Computer Role-Playing Game News - 1996
12/25

  • Merry Christmas :)

  • 7th Level has released a nonplayable demo of Return to Krondor.

  • Engage Online is testing a multiplayer version of Castles 2: Seige and Conquest by Interplay on America Online.

  • Bethesda has filed suit against some senators over libel concerning Daggerfall's place on their "Least wanted games" list.

  • There is a new patch available for Sierra's Lords of the Realm and New World Computing's Heroes of Might and Magic II.

  • You can find all these goodies at Online Gaming Review.

    12/19

  • Ultima Underworld project leader Warren Spector will be making a new RPG named Dark for his company Looking Glass (System Shock, Flight Unlimited). Will feature texturemapping, intricate environments, dynamic lighting, interactive water, realistic weapons interface. Second half 1997.
    - from Next-Generation

  • Diablo will miss the Christmas release date.

  • A playable demo of Heroes and Might and Magic 2 is here.
    - from Gamespot

    12/18

  • There is a new Daggerfall patch version 1.95.

  • SimTex, makers of MOO and MOM, may be making Civ 3 for Microprose along with MOM2.
    - from OGR

    12/17

  • Online Gaming Review reports that 1) Origin's Ultima Online should be ready by around February, 2) Diablo is nearing production and should be out sometime next week or the week after, 3) Pre-sales of Diablo are hovering around a huge 450,000, and 4) HOMM2 is flying off retail shelves.
    - from OGR

    12/13

  • Finals are over!

  • They are making scenario disks for Heros of Might and Magic 2.

  • There is a Microprose Magic the Gathering demo at Next Generation.

    12/09

  • William Church of Interplay posted on the Dragonplay tavern (discussion area) that Descent To Undermountain will be delayed because they just made it high res. I hope they decide to make it at least 6 player too (some chaotic LAN fun ;)

  • Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva is out in Germany (the original game's origin). Reports indicate there is no more step movement & overland travel, more variety in character design, a old sierra type score (10/1000, etc.) tracking system, and ability to import characters from Star Trail.
    - from comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg - 4darkow@informatik.uni-hamburg.de

  • Interplay has updated their Dragonplay website with pages for Descent to Undermountain, Blood & Magic, and Dragon Dice.

    12/05

  • Origin has updated their Ultima Online page.

  • Online Gaming Review's Of Dice and Mem RPG column has been updated.

  • Privateer 2 should be mastered Real Soon Now(tm) and the "megaplayer" game Planetary Raiders by ICI (makers of Warbirds) looks suprisingly similar (but with many more players). Check out a preview at OGR.

  • Spectrum Holobyte/Microprose seems to be on the rebound as MOO2, CIV2, and GP2 are selling very well.

  • AOL has picked up 3DO's Meridian 59 Online Multiplayer RPG for use on its service. It will link with the existing service. Now if they would only update Neverwinter Nights ;)

    12/04

  • Interplay has a new division called DragonPlay to focus on CRPG games! Apparently the address on the advertisment is misspelled.

    12/02

  • There is a new Daggerfall patch and demo out from Bethesda.

  • Privateer 2 by Origin should be out this month.
    - from OGR

  • Sierra CEO says Phantasmagoria 2 will be Sierra's last Movie game??!? What are they going to make from now on, cartoons?
    - from OGR

    11/21

  • Lords of the Realm 2 by Sierra has been announced as released.

  • In tech news... Toshiba has announced their first DVD-ROM drive (the next generation of CD-ROM/Laserdiscs, last i heard they hold about 3 gigs each) and will sell them for around $350 to OEMs. Activision is making two DVD-enhanced titles: Spycraft: The Great Game and Muppet Treasure Island which will have exteneded video sequences and use MPEG-2 video. Spycraft will also use Dolby AC-3 surround(!). Release date: next year. CH Products has released a force feedback joystick for flight sims. Toshiba has also released the XM-3801B CD-ROM drive which runs at 15-speed MAX and 14-speed average. Access time of 90 ms!. Can read CD-Erasable and will be about $290. Creative Labs has announced the AWE64 soundcard.
    - from Gamespot

  • Heroes of Might and Magic 2 is out. Master of Orion 2 is being duplicated.

