ErikH2000
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I'd like to find a new computer RPG to play, but HOLD ON... not just any RPG. This is for when I wake up in the morning and can't think straight. I like to gradually degroggify myself playing some not-too-hard game. For about a year it has been an ancient demo of Magic the Gathering. But now I'm getting bored of that.

Basic criteria:
- Runs on Windows without using an emulator, i.e. not Chrono Trigger or the old Square classic games.
- Doesn't require reflexes, i.e. not Dink Smallwood or Legend of Zelda-type games.
- Doesn't require hard thinking, i.e. not Tower of the Sorceror.
- Isn't Kingdom of Loathing, i.e. not Kingdom of Loathing. (I got bored of KoL--sorry!)

Recommendations?

-Erik


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mrimer
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ErikH2000 wrote:
Recommendations?

Hmmm...How about Tranquility. Good for those groggy mindstates. It's not an RPG, but fits all those criteria.

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Mattcrampy
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Morrowind, I'd suggest, however probably you'd want something a bit more tranquil. Most of the RPGs I play that would be appropriate are console titles (I'm not normally a fan of the 'open-ended' RPGs, as I find that there's never an open end that suits how I'd prefer to solve the problem, something I miss from tabletop RPGs.)

There are a crop of home-made RPGs which would suit the criteria you set out, but unfortunately with these you get what you pay for, and a lot of them seem to be people trying to make their own version of their favourite console RPG hits without the tremendous amount of thought and number-crunching in order to give it the same feel.

I personally use Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which is reasonably difficult, but not too taxing (save the boss fights, which I always ensure I play at home) and has the added bonus that the smallest amount of time in which you can do something and feel like you've made real progress happens to pretty much coincide with the length of time my bus ride takes. (The layout of the game is based around missions - you pick a mission, and you're dropped into a battle, which usually take around 20 minutes or so to resolve for a battle matched to my abilities. Bookend that by selecting a battle and dealing with equipping and selecting new abilities, and that's around 25 minutes, which is my bus ride.)

FFTA has the unfortunate drawback of being a Game Boy Advance game, however.

Tranquility might be good, although I found the game rather unsatisfying from the little I played of it - it didn't ever seem to be that difficult, unless the level design was cheap.

Matt, waffle

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wackhead_uk
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There are plenty of MMORPGs downloadable from things like www.MMORPG.com adn things, but some are incredibly expensive and some are incredibly crappy, but free. It just takes searching around.

One I'm playing on sometimes is www.lordsoflegend.com - it's very simple but can get a bit boring, but you only ever really do a few things, so its perfect for sleepy people.

Matt, did Erik draw that avatar for you? If so, good for you.

ErikH2000
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I think I want a solo game (no MMORPG). And I like the classic topdown view best.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

wackhead_uk
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Diablo 2! Or, if you want a really good one, there's this game called DROD that I sometimes play on, which is really good. you could try that.

Mattcrampy
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wackhead_uk wrote:
Matt, did Erik draw that avatar for you? If so, good for you.

Yep, we've got this thing going where the webmaster has their own little caricature done by Erik. I really like mine.

Through an unparalleled act of kindness, I managed to get a full account for Tranquility. The paid-up game is nothing like the free demo - in the paid-up game, they will change the rules on you as you progress, and part of the game is working out how the rules have changed. That, and it scores you.

Matt, who will keep an eye out for good top-down RPGs

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Krishh
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Well, Progress Quest fits your criteria.

[Edited by Krishh at Local Time:11-27-2004 at 09:38 AM]

joker5
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Whee! Progress Quest, the greatest RPG known to couch-potato kind.

~joker5

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Maurog
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Try Decker. It's a cyberpunk RPG which is really easy and fun to play and you hardly even need a brain

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Fafnir
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'Easy' is in the eye of the beholder, admittedly. If you like Decker, though, I'd recommend Angband or ToMEband - both Tolkienian roguelikes. Not really good for playing first thing in the morning, though...

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eytanz
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I recommend the angband borg - nothing like sitting in the morning in front of the computer, and watch it play games for you.

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Oneiromancer
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Avernum is a very good shareware RPG, in the style of Ultima IV and V (but larger scope). You get a pretty good amount of space to work with in the trial version, and when you unlock it, it's huge. There are two sequels too, and Spiderweb Software has a few other "old-school" RPGs that I haven't tried, like Geneforge.

The only other downloadable one can think of right now is Laxius Power, a Final Fantasy style RPG. I played a bit of the first one, and the translation (French, not Japanese) got to me, but it seems to have a very loyal following.

Game on,

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ErikH2000
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Progress Quest...

>>sigh<< I guess I'm oblidged not to give away the secret. Stupid game. In the early morning it just makes me grumpy.

Trying Decker now...

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Krishh
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Sorry about that, but, hey, at least now you know. And there are people who enjoy it. I mean, there are level 80+ characters.

