Re: So... Arena and Daggerfall

On 2 Apr 2006 20:19:38 -0700, nesstar@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:

>As it happens, just after I posted this I ended up making a specialized
>DOS configuration that worked for Arena.  The only flaw was that
>apparently there's something up with the music... sometimes it'll sound
>like it's struggling with that and will only play one instrument at a
>time.  The game itself runs fine though, and I don't really mind the
>music issue, especially as it's the exact same music as Daggerfall
>anyway.
>
>That, and the dungeon music (and the dungeons in general) creep me out.

I really like the Daggerfall music.  I also like being creeped out by
the dungeon music.  My problem with having no sound at all in Arena
was that all the sound cues are missing.  I don't get any monster
noises and I got really tired of the first clue that I wasn't alone in
a room or corridor was seeing the screen go red as something whacked
me from behind.  The music and sounds add so much to the atmosphere
that it just didn't seem to be nearly as much fun as it should be.

>As for the game itself, truth be told if there is anything I would
>change about it, it's the control scheme.  The game uses this
>mouse-based setup... well, I'll explain it this way:  It's a little
>similar to the scheme used by Daggerfall if you don't customize your
>control settings.  Yea, the whole "Mouse cursor moves around the screen
>and points where you want to go" thing.  The only way I could tolerate
>it in Arena was by using the slowdown feature of the CD-ROM version to
>make the game play at a speed where multiple enemies don't overwhelm
>me.  Unfortunately Arena doesn't allow you to customize your controls
>and, unlike Doom and the various Ultimas, no one is working on an
>enhanced game engine for it.  *Sigh* one can dream though.

That bit didn't bother me at all, as I am totally used to the mouse
control in Daggerfall.  I really had quite a time getting used to the
controls in Morrowind, although I like them quite a bit, too.

>Outside of that, there are actually things I prefer about Arena over
>Daggerfall, and vice versa.

One of the things that I liked better about Arena was the roads.  I
liked the NPC conversations better, too.  I did prefer the way the
Guilds are set up in Daggerfall, though.  You can't join Guilds in
Arena, can you, or did I not play long enough to be able to join any
of them?  What did you particularly like about Arena more than
Daggerfall?
--
Nyctolops