AGDInteractive - Sierra Adventure Game Remakes Forum

The fabulously talented Lori Cole, has posted an article on the "School for Heroes" Quest Log Blog. Check it out:

http://www.theschoolforheroes.com/quest ... re-reborn/

Read about Corey vs. the new QFG2 battle system. And notice Lori's smart take on graphic adventure games TODAY versus the classics of yesteryear.

Don't miss this insightful little piece from the original Quest for Glory game designer herself!

There's lots more on the "School for Heroes" site including information about the inspiration for the "style" behind the site, interesting tidbits about Corey's 8th grade math teacher, and WHY the "School for Heroes" exists. While you're there, be sure to link to the Cole's "Transolar Entertainment" website at http://www.transolar.com to catch up on their latest game designs. Also, if you're into nature photography and art, swing by Lori's FAR studios. There are some incredible photographs on display.

If you have a moment and you've enjoyed playing the original Sierra "Quest for Glory" series, email Lori and Corey and spill your guts! Who knows, perhaps together we can all convince them to design another Quest for Glory! Stranger things have happened...

There are unfinished quests and stories to be told. Be sure to check them all out...

- eriq

I'm really happy that they liked it so much. That kind of approval has to go a long way! Thanks for the link too I didn't know that they had a new blog.

Well, I'm sure their inbox is generating a lot of renewed fan interest these days, so rather than contribute to that deluge I'll say my thanks here, as I know Lori browses here.

Thank you, Lori and Corey, for making one of my favorite game series of all time, and the series that first got me into adventure gaming in general. I think it's a testament to the quality of your games that almost two decades after the series began, it still has fans dedicated enough to make this remake the stunning success it is.

Of all the games I've played, and there have been very many indeed, only a few have entertained me to the point I'll go back and play them years or even decades later. These games are on that short list.

That was totally awesome!

Though I have yet to see the Saurus Repair shop! I want to know where it is!

Till next time stay cool

The Saurus Repair Shop is, if I recall correctly, somewhere with a dead-end on the map somewhere on the west side of town, using the original alley layout.

That's awesome to hear!! To me the approval from the Coles would mean alot more than the approval of those money-hungry suits at Vivendi.

Those money hungry suits would be the people who allowed AGDI to produce free works based on their intellectual copyrights, didn't sue them and didn't shut them down?

Okay so maybe thier not ALL bad...but a rerelease of QFG along with SQ, KQ, PQ & LSL would have been nice...

I heard a rumor they were originally going to include the AGDI remakes of the KQs in the new collection...

SierraFan1885 wrote:Okay so maybe thier not ALL bad...but a rerelease of QFG along with SQ, KQ, PQ & LSL would have been nice...

I heard a rumor they were originally going to include the AGDI remakes of the KQs in the new collection...

They didn't? I am quite confident that both of them were in fact included.....

I can guarantee you they were not included.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually planned but due to Vivendi's excellent unorganizational skills the left hand didn't know what the right was doing and they went ahead without the remakes.

I'd venture that's what happened there. I mean, honestly, there's no reason not to include them.


Bt

There are probably some legal difficulties with including a game you can't really offer any support for and that hasn't been extensively tested by them or one of the companies they own. They could perhaps offer a download link with a disclaimer, but either option might be seen as a tacit authorization of any future fan remakes/sequels.

Anyway, awesome to see the creators' approval of the remake.

Rooting around the source HTML of the School for Heroes main page, I notice that there are mentions of five character classes. That's right, five. Of course there are Paladins and Wizards, plus Warriors and Rogues (the old Fighters and Thieves) but apparently Bards have been added to the mix now.

It would've been pretty darn funny singing Ad Avis to death, wouldn't it?

You get a rapier and the ability to taunt your foes.

Corsair wrote:You get a rapier and the ability to taunt your foes.

Dashing Swordsman?

I can just picture it. You make puns that are so bad, Ad Avis jumps off the edge to avoid them.

Maybe Bards can wield the Ultimate Joke in combat for a one-hit kill...

ATMachine wrote:Maybe Bards can wield the Ultimate Joke in combat for a one-hit kill...

I have a sudden vision of animated weasels as an enemy force...

