Lets Play Dungeon Master

[Beardedmike]

Hey Folks

Just finished a "Lets Play Dungeon Master" and post it on YouTube

Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwJqs9hQd4w

Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5CgEsZu0v4

Part 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOX7MhEmFI

Part 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaPT-M4IaWw


Here is the play list

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... kUEy74F3At

Please let me you what you think?

[terkio]

Nice, looking forward for more. Beyond the Hall of Champions.

[oh_brother]

Yes, enjoyed it! And an extremely accurate impression of Halk - just how I always imagined he would talk.

By the way, reincarnate not only lets you change the name, it also removes all the fighter/ninja/wizard/priest levels that the character had.

Looking forward to more.

[Ameena]

Right, watched it now .
As mentioned by OB above, Resurrection wakes up the character exactly as they are. Reincarnation, however, doesn't just let you choose a new name but also wipes their skill ratings. When playing DM, though, this is a good thing in the long run, since whenever you level up a skill, your stats increase as well. This means that when regaining levels lost through Reincarnation (which doesn't take long), you get stat increases that you wouldn't have got if you just Rezzed the character(s).
I noticed a couple of things you were doing which would seem to imply you're not aware of one feature of the controls - your cursor always goes up to Halk when you access his inventory, which would seem that you are right-clicking on him in order to get to the inventory screen. But he is currently the party leader - his name is in yellow, meaning that you can right-click anywhere (except over another party member) to go straight to his inventory. Also, it means the hand-cursor in the main viewscreen is his hand, which means it's him who's gaining Ninja experience if you throw stuff in the main window. Change party leaders by just left-clicking on another character's name.
Also, you don't have to click the little X button in the inventory in order to close it - you can just right-click anywhere on the screen that isn't one of the character boxes at the top (clicking on one of those will do the same as in the main view, taking you to their inventory).
Incidentally, I couldn't tell whether you were aware or not at the time, but you did cast that Ful spell properly - it just didn't show because the HoC is at perma-max-lighting, so casting more light won't make a difference . If you were to cast a bunch of light spells and then go downstairs to where it's dark, you'd notice...but it's easier to tell if you just go down the stairs first and practice your casting there .
I tend to just play with two characters these days and I've never played with any of the ones who start with zero mana, so it will be interesting to see how you manage and stuff .

[Beardedmike]

Thanks for the feedback, folks

I recorded over 1 hour of gameplay before I started editing the video

When I start playing again, I will try and remember the tips

[Beardedmike]

Now folks time for episode 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5CgEsZu0v4

Please any feedback will be great

[Ameena]

Okay, watched the second episode now .
First of all, you missed a bit at the very beginning of Level Two, albeit not very much - had you gone right instead of left at the bottom of the stairs you'd've found a club on the floor and then a small room containing a Mummy (thus experiencing the first combat of the game a bit earlier than that Screamer) and obtained another falchion, plus a dagger and erm...I think there's a piece of corn there as well, can't remember. And the scroll which reads "Small details can hide great rewards".
You can put "precious" items such as keys and coins (also flasks and the compass, if I remember rightly) into your purse - the two inventory slots in the lower left of the screen, to the left of your feet slot. Also, the block of four squares to the right of the legs/feet slots are your quiver, into which you can put any projectile weapons - arrows, rocks, daggers. You can, I think, also keep a melée weapon in the top-left slot of the quiver as well. Also, you can pick up an item and move around with it still on your cursor if you want - you don't have to put stuff into an inventory slot and then get it out again five steps later if you knew you were going to do that. And you don't need to keep going into Leyla's inventory to re-equip her dagger - you can add/remove stuff to/from your characters' hands from the main game view as well .
You are "losing out" on gaining Wizard levels by using torches (though I did notice that you had Nabi cast one or two Ful spells during the video) - if you restrict yourself to using only Ful spells as your light source, your characters can gain Wizzy exp from the casting and you won't ever have the "argh all my torches have run out" problem. Okay so you might instead have the "argh my light spells have run out and all my characters are out of mana", but at least that one's not gonna be permanent . Of course, Halk and Stamm are gonna have to wait until you can equip them with a mana-granting item before they can practice any casting, but it shouldn't be too long before they can do so .
The bit around the nine-minute mark (for about thirty seconds or so) is a bit...weird. The cursor just stays in the same place for ages and there is no talking or anything. Did the video bug out or something? Might be an idea to delete such sections in the edit because they don't exactly add anything of interest to the video for those watching .
Lol at the 3x3 room of pressure pads with those two doors . My solution to that one is, starting from the square immediately outside of the room, to go [spoiler}forward, right, forward, forward, left, forward, back, then forward and on through the now-open doors[/spoiler] .
:O You used food to keep that door open, zomg! Precious food! Ah well, Screamer Slices are the second-worst food in the dungeon and easy enough to replenish a bit later on so it's no biggy . I think you've missed a few bits earlier in the level because I always use a boulder on that pressure plate and you don't seem to have found any yet. Or rocks...though they can be hard to spot on the dungeon floor (as can iron keys...) .
Wow, it looks like I just posted a big mass of moany, nitpicky little things about the way you play . Well, I'm not trying to tell you that "you're doing it wrong" or anything (because you're not ), just trying to sort of point out some ways in which you can do stuff a bit more efficiently or whatever, little things that your method of gameplay suggests you're unaware of .
Anyway, it's twenty past one now so I should really go to bed. Hopefully within a week or two I should have my new computer, at which point I'll no longer have to keep coming downstairs at nearly-midnight to watch my YouTube vids on my dad's computer (anything requiring me to look at colours/pictures on my computer is a no-go right now as my graphics card is dead so I'm running no super-low-res with a very low number of colours) .

