This Month's Review: Vampires: Children Of Darkness - V.1.6 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Opening Comments: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ya know, one of these days, I just might get around to writing these articles a few days ahead of the scheduled due date. Oh well, as long as they get in, that's what counts! This month's article was done as a request by RoAnn, who wished me to review it. If there's anyone else that wishes to request a door for review, then feel free to contact me at one of the locations listed at the end of this article! Now then, on with the show! SysOp's Point Of View: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Just a note of caution to those of you considering running this game... This game has never been all that stable for me. It's always worked fine locally (of course), but it doesn't seem to like remote users about 1/2 the time. Now, on that note, my experience with the game isn't all that large, nor have I allocated enough time to look into possibly correcting the problem. Therefore, if you plan to post this door on your BBS, do so with caution, as my problem *MIGHT* be greater then I perceive it to be. Vampires is a fairly new game, coming out around the beginning of the year (assuming my memory hasn't gone bad). Needless to say, this game is still in it's juvenile form, and as the author states, "I consider this game far from complete". Of course, he's right, and he lists some of his big plans in the docs. Full RIP graphics? "Full" InterNode Action? Well, keep your pants on 'cause they'll be around in one of the next versions (hopefully!) As for the game itself, at first glance, it's a souped-up game, in close relation with the LORD genre. Obviously, things have changed a bit considering the fact that you are no longer mortal, though, and thus warrants at least a look into (even if you're an official LORD hater.) Vampires is a nice 750k game that involves your standard setup. You'll edit your .CFG file, create a batch file for it, and the connected it to your BBS. Unfortunately, the .CFG file looks, if not is, way more complicated then it needs to be. Fortunately, all the options come filled in, so if you're in any doubt, DON'T TOUCH! Most of the options in the .CFG file would be better served in a command line parameter, in my opinion. Not only would this simplify the .CFG file, but it would free the average Joe from popping precious brain cells, pondering about whether s/he needs to worry about it or not. The editor for Vampires is certainly nothing special, although it does cover a good chunk of stuff. You get a complete user editor, a victim editor (A good place to put all those annoying users of yours? ), and the evil vampire editor. With the user editor, you can edit pretty much any setting you want. The victim editor allows you to set the cash and charisma each one has, and the evil vampire editor, which is just a simplified user editor. My two major beefs with the editor, though, is that firstly, it requires the .CFG file to run. Why this is, I'm not sure. Common sense would dictate that the editor is 99% of the time used locally, and since there's nothing in the .CFG file relating to it, I fail to see the point. I suspect this is to allow it to run remotely, but I can't verify that currently. Even if I'm right though, the .CFG file still shouldn't be a requirement, unless, of course, you are running the program remotely. My other quirk with the program was the lack of help. While some options are self explanatory, the others should at least have a little blurb that comes up when you go to change the value, so you at least have a clue what you're changing and how you're going to affect the game. My other little beef with the editor, and even a little with the game itself, is the relatively flat color palette. Each menu is branded in a certain color, and it doesn't vary from that. It gets a little boring and tiring when you're forced to look at bright green for 10 min. while you fiddle with user settings! Lastly, one that that definitely could be added onto this game would be options to configure the game more to one's liking. Right now, the .CFG files contain merely stuff to let the game run (com ports, etc.). The ability to alter experience levels, items, etc. would be a great addition for future versions! Player's Point Of View: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vampires, as it currently stands, is a game of similar genre to that of LORD, but with a unique "flavor" to it. Gone are the days of knights in shining armor. Instead, you find yourself on the streets being transformed into a blood thirsty vampire. Of course, no one really minds the transformation from mortal to immortal, do they? Mind you, be forewarned - you're going to have to like eating human, since that's what vampires eat! (Tastes like chicken no doubt - just like everything else in this world..) Just a note to all potential players: I found no traces of player documentation within the game or in the .ZIP file it came in. Also, it took me some time to grow accustomed to what I was doing in the game itself. Since I do consider myself a "seasoned" gamer, I would only recommend this game to those of you who are patient and willing to take the time to learn things. Some gaming experience would help too.. When creating your character, you'll be confronted with your basic questions, such as name, gender, age (not sure), and lastly profession. In the latter, you get a choice of about 20 some professions. Which you choose I think is fairly irrelevant, and at this point in time, is merely cosmetic. Be cautioned now that what you enter here to create your