After 27 years of trying I finally did it.

[mutantcarror]

<sigh> I feel somewhat deflated now. It has taken 3 versions (Atari ST, Amiga and now PC) and 27 years but I have finally completed CSB. Using Mantia, Kazai, Skelar and Plague they all ended up with UM levels (except priest, for odd reasons priest was LO and even expert on one!). They trained to starvation in the prison then moved over. Took about 4 months of on/off playing (CSB for windows), only a handful of deaths and absolutely loads of food left (thanks to dragons). I did the DM thing and used the worms for food levelling at the beginning, water was always the problem till you completed a "way" and got bearings. Did KU, ROS, NETA then DAIN order and used the TP out of DAIN RA to jump most of it. Got lucky with the master key and ran for the pit.

Now perhaps for DM2 (I never had DM2 for the ST or Amiga), or perhaps try CSB again without the stressing of powering up first (I had to learn each "way" slowly and it is fairly fresh in my mind.

[Paul Stevens]

Congratulations. It sounds as if you figured out the
dungeon without aid of published maps. True? If
so, "Triple Congratulations".

[Gambit37]

Woohoo, well done! 27 years might seem like a long time to be trapped in Chaos's domain, but now you're freeeeeeeee!

Congratulations, make sure you have a celebratory drink, just make sure it's not a Ven potion

[boyflea]

Congratulations! 27 years!

If you want another challenge, I do recommend one of the new custom dungeons:-
viewtopic.php?f=74&t=30120&p=152570#p152570

[Ameena]

Woo, gratz . And with an CSB party, too (as opposed to importing one from DM). Nice one! Now you can get wrecked in all the custom dungeons or play DM2 or something .

[Saumun]

Or solo run it!

[terkio]

Congratulations.
I completed this game on an ATARI ST when they released it. My point was to play with no help but the hint oracle. No other help whasoever.
I used a party from DM that was powerful, however this is not that important in CSB, brute force is little help.
It took me two to three months to complete it.
I tried to replay it, confident it was going to be easy with detaied maps i have kept. Well...I found the start so difficult, I gave up.
CSB is damn hard. You did great.

[Jan]

Wow, congratulations! Well done! Forget the DM2. Take a reincarnated Buzzzz all alone directly into the CSB dungeon and do it again!

[Chaos-Shaman]

You've earned your dungeon badge. skoal

[boyflea]

Congrats again - I would love to do CSB again...
I found int incredibly difficult, but am still very very proud to have gotten my ST Format hint for this game published... ah memories... incredibly difficult game that frustrated me but did eventually learn to like it.
[DM2 however...]

While 27 years seems a little bit long (a record in it's own right of course! ), were there ever any speedruns of DM or CSB posted?
Would be great to feature one here http://www.speedrun.com/
Shame the tech did not exist properly back when the times were posted:-http://www.ragingmole.com/RTC/scores.html

[Saumun]

I'm sure Paul H's speedruns are on youtube.

[Paul Stevens]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBmRWMx47Yg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho5E05Bi3bU

[terkio]

Thanks for the video.
I enjoyed to see again key spots in CSB.
However, I do not understand the end where Chaos Lord is fused.
In CSB I met him as indestructible, I don' t think one even has means to fuse him.
One must scare him away and run at the YA pit to dump the 4 corbums, and die if not running away before the explosion. That is the end.

[Ameena]

If I remember rightly, chucking the Corbums in to the pit immediately triggers the ending, in which there is some explodey stuff and the Grey Lord appears floating in front of you and congratulating you again and stuff.
I did once accidentally kill Chaos in my RtC playthrough, when I was clearing out my inventory just before the illusionary wall that leads out into the area where Chaos is (I use the Sneaky Bastard back route to get to the Ful Ya pit 'cause it saves running past all the demons and whatever else in the main area), when he stepped through the wall in front of me. Naturally I shat myself a bit and grabbed the first thing on top of my pile to throw at him, knowing he was supposed to be invincible. This item happened to be a Ful bomb and to my great surprise...it insta-killed him. I'm not entirely sure why I chose that particular time and place to clear the crap out of my inventory, given that I was more or less just around the corner from the end-game, but there you go. Lucky me .

[boyflea]

wow. and nice that the post links to the original thread - going from over 11 hours to 8 mins... . amazing stuff... wonder if Antman knows we still watching his speedrun 13 years later...
I REALLY need to replay this. last version I played was a Grimrock tribute: gah, why am I showing my face here? I've never played CSBWin version through once! I feel ashamed. I'll try and rectify all of this soon one day... you guys remain an inspiration.

[Sphenx]

Certainly we didn't know all those tricks and shortcuts when we started the "race" ! I never thought it could be completed so fast ... I think CSB is flawed, can't we fix it ?!

[terkio]

I don't think CSB is flawed. There no single short cut to bypass all difficulties. There are several mandatory steps to achieve. Access to the DDD, access to the corbums is 4 more tough achievements.
CSB is damn hard, guys who solve it fast are damn good, they know everything. I doubt there is a cheat way.

[Sphenx]

There no single short cut to bypass all difficulties.

Well, there is a shortcut between ROS and KU at the corbum pillar. Antman did not went through the KU way (where he would need the solid key from the Dragon in the basement).

[terkio]

Indeed I know the short cut at the corbum pillar that allows a shortcut bypassing one of the four chores.
I did the Ku corbum this way and visited down Ku from this way.