[Beardedmike]

I feel my guys are doomed............Doomed i tells ya

[Ameena]

Lol I think you'll be okay - once Halk and Stamm get some mana you'll be able to have them practicing magic alongside the other two (well, you don't seem to have used Leyla to cast spells yet but I'm guessing you will do at some point) and then you can prepare a quadruple-whammy of Fireballs to hurl at the next creature you happen to run into or something . Okay so that's a while off yet...but in the meantime both your melée guys are pretty tough so they should be able to stand up to the Mummies and stuff pretty well for the time being. It is advisable to have your back row practice some melée now and then (Screamers are good for this - weakest creatures in the game) so they gain a few Fighter levels and therefore some hp and a chance to not get one-shotted by stuff later on . Once you get a flask or two you can have everyone start working on their Priest levels as well, and also be able to make healing potions and stuff .

[oh_brother]

Also, instead of "Nabi" you are calling him "Naboo". No good can come of this.

It is enjoyable to watch someone else play DM (other than PaulH, who is too fast for me to register what is going on). Interesting to see the thought processes involved.

[Ameena]

Oh yeah I had noticed that too and forgot to mention it. Also, Leyla's name is pronounced "LAY-luh" .
It is sort of interesting to watch someone else play it, yeah...when you found that Mummy at the end, with its back to you, I actually said "Hit it, then!", as though you could somehow hear me . I think most of us would play a lot faster than you too, because we know the game so well. I certainly run around the dungeon a lot faster. And with half the party members .

[Beardedmike]

New video part 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FOX7MhEmFI

[Chaos-Shaman]

dum ta dom de dum fun

[Ameena]

Not sure whether this video comes before or after any of the above feedback but the intro comments seem to imply that it comes before. Sooo...
Lol you're still going into Leyla's inventory to put the dagger back into her hand - you can do that straight from the main screen and save yourself a couple of clicks . Also remember you can right-click to close inventory - you don't need to keep clicking on the little X icon.
And it's not "LILLY-uh" it's "LAY-luh", like you pronounced moments later when "Layla, Eric Clapton" came up on the screen .
Lol when you stepped straight down that pit - oops indeed .
All that ranged stuff (dagger, arrow, throwing star) should be going into Leyla's quiver (the four boxes to the lower-right of her body slots), not her main inventory. That way they'll auto-equip into her hand once you've thrown something.
D'oh, you walked right past the Staff lying on the floor - grants mana to the wielder while equipped, so you could have put into Halk/Stamm's hand to give them a few points which might've been enough to cast a spell (I don't know how many points any of the mana-granting things give, because I never use them).
I think you also missed grabbing your first flask(s), in the little dead-end alcove to the right when you entered that wide hallway with the Screamers early in the video - you went straight past it without checking. I expect you'll find some eventually, though - there are plenty scattered throughout the game, some with potions already in (which of course you can just drink if you need an empty flask right now).
You don't have to fully prepare and instantly cast your spells - you could have Nabi cast just the Lo rune and then, if he doesn't have enough mana, wait until he does before casting Ful. And if you don't actually need light right then, you can hold off actually casting the spell for as long as you like. It does mean that Nabi's spell window is "clogged up" with Lo Ful, but since that's the only spell you've been casting for now, I don't think it will matter too much. And you have three other people who can cast spells...well okay, Halk and Stamm need some mana first, but Leyla should be able to start practicing . And I don't think "meaningless spells" (ie random runes that aren't actually a spell) grant you any exp.
Oh yeah, and the "Parry" attack on that falchion does rubbish damage - stuff with go down faster if you use Chop, like you have been doing on the axe. It has a slower recovery time, though, so you might want to use Swing if you're in a hurry .
Again, I hope my feedback isn't coming across as too nitpicky or anything - I'm just trying to point out the little things you can do to make the gameplay a bit more efficient and stuff .