character you're stuck with. While there is a suicide button, it merely functions to "reset" your character. Your name and such will still be intact though, so choose wisely! Once you've arrived in the game, take a look around. Make a note now where the vampire store is. I found it in Miami and Italy. You may find it there too, or it might vary between vampire. This is where you buy all your goodies. From what I could tell, the only things that are of any value to you are weapons, magic items, vehicles, and property. Clothes may posses some defensive value (armor), but I saw no evidence of that. Electronics, on the other hand, are definitely useless, as there is no point to them whatsoever. Some things do, however, increase your metal power, and these might be worth buying. If you want to splurge, by the calculator, as it does just this for a measly $20. (In other words, what have you got to lose?) Don't forget to fill up on mortals daily to keep your energy up. Don't do it once your thirst is quenched though, as you'll be wasting your precious turns for each day. You can, later, take out rats and other scum, but what's the point when you can eat a peasant? The different locations, as far as I could tell, are all basically exactly the same. The only different things I noticed about each one was that only 2 had the vampire store (Italy, Miami), and that the elder vampire varied. Hence, this means that it's ultimately a waste of time transferring between cities, and more then one trip a day is out of the question. The only reason I can see for switching is to find that arch enemy of yours and tear him to shreds. Of course, you're odds aren't all that great of finding him, unless you've got a few friends in high places to tell you (hint hint). Speaking of other vampires, whenever you're in a fight, try NOT to kill them. Lower their hit points as low as you can, and then you'll get a message saying that you can finish him/her off. Then suck their blood and you'll get the cash as well as the attribute bonuses. If you hit 0 right on the dot, you'll be give the option to drink the blood or not too. I'd say no, as you can easily win the next battle to get money, rather then lose your whole day by drinking poisonous blood. As for strategy, well, there really isn't any. Basically, quench your thirst with mortal blood when you log on, take out any fellow players infesting your city (if you wish), and then waste the rest of your day on killing lesser vampires. Keep on top of the latest weaponry, as it helps greatly in winning an otherwise hopeless fight. And of course, go try and get the interest of the local elder at the end of each day, just to see how puny you really are in comparison. Scores: ^^^^^^^ (All scores based on 1-10: 10 being the best.) DOCUMENTATION: 4 The SysOp documentation, while adequate, could be beefed up a bit. Also, there was no sign of any player documentation, making my experience rather frustrating.. INTERFACE: 7 Adequate interface, although it could use some nice ANSI pictures to spruce it up a bit. FUN FACTOR: 5 The lack of documentation limits, especially for new players, the idea of what one should be/is doing. This, unfortunately, causes frustration, and in addition to the low number of turns per day (my opinion anyway), may turn many off of the game. UNIQUENESS: 7 Where else have you been a vampire lately? It's to bad the game genre is similar to that of others, otherwise, the score would of soared. LONGTERM PLAYABILITY: 5 I don't feel that this game currently has enough spice to keep many interested for very long. At this point, there simply isn't enough variance in the game to keep people coming back. OVERALL SCORE: 5.6 Documentation is the biggest let down here, with very little provided. However, I do feel that the concept is worth building on, and that, one day, I may be able to review this game again and reward it with a higher score. Closing Remarks: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As I stated earlier, this game is, relatively speaking, early in its development. As such, the bugs and quirks that are found within can only be expected. Hopefully, though, the author is dedicated to his work, and will continue to nurture it into "adulthood". This game has enormous potential, and with a little work, could make a top 10 list one day. My suggestions in the development would be to get some real unique features into it - ones not found in any other game, and also, some ANSI "movies", (vampires killing their victims; flying to different cities,) etc. In the mean time, I'll work on it over here, an hopefully find the problem behind the crashes I'm getting.. :( Stay tuned! Next month, I review: Planets: The Exploration Of Space - V.2 or later. ***>>>Don't miss it!<<<*** Miscellaneous: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This door was tested by the writer using the following: Maximus V.3.01 (BBS) DORINFO1.DEF (Dropfile) WinFossil V.1.11 (Fossil) Front Door V.2.12 (Front End) 486DX4/100Mhz 8Megs RAM Qemm V.7.52 (Memory Manager) Windows 95 Comments? Suggestions? Want to compliment the author on an astonishing article, or complain about a piece of crap he wrote? Here's how to contact him: InterNet Address: LBUNBURY@CYBERPLUS.CA FidoNet Address: 1:163/114 Trans-Canada Net (TCN) Address: 201:935/104 Myles' Games Extravaganza (BBS): (613) 825-9016 And don't forget to join up with BRE/FE League 116! If you're a SysOp, just write me and I'll sign you up, or FREQ "116" from my BBS for more information! If you're a user, why not bother some local SysOps and convince them to join? All BBSs are welcome, just let me know you want to join! Until next month, this is Myles Bunbury, saying TTYL! þ