  • The address listed on the Descent to Undermountain advert. is Interplay.dragonplay.com but it doesnt seem to exist.

    11/15

  • Get the new Darklands FAQ (October).

  • There's a Magic the Gathering: Battlemage preview and a Heroes of Might and Magic 2 feature at CDMAG (Strategy Plus).

    11/14

  • There's a preview of Battletech: Honorbound (a strategy game) by FASA Interactive at Gamespot previews.

  • There is a new Diablo demo available. It lets you play all 3 classes. Check it out at this pointer to them.

  • In other news... There is a preview of Rebellion, the Star Wars strategy game at Next-Generation. 11/12

  • Online Gaming Review reports that Heros of Might and Magic II should be ready for release soon (about 2 weeks) and that Diablo by Blizzard is essentially done but they are holding it waiting for their battle.net service to be completed.
    - from OGR

    11/11

  • Want new graphics for Ultima IV? Try this link for new graphics replacements. Early reports have been positive but i havent tried it myself yet.

    11/07

  • The legal fight between Acclaim and Microprose over the legal rights of the Magic the Gathering liscence has been resolved. "The companies have now agreed to stagger the release dates of their games. Acclaim's title, now to be called Magic: The Gathering - BattleMage, is scheduled to be released prior to Christmas. Spectrum Holobyte's Magic: The Gathering will be out after February 1st. Acclaim's game is a WarCraft style strategy affair using characters from the Magic world. Spectrum's, to be marketed under the MicroProse name, is a basic translation of the card game."
    - from Next-Generation Online

    11/06

  • There's an interview with Brett Sperry from Westwood where it is also revealed that Lands of Lore 2 should make it out by December. It's at C|Net, check it out.

    11/02

  • Shadows over Riva release date updated to 1st Quarter 1997 :(

    11/01

  • Robert Merritt has a development screenshot of Might and Magic 6 at his webpage. Apparently, it will be a first person perspective, possibly real-time rpg.

  • Mplayer has acquired the online rights for Diablo by Blizzard. This is wierd, because Blizzard will apparently still support it on their free Battle.Net service, but Mplayer will have it first.
    - from C|Net Gamecenter

    10/28

  • In the November Computer Gaming World, they did a top 150 games listing. Ultima 4 came in 2nd, and Wasteland was 9th. Wasteland is also included in the CD-ROM pack in!

  • There is a new Daggerfall patch out (.179). Get it at Daggerweb.

  • The new Descent to Undermountain by Interplay advertisement indicates that a demo should be (is?) available soon.

    10/25

  • Apparently the Blood and Magic demo would wipe your hard drive during the install sometimes... whew! some bug, good thing it didnt hit me. Check Interplay for a new demo soon.

  • There is a transcript of a chat session with Richard Garriot of Ultima fame on MSN here.

    10/22

  • There is a preview of Mechwarrior 3 by FASA Interactive at C|Net's Gamecenter. It will apparently be based upon the Tesla engine now found in Virtual World Pods (version 3.0 i think).

    10/20

  • Nemesis: A Wizardry Adventure is out. Early reports have been favorable but it seems to lean more on the Adventure aspect.

  • A Blood and Magic Demo is available at Gamespot... or used to be hrm... seems to be gone now. It was okay, Command and Conquerish.

    10/12

  • The Daggerfall patch 1.77 is out and available at Bethesda. It should fix the problems Cyrix CPU users were experiencing among other fixes.

    10/11

  • There are some kewl utilities for Daggerfall by Jack Harmon on his webpage.

