tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post7306102026718739355..comments2024-03-28T08:50:57.015+01:00Comments on Beyond Fomalhaut: [BEYONDE] Nox Archaist, the Hottest Apple ][ Game of 2020/2021Melanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-46305025517326399172021-01-29T05:32:53.563+01:002021-01-29T05:32:53.563+01:00It was, indeed, released on GOG ! Great timing. It was, indeed, released on GOG ! Great timing. Sacihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11382707484272049988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-47705003417124806612021-01-28T21:57:27.556+01:002021-01-28T21:57:27.556+01:00Great news. Can’t wait! Great news. Can’t wait! Sacihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11382707484272049988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-56440285016484668702021-01-28T08:39:43.913+01:002021-01-28T08:39:43.913+01:00If I understand correctly, it is coming to GOG.If I understand correctly, it is coming to GOG.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-57094410191100333442021-01-28T01:44:51.961+01:002021-01-28T01:44:51.961+01:00I’m looking forward to this game. Wish they could ...I’m looking forward to this game. Wish they could release it on GOG. Sacihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11382707484272049988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-48438071770866649032021-01-12T12:45:55.569+01:002021-01-12T12:45:55.569+01:00Perhaps you need to ask *LOUDER*?Perhaps you need to ask *LOUDER*?Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-44922819202982798792021-01-12T11:37:50.638+01:002021-01-12T11:37:50.638+01:00*cough* Anyone know how to get the pickaxe from th...*cough* Anyone know how to get the pickaxe from the deaf dwarf?Altanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10707257716949684040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-67444530205499361962021-01-09T03:24:10.265+01:002021-01-09T03:24:10.265+01:00Interesting stuff indeed for old 8-bit gamers like...Interesting stuff indeed for old 8-bit gamers like myself! ;) I played the original U2 to U4 on the C64 and U5 on the Amiga (and the rest on PC) but my favorite Ultima remains indeed U5.<br /><br />Nox Archaist definitely looks great and absolutely charming. Their support of old sound hardware like the Mockingboard is commendable, too.<br /><br />Although: If this is indeed like the old Ultimas, players should expect a *long* game that isn't hand-holding them like modern titles usually do.<br /><br />But in your brilliant introduction you sum up the terrible situation for us "old gamers": When the money hangs low in the trees you get everything from competent (but perhaps slow) developers via too-big-dreams-folks to scammers...<br /><br />Yes, I was also burned by the "Unknown Realm" debacle, a game that was originally expected for 2018.<br />For those not in the know: In the five(?) years of "development" the supporters at best got a few text updates, mostly from the wife of the "developer", but no screenshots or videos of the progress being made.<br /><br />The lousiest thing about it is that they completely ignore the people who already invested "and made this project happen" (with expensive collector's edition tiers, too) and try to extract even more money from the most gullible supporters by establishing a "private guild", spending their time on delivering christmas cards rather than a finished game.<br /><br />I totally get it that kickstarting something always comes with a risk, that is one of the "rules", but this kind of unruly ignorance is so disgusting that this was my first and last development support. I now only buy finished games.<br /><br />This stance may reduce the chance of development but will reward finished games. And this is something good, too.<br />Old Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04725508505561557922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-31887000301090443022021-01-05T09:45:09.683+01:002021-01-05T09:45:09.683+01:00Thanks! Will try to write more this year; 2020 was...Thanks! Will try to write more this year; 2020 was what it was.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-19390285427862540582021-01-05T09:44:30.389+01:002021-01-05T09:44:30.389+01:00Skald has multiple playable demos by now (although...Skald has multiple playable demos by now (although I have not been keeping up recently), and it looks like it will be worth playing when it is released. No worries there.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-88470042811917030802021-01-05T02:04:16.642+01:002021-01-05T02:04:16.642+01:00Thanks again the large panel graphics are also ani...Thanks again the large panel graphics are also animated.BillGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14697858279675369640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-31108008442813921602021-01-05T02:02:16.777+01:002021-01-05T02:02:16.777+01:00Your articles are always a joy to read. I keep com...Your articles are always a joy to read. I keep coming back to the blog regularly, to see what's new. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-49123279066573119302021-01-04T18:40:14.273+01:002021-01-04T18:40:14.273+01:00Yes, people have got it running under Linapple. Yo...Yes, people have got it running under Linapple. You can also run it using microM8, which is a new emulator for Mac, Windows, and Linux (it's used under the hood for Nox Archaist for Mac/Win).Chris Torrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17207358969807500708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-69847229187400956432021-01-04T17:48:10.566+01:002021-01-04T17:48:10.566+01:00Thanks for putting this on my map, and Skald looks...Thanks for putting this on my map, and Skald looks great as well. It's a pity about those other kickstarters, but if 2020 and Cyberpunk 2077 have taught us anything, it's that buying a finished product from a big name studio is not without its own perils.Mathiashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07054583834921602388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-76808673295692457132021-01-04T15:40:11.945+01:002021-01-04T15:40:11.945+01:00I'll second Urban here, it's captivating!I'll second Urban here, it's captivating!Chomyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511246862191949076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-49256443516606286212021-01-04T14:59:09.553+01:002021-01-04T14:59:09.553+01:00Thank you indeed for your comment, and your correc...Thank you indeed for your comment, and your correction! My memories of the older Ultimas are more recent than 40 years (I first played them in the mid-1990s Software Toolworks I-VI collection, after BG/SI, and the underrated, great Savage Empire), which explains my mistake: I played them in a reissued edition, which must have had substantial upgrades. (Although not to II and III, which may have been be originals.) This makes Nox Archaist and its details all the more impressive, even with the benefit of hindsight.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-6663602472390572322021-01-04T09:34:45.723+01:002021-01-04T09:34:45.723+01:00Hello, loved your review's style and depth! On...Hello, loved your review's style and depth! One minor nitpick though, where your memory probably played games on you after 40 years:<br /><br />When you stated that Nox is graphically at Ultima III level, you probably remember Ultima IV as the PC VGA port that everyone plays these days, which was made much later and for the immensely more powerful PC platform. If you look at the original Ultimas on the Apple 2 platform (all the way up to Ultima V), Nox situates itself technically above Ultima V in terms of graphics and overall technology.<br /><br />(I know I was under that same impression as you even though I grew up with an Apple 2, until I replayed the original Apple 2 versions side by side with Nox and realized my mistake)<br />Memory has a way of changing things!Rikkleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16112907215051474229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-38157006140663973192021-01-04T05:50:05.888+01:002021-01-04T05:50:05.888+01:00Thank you for the compliment. It is greatly apprec...Thank you for the compliment. It is greatly appreciated.BillGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14697858279675369640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-85706526367023572522021-01-04T05:47:45.110+01:002021-01-04T05:47:45.110+01:00What a wonderful and thoughtful review!What a wonderful and thoughtful review!BillGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14697858279675369640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-72877620684217751312021-01-03T09:51:05.812+01:002021-01-03T09:51:05.812+01:00The older Ultimas definitely have something of the...The older Ultimas definitely have something of the same feel I get from OD&D - not always serious, but often with a sense of the archaic, building on foundations of myth and history. This disappears in the later games, just as it disappears in the D&D tradition.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-34415980479876630162021-01-02T22:38:15.539+01:002021-01-02T22:38:15.539+01:00The last picture about resting is soo evocative!!!...The last picture about resting is soo evocative!!!Urbanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507393843796437245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-51167808872731981612021-01-02T15:23:33.572+01:002021-01-02T15:23:33.572+01:00I think the exploratory nature of the original Ult...I think the exploratory nature of the original Ultima(s) (food, healing, conversation, etc) better represent OD&D than anything that has come out since. I was going to reach out to the creators to see if it runs under Linapple (the LINUX Appple ][) emulator, but you review has pushed all my buttons, and I'm just going to buy it and try.<br /><br />Awesome. Thanks.squeenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975523149573452984noreply@blogger.com