Maurog
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Do they have 80+ level characters cause they enjoy it, or do they enjoy it because they have 80+ level characters?

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DiMono
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If you go looking at the Progress Quest high scores for the realm of Oobag, they're for sale.

It's not an RPG, but one of my favourite little games is called NetWalk. The shareware version and the registered version are the same except for an advertisement it pops up asking you to register it, so you actually get the full game for free.

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ErikH2000
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I'm digging on Avernum. Will play that one for a while, I think.

-Erik

____________________________
The Godkiller - Chapter 1 available now on Steam. It's a DROD-like puzzle adventure game.
dev journals | twitch stream | youtube archive (NSFW)

Oneiromancer
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HA! I WIN! IN YOUR FACE! IN YOUR FACE!

...ahem. Yeah, I bought the full version of Avernum, and got maybe 50% through before I got interested in another game and when I tried to come back I had totally forgotten how to play. I started over again, but didn't get that far. Still, I think I got my money's worth for the amount of time I put into it to even get halfway through.

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

Oneiromancer
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Oh, and here's a nice hint/walkthrough site for Avernum. You can see from that map that it's a huge game...the shareware part is I think 10 squares out of around 50 (including some areas that can't be represented on that map, which is 42 squares large).

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams

bradwall
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I have liked EyAngband. Not the greatest graphics, but it is an ok game.
http://eyangband.sourceforge.net/

b0rsuk
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Hmm, if you really consider MTG demo an RPG game, you may like this:

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=5000

It's Sacrifice
Now abandonware, full version to download, but HOTU is respectable site and they take away games if developer/publisher tells them so.

Why I reccommend it ?
- it's not too hard, there were few cases in entire game where I actually had to restart level.
- rich gameplay, detailed story
- the action looks deceptively fast, but it's illusionary. Direct damage spells are easy to aim because they (almost)never miss, and so on. No need to dodge, because you basically can't. You can stay out of trouble.
- It isn't very new game, but graphics are amazing. Spells like Demonic Rift, Volcano (sparks and ashes falling down all over the map), Bovine Intervention... or attacks of certain creatures like Hellmouths are absolutely fantastic. And it's not effects, it's hours of work put into them. You don't see such things in modern games even. It has to be seen.
- very high replay values: you choose your levels (gods) and based on that get various creatures/spells. I finished the game 5 times.
- hardware requirements are quite reasonable, my AMD700 and Gforce2 mx makes it very enjoyable
- twited sense of humour. You'll find stuff like Pyrodactyl, Pyroborea, MagnifRyer, Pyroulic Dynamo... It's everywhere - animation, models, voices, story... The game doesn't take itself too seriously. Trolls are cute and trained in diplomacy "Troll ! Kiiiill !!!"

* * *

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Muiff
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A game that I recently finished playing, that is a pretty solid RPG (although a bit suffering in graphics) is:

MageCraft

Fulfills all criteria

It plays in a bird's eye prespective. You play a mage on a rescue mission. What's special is the "Telling stones", they contain recipies for spells.
(Hint: die a couple of times on the first level to get some ingredients, say 3 or 4)
Review and download:
The underdogs

[Edited by mrimer at Local Time:12-10-2004 at 09:24 PM: fixed link]

b0rsuk
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Magecraft...

I'd say the game is pretty frustrating on occasions such as ice giant or that forest with several trolls.
And it really DOES require fast fingers. Certainly not "sleepy" game.

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larrymurk
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Here's my recommended RPGs:

Avernum was mentioned. Spiderweb also made Geneforge which was quite fun. Fair-sized demo then pay to register.

Laxius Power was briefly mentioned. Its a turn-based RPG. I am one of those who played the whole game. This is a must try because..
-It's FREE
-It's huge above ground and in dungeons
-Many quests

Divine Divinity is more of an action RPG. It is retail, but shouldn't cost much since its been out for a while. This game is superb if you have the time.

Shadowflare is also an interesting action RPG. It maintained my interest by constantly upgrading equiptment and introducing new monsters. First episode is free, next three are pay. Two notes. You get a dog that helps in the beginning but is fairly useless later other than pressing unreachable switches. When you load a game, all monsters respawn so you might find yourself playing a little longer than you want at times to clear an area before saving and exitting the game.

All these games have walkthroughs easily found online. I wouldn't play (or finish) a game without a walkthrough!

Oneiromancer
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Divine Divinity: great game, stupid name. (TM) I haven't tried Riftrunner yet, I heard that it had many technical issues and just wasn't as fun. Any verdict on that? If I can find it cheap somewhere I might pick it up.

I have tried Shadowflare in the past and haven't gotten into it, even though I liked Diablo (which seems to be very similar). Perhaps there are new versions since I tried before...

Game on,

____________________________
"He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put a knife in the heart of wonder." -- Tad Williams