My name is Tehseen and I am a Wizard. What kind of Hero Are You?
check it out on
http://www.theschoolforheroes.com

Very late to the party here, but I'm just now getting to play QFG2 VGA, and was very interested to read the article linked to above. What stuck out particularly for me, though, was the following:

So far, Corey has been unable to defeat any enemy in combat. He managed to get a brigand down to 50% of his health before the main character succumbed. A serious arcade gamer might have an easier time with the combat, but this could be a problem in an adventure RPG. Perhaps AGDI will release a patch later with an “easy mode” combat option for gamers who were already mature when QG2 first appeared.

To this I would like to say: WORD. I am delighted to be able to play the game - second in my heart only to QFG4 - in all its new VGA, bug-free glory, and I know it was a labour of love and skill to create, but this makes it all the more crushing that the revamped combat system comes close to ruining it for me. Grinding for stats I don't mind so much, but being forced to hone my own skills at button-mashing is something else again. If that's what I was interested in, I'd have been playing Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter II or some such instead of a Sierra game. One of the reasons I loved this series was that the combat was simple enough that it could engage you without detracting from the story.

I suspect I'm in the vast minority of gamers with this beef, so it was reassuring to see the comments from the creators as quoted above. Any chance of seeing this addressed?

In any case, thanks for both the forum and for giving an amazing game new life!

The battle system takes a bit of getting used to for people new to it. (whether those people were involved with the creation of the original or not) It can be quite tough if you play on high difficulty with mediocre stats, but it's doable for people without quick hand-eye coordination. Version 1.1 made battle a bit easier, but I'm not having direct plans to lower the overall challenge (regardless of difficulty level) even more.

There are a few pointers I can give that might help you.

1) Put the difficulty slider all the way down. It'll prevent enemies from using their more damaging attacks and they'll simply stick to standard slashes.

2) Don't fight battles as if you were playing the original version (or pretty much any other QFG-game)...you'll lose. In the original, holding the attack-key down was almost a guaranteed victory without much need for dodging. Here, you'll need to mind your defense at all times. Attack when you can, string attacks together as soon as your character learns to do this and get ready to dodge as soon as an enemy blocks your attack.

3) At the start you'll be weak. Even if you imported.

4) Don't go straight into the desert at the beginning. That's the biggest mistake you can make besides holding down the attack key. Visit the guild, follow Uhura's tutorial and make sure you understand how the system works. Train a lot with Uhura. At first, she'll go easy on you and let you get used to fighting.

5) Learn to use to co-pilot feature, which was implemented to help those without sharp reflexes. Set it to 100% defense and fiddle with the other sliders to see how this affects your hero's actions. With the co-pilot on defensive, it'll protect you against up to 80% of the enemy's attacks although you'll need to train your parry/dodging skill too. That's enough to survive any encounter you take part in with good health points.

6) You only need to really engage in melee battle as a fighter. Wizards can upgrade their spells with magic games and will only need a few lucky shots to down even stronger opponents. Thieves who sneak well can kill opponents without even starting a fight.

7) The battle system doesn't have any complex motions for most moves, unlike the beat-em-ups you mentioned. If you can type 797 on the keypad, you can slaughter enemies.

8) Enemies don't do nearly the melee damage per attack they did in the original, so if your health gets low, remember to run away and take a pill.

9) Stats matter...a lot. You're weak at the start. You'll get a lot stronger if you stick with things.

I separate players into three groups regarding the battle system.
- Those who love it from the start.
- Those who dislike it at first, then get used to it and grow to like it as it gets more familiar with them.
- Those who dislike it and either give up or continue to dislike it.

If you're the last category, all I can say is: sorry you didn't like it, but I'm afraid I have no plans to make major modifications to the battle system and I'm certainly not going to make a QFG2EGA clone. If you're the second category, I'd like to encourage you to take the time to get to know it. On the lowest difficulty setting with high stats, you can still win battles more or less like you did in QFG2EGA.

Hmmm...I had been putting the skill slider all the way down, turning on auto-assist, and getting killed anyway after insanely drawn-out battles. Thanks for the tips (and the mad speedy reply); I'll beef up on stats in town for a while, I guess, and fiddle with the settings to see if I can make any headway.

If you're at the start of the game, stay away from anything other than a brigand!
Don't be afraid to run away in the beginning!

Indeed. If you die after a long battle and it seems like a close call, your health and strength are probably too low. A fighter can make a difference by buying a fine sword, if you can afford it. A thief can use the silver dagger from the break-in house to do more base damage. A mage, if he has to do melee damage, is best off using the zap spell a lot. Use the double or triple swings as soon as you learn them. (they're used by swing-stab and swing-stab-swing)