[oh_brother]

NIce phone chat.

[Beardedmike]

I did a Oops

I lost some of the footage of the lets play so I stared at the stairway to the next level

I will be posting it soon

Sorry folks

[Beardedmike]

here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaPT-M4IaWw

[Chaos-Shaman]

I remember how hard it was at first, it was easy to die after a couple of monster attacks.

using a door to kill brings me back. I would do a war cry and then 4x4 attack the trolin.

my first time killing a rockpile I kicked it to death, being injured I would have ran off to heal.

[Ameena]

Alrighty then, let's see what I have to say about this vid .

~The lower-left slot of the main inventory (to the left of where you put the chest in Halk's inventory right at the beginning of the video) is actually a slot - the little outline icon is just a backpack, to show you that that area is, well, the backpack. Just like the purse and quiver have appropriate icons in one each of their slots, and each of the body slots has one too (helm, boots, etc).
~Lol you figuring out how to select people's names . I think I mentioned it somewhere in the rambling deluge that was my first feedback post, but this is how you change the party leader - it's that person's hand which is represented by the mouse cursor so if you pick stuff up and chuck it in the main window (as opposed to using a "Throw" or "Shoot" attack on those who have it), it's that person who'll be gaining the Ninja exp. Also that's whose inventory you will go to with you right-click, but it looks like that was the part you figured out .
~Still relying on torches I see . And Halk and Stamm still have no mana...but I suppose you don't have to get them to ever cast spells, if you want to rely on just the other two doing it. I manage quite well with just two casters, after all (as I only play with two characters) .
~The effect of shields is negligible so if you ever find something you'd prefer Stamm to carry in his off-hand, don't feel bad about replacing it . I personally never bother with shields and both my characters just keep an empty flask in their off-hands so I can cast potions any time I like (I only cast them when I need them and don't store spares, so I only ever use two flasks throughout the entire game).
~You can't dual-wield in this, so the sword in Halk's off-hand and the shuriken in Leyla's are doing nothing. In Leyla's case, keep spare throwing weapons (includes stuff like daggers and rocks) and ammo in the quiver so they auto-equip when you throw one. EDIT (after watching more of the video) - Okay, never mind that last part, I see you remembered later .
~Can I tell you what the Magic Box is for? Yep - when you use it, it freezes every creature in the dungeon (except your party ) for a short time. You can also get green ones which last longer. They can be useful if you're fighting something which hits really hard - you can freeze it so it just stands there like an idiot while you whack away at it . I don't recall the exact duration of the effect (I never use them) but it's not like, two minutes or anything silly like that - maybe it's ten seconds or something? I don't know. There is also another item later on with the "Freeze Time" effect which does exactly the same thing (again, not sure on duration). That one has multiple charges, while Magic Boxes are single-use and disappear on activation.
~You missed a little secret bit at the beginning of Level Three -

Spoiler

A few steps along the corridor from the stairs, on the left-hand wall (if you have your back to the stairs), there is a switch. Press it and a nearby wall will open.

There's only one item in there, as far as I recall, and I don't know whether you'll find it useful, but I thought I might as well mention it .
~Ahh, the ol shut-'em-in-the-door trick. An old favourite of all of us, I'm sure . Yeah you lsoe out any exp you'dve got for killing them yourself, but it's fun to shut stuff in the door and watch it frantically run away .
~The Rock Monster...Omg noooo backing up into a dead end whyyyyy :O. I think I agree with your "doomed" statement...d'oh!

Right, let me answer your questions from the end of the video...
~How do you heal?
Two ways. Well, technically, three. First - wait. Takes ages. Second - sleep. Same as waiting except it's faster because all you're doing is speeding time up (so Food/Water bars wear out faster), and you can't see anything. Third - Make healing potions. I'm pretty sure the scroll which tells you how to do this is on Level Two somewhere, along with a flask or two, but since it seems you missed it, the recipe is

Spoiler

Vi, the rune with the two wavy lines, second rune in the line after you've selected a Power Rune for the spell. The caster must be holding a flask in one hand (doesn't matter which) when you actually cast the spell

.

