Page 1 of 1

Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:47 pm
by Alderem

Re: Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 6:18 pm
by Ari
Looks interesting!
It's one of my favorite Sierra/Dynamix games, and has an amazing soundtrack by recently deceased Jan Paul Moorhead.

Re: Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 6:19 am
by Spikey
The same (or very similar) panel did something a week ago, I believe. I see it because I'm friends with Neal and Ilana on FB, and both are part of the Sierra music group I run.

Hopefully they cover new ground and the spiritual successor gets a date announced ;)

Re: Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:54 am
by goatmeal1
Hands down the best computer RPG ever made, and one of my favorite game scores.

Re: Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:28 am
by Spikey
Goatmeal, I agree wholeheartedly. I'm playing through for the 3rd time, and the first proper time in many ways. I'm blown away at how good it is and how well it plays in 2021.

Did you play the 2 sequels? How were they?

And did you hear about https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ ?

Re: Betrayal at Krondor Discussion panel on Twitch March 27

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2021 3:59 pm
by goatmeal1
Spikey wrote: Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:28 am Goatmeal, I agree wholeheartedly. I'm playing through for the 3rd time, and the first proper time in many ways. I'm blown away at how good it is and how well it plays in 2021.

Did you play the 2 sequels? How were they?

And did you hear about https://www.callofsaregnar.com/ ?

I love "Betrayal in Antara" despite its many flaws, but I'm probably one of the few nowadays who does (or even did back then, I guess).

It doesn't follow Raymond Feists' Midkemia universe, since Sierra sold back the rights after the floppy version of BAK... well... "flopped"; after the CD version of BAK took off, however, the rights were unavailable. Hence, Antara is a pure in-house Sierra game, with its own story set in its own universe and the old BAK game engine as the basis.

Though BIA didn't do very well, it still holds a special place in my gaming heart; the story is okay-to-good once you get into it (though it's a little convoluted at times) and is a fully-realized, fleshed-out game world (see the Prima Publishing's "Betrayal In Antara - The Official Strategy Guide" for even more lore and history), but the graphics are the let down: designed to run in Windows 3.1, it's a 3D world populated with 2D sprites, all stuck at 256 colors. Sadly, while I can understand Sierra's gamble on the need for backwards compatibility on as many systems as possible, Windows 95 had been out for almost 2 years by the time BIA was finally released in mid-1997... :roll:

However, the score by David Henry is amazing, also one of my favorites (and why I sent you my complete extracted version of the soundtrack years ago).

About 10 years ago, I did a deep dive into Antara: extracting the SCI game assets to make expanded maps, played the game to make a complete script from the game's text, created an ultimate walkthrough, etc. I still have to put the finishing touches on the last chapter (Chapter 9), though -- I've been avoiding it, kind of like me not playing the Thief class in QF5 after 20+ years: I know it's still waiting for me, but once I play the final class to finish up my Thief character (I've already played through the Fighter & Mage for all 5 games), in my mind the QFG series will truly be "over"...

If I ever get my own website, I'll put up my complete "ultimate" walkthrough, the expanded game maps, and modified overhead map screens (where the original static overhead maps didn't match up with the in-game first-person 3D models):
• There is a building in Friole where a field of crops should be
• A building is missing in Isten
• A building is missing in Melay
• Two buildings in Ticoro are not the same shape as their 3D models

========================================

Sierra was able to acquire the company working on "Return to Krondor" in 1997, bringing the Kondor games back under their name. As for game play, RTK is really great when you play the first couple of levels within the city, but once you leave the gates of Krondor for the Midkemia countryside, the game kind of peters out... It's like they front loaded all the best parts at the beginning of the game.

Once again, however, the soundtrack is excellent. Chuck Mitchell's score is another standout, and if you can find a copy of the CD release of the music, I highly recommend it. I bought a copy from Voice of the Arts in 1999, but unfortunately, the links are dead and the company seems to be out of business.

http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/music

Looks like you can listen to it on last.fm or find it on YouTube...

========================================

Have not heard about Saregnar -- will have to investigate it further. From the main page, it looks awesome!