  • in other news... Battlecruiser 3000 is out!!! Flee! The end of the world is at hand!! Uhm. Ok, i'm calmer now. Also, the Creative Labs 3dBlaster PCI using the Rendition Verite (and a 3D graphics patch for registered Quake to take advantage of the new features) is out AND the Orchird Righteous 3d using the 3dFX Voodoo (probably the fastest 3D card out right now) is also out.

    10/10

  • Christian Koerner tells me that he has heard Daggerfall should be out around the 15th of October around Scandinavia and around the 21st of October for England. Check out his Daggerfall webpage.

    10/09

  • Sir-Tech's Nemesis : A Wizardry adventure is set to ship by the end of this month.
    - from Gamespot

  • If you have a Cyrix CPU and are experiencing problems with Daggerfall, you will be happy to hear that Naughty Puppy from Bethesda is going to release a patch for that in about 2 weeks. In related news, he said that the patch causes something different to happen when your skill reaches 100 instead of simply maxxing out(?). Anyone get that far yet?
    - from Gamespot

    10/08

  • The Daggerfall patch #1 is out and available at Bethesda.
  • My web pages should work properly with Lynx now... :)

    09/25

  • Haw haw, not even close to being RPG related, but amazing/unbelievable: The king of vapourware, Battlecruiser 3000AD, will be released October 8. This i have to see to believe.

    09/23

  • Ultima On-Line Beta test begins November, scheduled for release in Feburary 1997. Ultima 9 scheduled for release in June 1997.
    - from Sith Dragon's page

    09/22

  • After a quick search with DejaNews, i've found that distribution in Europe is being handled by Virgin Interactive, not Bethesda (but they are handling LE and preorders). "koerner@proventum.net" has said that "the danish shop, Betafon, says Oct. 11th!" To Markus Wilding: your email address doesnt seem to work :(

    09/20

  • Daggerfall by Bethesda is out! Available now at Egghead ($54.99) and Electronics Boutique ($59.99).

    09/19

  • Acclaim has a site for their upcoming fighting game Ravenloft: Iron and Blood based on a TSR liscence.

    09/17

  • The European Computer Trade Show was held last week in England. Among the games shown were: Return to Krondor by 7th Level, Iron & Blood (AD&D Fighting Game) and Magic the Gathering (based on the card game, strategy title) by Acclaim, Diablo by Blizzard, Privateer 2 and Ultima OnLine by Origin, and Settlers II Expansion Disk by Bluebyte.
    -from PCM&E

  • Rumour has it that Daggerfall will be available at retail stores either late this week or early next week. Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries will arrive on 9/25/96.

    09/16

  • Daggerfall is in the hands of most people who preordered the Limited Edition. Read a review of it at Role Players Haven. Dang it, i shoulda pre-ordered.. sigh :)

  • A noninteractive demo movie (.AVI format) of Descent to Undermountain: Lloth's Flamesword is available at Interplay's Web site.

    08/30

  • Albion from Bluebyte, a futuristic RPG that has been applauded for its traditional (eg. not emphasizing hack and slash) approach to RPing has been released.

  • Bethesda has sent out all the Limited Edition goodies (mouse pad, hintbook, etc) and will ship the LE of Daggerfall sometime around Sept. 14 or 15. The retail release version of Daggerfall will follow soon after (a week or so).
    -from GameTime (real audio)

    08/16

  • One of the members of the Daggerfall team said in an interview recently at GameTime says that Daggerfall will be released on the 30th of August.
    -from GameTime (real audio)

    08/10

    Can Sierra Do A Game Right?

  • Sierra has announced that they will be doing Quest For Glory 5!! Lori and Corey Cole (The creators of the first four and Shannara) will be doing the initial design for the game. It will be titled "Dragonfire", and it will be "based on the previous games in terms of characters and story." The game will take place in Silmaria, an island, and it will be multiplayer! After Sierra's last ho-hum attempts at games, I sure hope they can get this one right.
    -from InterAction On-Line August 1996 (i didnt even know i still suscribed ;)

  • Betrayal at Antara (semi-sequel to Betrayal at Krondor (R. Feist, the author of the Krondor series left to 7th Level)) will be due out November. More information on it is available at http://www.sierra.com/games/antara.