~What would I have done differently?
I presume you mean versus that Rock Monster. My tactic? The step-dance. Very simple and works really well with any creature in the game which doesn't move too fast. Works a little less well with those who don't have different facing (like teh Rock Monster - you can't tell which way it's facing), but then you just have to guess. Also only works if you have one creature (or one group of creatures - one square's worth I mean, all clumped together).
Right, here's what you do - train the creature over to a 2x2 space (there were a couple of those in your Rock Monster room, where you were chasing that last Blue Troll, but even if there hadn't been, there's always the big room outside). Then don't leave that 2x2 space until it's dead. Let it step toward you, then sidestep and turn to face it, and hit it a couple of times before it turns to face you (this is the part where you have to guess with faceless enemies). Then sidestep and turn again, preparing your next weapon attack/spell before the creature steps forward into the space you just left. When it does, hit it some more, then sidestep before it faces you. Repeat until it's dead .
That method is basically infallible as long as something else doesn't sneak up on you, because you can't manoeuvre two creatures (or two sets of creatures) like that at the same time. It can take a while, especially with something tough like a Rock Monster, but that's what it's for - to wear down these creatures which otherwise would kick your arse, and do so without getting hit .

One more thing about Rock Monsters...they can cause more than just straight damage. If this happens (you'll know if it does), you can use

Spoiler

a Cure Poison potion[/i], which is

Spoiler

made with the runes Vi Bro (Vi, as mentioned in the above spoiler about healing potions, is the two wavy lines, while Bro resembles two enfolding arms, or a square with two of the opposite corners cut off)

to sort it out .

Final advice - Get everyone to do the casting, not just Nabi. I really think it's worth it unless you're deliberately challenging yourself. You have a full party of four, so imaging preparing four high-level Fireballs and then running into something and unleashing them all quickly, one after the other, BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM . Let Leyla cast some of the Light spells. Get both her and Nabi to start making potions. Equip Halk and Stamm with magic-granting items so they can practice until they get some Wizard/Priest levels and have their own mana - mana-granting items include the

Spoiler

Staff, Wand, Teowand, Moonstone,

and several others I've forgotten, but those are ones you can find early on. You only need to equip them while the user is practicing magic, and then can swap back if you're done practicing for now. Once they've got some skill levels they'll gain mana and you can eventually just ditch the mana-granting thing (or pass it onto the next person).
Out of curiosity, what skill levels does everyone have? You Resurrected everyone, so they'll already have some skill levels in stuff, but did anyone gain anything during the "lost footage" of Level Two? It's a good idea to have everyone practice everything, even if they don't pour heavily into everything - Nabi and Leyla don't need to be masters of hacking stuff to bits, but they should still get in some practice so they don't get one-shotted by stuff later. Similarly, Halk and Stamm could do with some mana...and also Wisdom and Anti-Magic or whatever stats it is you get from gaining Wizzy and Priest levels .

Final final advice - don't back away into corners when faced with strange creatures. If you need to, turn and run back the way you came, closing a door behind you if you find one and feel safer behind it. That'll work just fine for now .

[Chaos-Shaman]

you are certainly thorough Ameena, you don't miss a thing, nice write up.

[oh_brother]

Yes, this is the first real tough part of the dungeon. Or at least it was when I played first back in the day.

What I would have done, the main thing (as Ameena mentioned above) is to keep an exit strategy - as you saw getting backed into a corner is bad! For the rock monsters especially you need to be able to hit them and move away.

[Ameena]

My feedback is "thorough" because I have this thread open in one window, and the video open in another, and keep pausing the video to add to my post whenever I think of something to say. Then I actually submit the post once I'm done watching the video and have written out the last of my feedback .

[terkio]

About priming zero mana champions.

Spoiler

Was it mentionned, the war cry can give a Priest level ?

[Chaos-Shaman]

Ameena, we'll know who to turn to for complete analyzing, you're method is certainly the way to do it.

[Ameena]

It's nice that the vids are quite short - imagine how long my feedback post would've been if they were all one video! :O
Beardedmike, feel free to give me feedback on my feedback if you have any .

[Chaos-Shaman]

it would be quite long Ameena, I too like it being short, I keep coming back so it is working.

[Beardedmike]

It's nice that the vids are quite short - imagine how long my feedback post would've been if they were all one video! :O
Beardedmike, feel free to give me feedback on my feedback if you have any .

I was thinking on my next video creating a checklist of feedback ( maybe holding a clipboard)

I am happy my video's are creating so much discussion

[Big Stan 426]

Question. Is there a level limit to your party members in DM? I am playing it on the SNES.

[Ameena]

Each skill can go up to the sixteenth level. Skill levels are as follows...

Neophyte
Novice
Apprentice
Craftsman
Journeyman
Artisan
Adept
Expert
Lo Master
Um Master
On Master
Ee Master
Pal Master
Mon Master
Archmaster

Unless you specifically work at grinding away at skills for ages in DM, you should find that your skills are around Adept or Expert level by the end of the game - you might have someone manage to get as far as Lo Master, and you might have some unpracticed skills a bit lower (I don't tend to have anyone's Ninja skill past about Journeyman, for example, because I hardly bother with it), but that's roughly where you're likely to find yourself ending up by the time you complete the game .

[Big Stan 426]

Thank you so much Ameena.