscon's Fortress and nearly ALL combat in the last two dungeons (no magic really weirded me out with my underwhelming to-hit issues).

Some of the 'riddles' still don't make sense to me, but I managed to answer them all this time around, that is.. apart from the Death Snares. Snares 3 and 4 just don't seem reasonable at all to me. 6 and 7 have a certain kind of logic if you're willing to give them thought and a bunch of tries.

Some of them, like the Sphinx seem pretty badly designed though. The Oscon snare also leaves the order unclear, I just started trying combinations.

Overalll, I think the puzzles are legitimately challenging, there are lots of enemies worth avoiding (though it's easy to do so) but the weapon-combat is unfortunately kind of buggy in the end. I'd say Bard's Tale 1 is definitely the stronger game in the balance.

Now on to 3.

---

Uh as a decidedly second-time player I guess i totally derailled your thread :-O

Sorry
So how did you pass get segment three? I've even gone ahead and got segment IV. When I answer "women" every time I get, "You blew it!. I tried Eunuchs too. Did that part hang you up or not? I've hit every frikken' square twice in all levels of everything, and even already beat the Maze of Dread, but I cannot get this Mouth to teleport me to start the Snare ticking.

Anyone else?

Thanks,
yok
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PetrusOctavianus: Ouch! Another overflow bug in the Bards's Tale series?
I've already experienced an overflow bug with the Hunter's critical hit skill in the Amiga version of BT 1 and/or 2. He'll steadily get better at killing until he reaches lvl 15 or 16, at which time the chanses revery to that of lvl 1 and then it increases again each level.
This bug is in the DOS version of BT2, but not the DOS version of BT1.

It also affects rogues, but I don't think the class even works correctly, so it's only relevant if you are going to transfer into BT3. (The workaround, for the DOS versions, is to level them up in BT1 and don't level them at all in BT2 before transferring to BT3.)

By the way, one other bug in the C64 version of BT2: Special party members (monsters and illusions) will not use their special attacks or spells if there are any enemies present. This bug is rather annoying, as it affects one of my favorite aspects of the game; recruiting special party members for the chance of a free spell or breath attack each round.


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jsjrodman: Also i wanted to import my completed party to BT3, which it looks like someone wrote a utility for, but I didn't know that when I set out on this particular journey.
What I have found is as follows:
* For BT2, the Apple 2gs and Commodore 64 have the same character structure, except for the fact that the C64 characters are encrypted on disk (but not in RAM). Hence, simply copying the character data into RAM will work here.
* I note that BT1 and BT2 share the same data structure in the Apple 2gs. This means you can use a character created in one game in the other game without transferring, though items will be different and a BT2 Archmage or special character will become a glitch class in BT1.
* The DOS versions of 1 and 2 are different; they don't share their data structure with the other versions mentioned (might with the Amiga perhaps?), and don't share it between BT1 and BT2.
* BT3 has a new data structure, but this structure is shared between at least the C64 and DOS versions (so probably between all 4 versions since the 8-bit versions seem to be based off the same source code, and the 16-bit versions as well (notice how they have similar bugs?)). The one difference is that, in the C64 version, the high bit of the characters that make up the name are set, while on DOS they are not. (Note that there's no encryption here.)
* The C64 version's transfer program is better than the DOS version's. The DOS version's doesn't adjust XP, so characters may have the wrong XP for their level (since XP tables changed past levle 13 in BT3), and it allows transferring special characters but has them casting Mage Flame (spell with index 0) every round.

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PetrusOctavianus: I assume you are aware of the bugs in some versions of BT3? It seems only the Apple version(s) are bug free, but there is an unoffical patch for the DOS version.
Actually, the 8-bit versions both have bugs. In the Apple 2 version, the Angel Ring doesn't work properly, and there is a major exploit that lets you get XP really quickly. (I remember raising an Archmage past level 200 with this glitch.) The Commodore 64 version fixed many of those bugs (and removed the exploit), but I've noticed that the spell Giant's Strength doesn't appear to do anything (doesn't affect either accuracy, damage, or number of attacks). It's just that those bugs are far less painful than the ones in the 16-bit versions.
Post edited February 25, 2019 by dtgreene
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jsjrodman: The dungeon walls were less varied in nearly all the 16bit versions (pc, amiga st), although the IIgs got a fairly good treatment (the one we got in this game).
Something I notices comparing the 2gs and DOS versions of BT2; the Grey Crypt and Destiny Stone had their wall styles swapped between these two versions.
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jsjrodman: The dungeon walls were less varied in nearly all the 16bit versions (pc, amiga st), although the IIgs got a fairly good treatment (the one we got in this game).
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dtgreene: Something I notices comparing the 2gs and DOS versions of BT2; the Grey Crypt and Destiny Stone had their wall styles swapped between these two versions.
Huh, I thought Bard's Tale 2 largely had uniform walls in 16 bit. The Amiga version is certainly dull. I guess I should revisit the IIgs version.
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Avantgarde: Just has to ask. Which version of Bards Tale I-III is it in GOG version?
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PetrusOctavianus: Apple ][ versions, I think. Due probably to DOS versions (as well as Amiga versions) being slightly bugged.
They said during development that the Amiga version was used, and for BT3 they used the C64/128 versions. For instance, the AMiga version used 32-colors--the Apple version 16--as is easy to see in the screen shots from both versions, also note the individualized instrument sounds in all the games for the Bard songs--this was a part of the Amiga versions of all three games--but not even the Apple IIGS version of (one of--can't recall which atm) the games used them--all songs, regardless of instruments, were played by harpsichord in the IIGS version. But anyway, that's all quite academic as the remastered Trilogies are much better than any version of the original games, imo. As you might expect--some 30 years later--Jeez, I'm that old? I guess I am...;)
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PetrusOctavianus: Apple ][ versions, I think. Due probably to DOS versions (as well as Amiga versions) being slightly bugged.
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waltc: They said during development that the Amiga version was used, and for BT3 they used the C64/128 versions. For instance, the AMiga version used 32-colors--the Apple version 16--as is easy to see in the screen shots from both versions, also note the individualized instrument sounds in all the games for the Bard songs--this was a part of the Amiga versions of all three games--but not even the Apple IIGS version of (one of--can't recall which atm) the games used them--all songs, regardless of instruments, were played by harpsichord in the IIGS version. But anyway, that's all quite academic as the remastered Trilogies are much better than any version of the original games, imo. As you might expect--some 30 years later--Jeez, I'm that old? I guess I am...;)
The Apple 2gs version of Bard's Tale 1 has different instrument sounds; in fact, there are two versions, one standalone and one that runs in GS/OS, with the latter using, I believe, GS/OS's MIDI capabilities. (I have only played the standalone one, and to be honest, the flute sound in it isn't that great; C64 BT3's flute sound is better.) That Apple 2gs version of Bard's Tale 2, on the other hand, did not. (For whatever reason, on the 2GS, BT2 feels less polished than BT1; there's also the fact that BT2 has longer in-game load times for some reason.)

One nice touch in the remaster is that mandolins and harps sound different. Unfortunately, BT3's Galvanic Oboe still sounds like a flute and not an oboe.
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dtgreene: Something I notices comparing the 2gs and DOS versions of BT2; the Grey Crypt and Destiny Stone had their wall styles swapped between these two versions.
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jsjrodman: Huh, I thought Bard's Tale 2 largely had uniform walls in 16 bit. The Amiga version is certainly dull. I guess I should revisit the IIgs version.
For the curious, in the remaster, the Destiny Stone looks like it does in the DOS version (Mangar's Tower), while the Grey Crypt looks like the Catacombs, except grey.