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ahoodedfigure

I guess it's sunk cost. No need to torture myself over what are effectively phantasms.

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The Darkside of Xeen gets a bit brighter

Who's laughing NOW!?
Who's laughing NOW!?
Paranoid from dealing with Star Control 2's ninja-like assassination of my desire to play, I assumed that I had somehow lost levels in World of Xeen, and spent a bit of time trying to figure out why.  The save game system is such that in addition to the little blurb you use to describe the saved game, you also get a tally of your current highest level.  I saved in one really evil dungeon, and saved thereafter repeatedly.  When I checked my file again, it had dropped a bunch, and I started wondering what the hell it was that killed all those levels.  In Might and Magic, when you go  up in level you don't automatically ding, but instead go to a training center that can handle the level you want to train to and then you pay a fee to go up.  I like this system for a bunch of different reasons, and I felt as though if I really did lose those levels I could just train up again to get them back.

Eh, but I was wrong: they weren't lost because they weren't mine to begin with.  Might and Magic has a system where characters augment themselves with momentary stat bonuses from fixed locations you find as you explore.  I had drunk from a +10 level well somewhere, and the bonus went away when my party slept. 

With that out of the way, I plowed through a bunch of quests and beat the game.  Well, the Darkside of Xeen half of it.  There was a final battle cinematic, and then a final score.  The latter was a bit sad, since the score announcement told me to mail my score to the now dissolved New World Computing.  Thereafter it saved over my last save, plopping me in a town, pointing me in the direction of Clouds of Xeen's main quest.  Since I blew millions on training for everyone, I'm relatively poor, which is fine by me. 

If anyone reads this blog (y'know, if anyone does) and decides it or she or he wants to start up a game of Xeen, note that it'll ask you if you want a more battle intensive game or not.  From what I've heard, the battles just give the monsters more hit points and armor class.  That's it, as far as I know.  So in effect, battles take longer and force you to heal up more often, but aren't necessarily much more challenging in terms of strategy or enemy behavior.  Not my idea of a fun gaming experience, especially since training becomes virtually unaffordable unless you were smart and started banking early on (1% interest every week or so, compounded!).  Pick the "adventurer" setting and you won't be missing a thing, I don't think.  I did, and I usually tend to prefer higher difficulty levels.

I still have Clouds of Xeen to beat, and the final World of Xeen ending that'll play after that.  Will give it a rest for a bit though, while I try to tackle evil Star Control 2 again--

Nah.
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ahoodedfigure

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Edited By ahoodedfigure
Who's laughing NOW!?
Who's laughing NOW!?
Paranoid from dealing with Star Control 2's ninja-like assassination of my desire to play, I assumed that I had somehow lost levels in World of Xeen, and spent a bit of time trying to figure out why.  The save game system is such that in addition to the little blurb you use to describe the saved game, you also get a tally of your current highest level.  I saved in one really evil dungeon, and saved thereafter repeatedly.  When I checked my file again, it had dropped a bunch, and I started wondering what the hell it was that killed all those levels.  In Might and Magic, when you go  up in level you don't automatically ding, but instead go to a training center that can handle the level you want to train to and then you pay a fee to go up.  I like this system for a bunch of different reasons, and I felt as though if I really did lose those levels I could just train up again to get them back.

Eh, but I was wrong: they weren't lost because they weren't mine to begin with.  Might and Magic has a system where characters augment themselves with momentary stat bonuses from fixed locations you find as you explore.  I had drunk from a +10 level well somewhere, and the bonus went away when my party slept. 

With that out of the way, I plowed through a bunch of quests and beat the game.  Well, the Darkside of Xeen half of it.  There was a final battle cinematic, and then a final score.  The latter was a bit sad, since the score announcement told me to mail my score to the now dissolved New World Computing.  Thereafter it saved over my last save, plopping me in a town, pointing me in the direction of Clouds of Xeen's main quest.  Since I blew millions on training for everyone, I'm relatively poor, which is fine by me. 

If anyone reads this blog (y'know, if anyone does) and decides it or she or he wants to start up a game of Xeen, note that it'll ask you if you want a more battle intensive game or not.  From what I've heard, the battles just give the monsters more hit points and armor class.  That's it, as far as I know.  So in effect, battles take longer and force you to heal up more often, but aren't necessarily much more challenging in terms of strategy or enemy behavior.  Not my idea of a fun gaming experience, especially since training becomes virtually unaffordable unless you were smart and started banking early on (1% interest every week or so, compounded!).  Pick the "adventurer" setting and you won't be missing a thing, I don't think.  I did, and I usually tend to prefer higher difficulty levels.

I still have Clouds of Xeen to beat, and the final World of Xeen ending that'll play after that.  Will give it a rest for a bit though, while I try to tackle evil Star Control 2 again--

Nah.