Maze of Zagor : Old Demo available

[Gambit37]

I cancelled my Maze of Zagor project because I realised that it wasn't going to translate well into a DM type game.
I thought you might want to see a little demo of the very first part of the game, including some mechanics to handle the intro and a champion selector.

It's for RTC 0.49 and you can download it here:
Download file mozdemo.rtc from this shared OneDrive in the Custom Dungeons folder.


Note that a lot of stuff in that demo was unfinished or may no longer work correctly. Also note that there is already a powerful test character in the party, so you can only add a max of one avatar + two other recruits. Try a few different plays, there are a few interesting little things to discover. The demo is over when you unlock the gate behind the two orcs.

Note that the characters have no equipment and there is no gameplay balancing of any sort! It's just a quick walkthrough, really just to show some of the ideas I had and some of the graphics I'd put together,

I recommend you change your config file to setup a 640 x 480 screen and play fullscreen.

Some of the demo content has been preserved and transferred into DSB for something else a bit more interesting...

[Adamski]

Gambit, you MUST complete the poject as soon as possible! I WANT to play your game! Ok?

[Gambit37]

Well, I only released it to prove that I hadn't just been wasting time and had actually been building something. Sorry, but Maze of Zagor is cancelled, it will never be finished.

[Adamski]

[Gambit37]

Did you even read my post? I said I cancelled it, but have taken a lot of this stuff and put it in DSB...

[linflas]

I won't say a lot of words... just wait for your DSB release !

[Gambit37]

Does that mean you played it? I'd be interested in any feedback to help me improve things in DSB.

Some things you can do in the demo:

Spoiler

* Break down the door at the end of the first righthand corridor. You need a good run up!

Spoiler

* Wake the guard... or not wake the guard.... by creeping past

Spoiler

* Wake the guard a different way...

Spoiler

* Open Thruff's store room (which would have opened a long side quest)

Spoiler

* Feed the hungry cat in the store-room

Spoiler

* Rescue the whipped Orc servant and talk to him

Spoiler

* Release the mad man

Spoiler

* Find random supplies in crates

If you know the Warlock of Firetop Mountain gamebook, you should recognise the layout and some encounters

[zoom]

Gambit, that´s very cool. You did not waste your time
Super nice champion selection, cool pictures! music is good, too. I could spend ages in this selection screen.. please consider re-visiting this kind of screens,
maybe in adding other champions over the course of the adventure in distant cities or inns or in a shop-interface or sth..


I was a bit disappointed to end up with a naked character... since this is Alpha, okay... :O
would have liked to see what that staff of Raistlin would be good for ..but as said none of that initially promised equipment showed up... :O
--> one reason more to wait for the finished dungeon!!

I almost killed one of the characters (one recruited fighter) trying to run down said door.
(I pressed the forward key facing the door a couple of squares away and released it when reaching the tile in front of door)
the damage got somehow queued, 20+ runs onto *still intact* door .Could not break this chain of events: Effekt like standing in a poison cloud!!
-->I won´t try to run down that door again, without saving first!!

So basically, I say:
thanks for showing, want more!
someone give this man a lot of money to build dungeons full time!! ^^

good luck and godspeed with the DSB version of MAZE OF ZAGOR.
(can you eventually kick his ass or is he a slippery fellow,
one that escapes in the end only to appear yet again in the sure to come and already planned out sequel?)

[beowuuf]

The descriptions are fun - you've done some very cool work on this since the last time I saw the demo!


Good luck with the DSB conversation

[RAF68]

then I am very very disappointed I was waiting for the games would gambit37 BEST the dungeon of all RTC as linflas told me I do not know what to say and all I did agree with the reaction Adamski

ka remains whether linflas are going to come out one day last games forest of doom

[Gambit37]

OK, thanks all, glad you liked it

@Zoom:

Spoiler

Yeah, the door run up only works if you use the mouse on the screen arrows.... I never fixed it to work with keyboard buffering (well, actually I can't, it's a problem with RTC)

Just to re-iterate: I won't ever finish Maze of Zagor for lots of reasons. But a lot of what I created will be in a new-and-different DSB dungeon...

[the master]

Just one word describes this demo - FANTASTIC.

[RAF68]

good if I understand the new games linflas forest of doom and games Gambit37 Maze of Zagor never see the day may never be in full version

[Gambit37]

RAF68: "Forest of Doom" and "Maze of Zagor" are both stopped. Sorry.

[linflas]

and "Mage of Doom" and "Forest of Zagor" too

[RAF68]

just to know Gambit 37 how long it took you to build this demo ???

[Gambit37]

I don't know. It's a mixture of many experiments, maps and other projects spread over many years.

[Jan]

Perhaps you should integrate it all into Forest Maze of Zagor Doom, or FoMoZaD?

[zoom]

or
"Zagor: Mage of Doom in the Forest" ^^
oh wait, better not ^^

[Gambit37]

So, did everyone find all the stuff I listed in the spoilers? I'm curious!

[linflas]

nope, i gave up because dungeon graphics are too ugly

[Gambit37]

Do you not like the old-school pixel look? It's retro good-ness

[linflas]

of course it rocks ! the best imho is of course the hi-res interface, but the oldies are great.
about the game itself, i have completed the level by cheating with "Test" character.

[linflas]

Yesterday evening, i played the original gamebook again. I hadn't realize that storyline was so empty, there were a lot of sections with just "go N/S/E/W" possibilities. I can understand why you decided not to stick with the book !

[Gambit37]

Yeah, it's actually very boring by modern standards. I guess we were easily pleased back then!

[Decompositor]

...Maze of Zagor is cancelled...

What a loss! A few of these characters are instantly interesting (while somewhat cliché, who said s/he wouldn't expect some of these in a fantasy story?).

At least I hope we will see some of these characters in your following endeavours: Characters with their own traits and (sometimes hidden) agendas who could come up with unique hints and even provide for interesting interactions or variations in the storyline... .

[RAF68]

GAMBIT why did you stop working on MAZE OF Zagor ????

[the master]

RAF why don't you take it over.

[Gambit37]

Sometimes I wonder if people ever actually read anything properly!

I already explained several times why I stopped Zagor: I was too busy, the story was boring and it didn't convert well to RTC.

I'm not handing this over to anyone, I'm using the assets in a DSB dungeon.

I thank you for your interest, but please stop asking about Zagor. It's over.

[Jan]

Perhaps RAF's statement wasn't a question but a desperate exclamation. Like: "Gambit! Why have you ever stopped working on MoZ!"

It's over.

Rambo (incomprehensibly): "NOTHING IS OVER!"