    08/05

  • There is a project underway in rec.games.computer.ultima-dragons to make a user created Ultima game! If you are intrested in Ultimas and think you can contribute, definietly check it out.

    07/31

  • Sir-Tech's Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games will appear on the TEN Multiplayer network as a pack in for its software.

  • Mpath and Catapult (known for the x-band multiplayer network) have merged into Mpath Interactive.

  • Peter Molyneux of Bullfrog is considering leaving the company (owned by EA) after completion of Dungeon Keeper.
    -from NEXT-Generation

    07/29

  • Chris Roberts has left Origin to form his own development company.

    07/27

  • Kesmai has opened beta testing for their Legends of Kesmai online RPG and Multiplayer Battletech on the web.

  • New Daggerfall Screenshots are available at http://www.bethsoft.com. click here to go.

    07/23

  • Konami will be porting some of their console rpgs to Windows 95. No word if they will appear in the U.S. or not.

  • Daggerfall's release date is still late August, with the production process rumoured to begin on August 19. Among more feature that have been dropped or reduced are character romances and sole proprietorship.
    -from comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg

  • Register for Ultima On-Line Beta testing! Go to... here (www.ea.com/origin/english/ultima/uo/uo-apply.html). It'll cost you 2.00$US and the postage stamp tho ;)

    07/03

  • If you registered your Wizardry Gold, you should be recieving an update from Sir-Tech pretty soon that address some problems including text scrolling. Hey, where's _my_ update?? Sigh.
    -from Gamepen

    07/02

  • Epic Megagames/Unicorn Development is set to release World of Wonders, a turn based strategy game that has been described as Tolkienesque. It will be centered around a battle between Dark Elves and Humans in an earlier, magical Earth. You can choose either side, hire heroes, find artifacts as this game also contains Role-Playing and Adventure elements.
    -from C|Net Gamecenter

  • Interplay has announced Die by the Sword, a fantasy based fighting game set to be released this winter.
    -from C|Net Gamecenter

  • New World Computing, responsible for games such as the Might and Magic series, has been purchased by the 3DO company. (The 3DO company doesnt actually make the machines, it just liscenses out the standard apparently)

    06/28

  • Some older News in case you missed it.
  • SquareSoft, known for their Final Fantasy series on SNES consoles, will be porting their games to Windows 95. No announcements as of yet as to which titles and english availability.
  • Simtex has announced that after completing work on Master of Orion 2, they will start on Master of Magic 2!
  • New World Computing is at work on Heroes of Might and Magic 2. No word on Might and Magic 6 :(
  • Sir-Tech software's Nemesis: A Wizardry Adventure (sounds like Zork: Nemesis.. hmm) is going to be an adventure game. They said not to expect Wizardry 8 until next year at least.

    06/27

  • Two features have been dropped from Daggerfall: ship combat and the charater transfer utility will be released later on.
    -from Kalimar's Daggerfall Page

    06/23

  • New Daggerfall screenshots available at Bethesda.
  • DragonCon, TSR's RPG convention has ended. Origin was in attendance (and Lord British, err.. Richard Garriot). Ultima OnLine will have a plot, and is set in a semi-alternate reality Britannia. There will be no character classes, reagents for powerful spells will be scarce. The September Beta test of UOL will have most of the features of the final version. There will be an Ultima Underworld 3. Ultima IX : Ascension screenshots were shown, and it was described as the end of a trilogy of trilogies!(?) But there will be a Ultima X.

    06/19

  • SSI's Deathkeep has been released, a port of the 3DO game.

    06/18

  • Working Designs, known for their translations of Japanese Console RPGs such as Lunar for the Sega CD, are said to be considering translating Chinese Computer RPGs for the American market
    -from Intelligent Gamer Online