Matt Chat

[gilgamesh]

He sounds like anti-Americanism was rampant. I think that is an urban legend. The last POTUS wasn't exactly everybody's darling, but that's a different story. On the contrary, it is my impression is that more people are likely to idolize America. Maybe that's why cablegate caused such a fuss.

[mattbarton.exe]

Originally Posted by gilgamesh

He sounds like anti-Americanism was rampant. I think that is an urban legend. The last POTUS wasn't exactly everybody's darling, but that's a different story. On the contrary, it is my impression is that more people are likely to idolize America. Maybe that's why cablegate caused such a fuss.

I don't know if you saw all the comments on the discussion, but Jonas got on there and was taking some flack from a few folks about his views. I don't know how it is in Europe, but any mention of socialism gets a knee-jerk reaction here: "Evil commie bastards!"

I think the stereotype of Americans in Europe is still something like, stupid, gluttonous pigs. I must say I'm always startled when I get students from other countries and they're flabbergasted by how little the Americans care about education. I remember a discussion in a class one time when a French student mentioned he'd been reading Plato just for fun. Nobody could believe it.

[gilgamesh]

That is funny. Most of the commenters obviously don't know what they're talking about. But Jonas is coping quite well imo.

Certain things that these people would decry as socialist abominations are in the mainstream here. They might be surprised to find that socialism comes in many flavors, e.g. modern Scandinavian welfare states or Germany's so called social capitalism, a term coined by a conservative. So no knee jerks.

I think we have to embrace our inner Homer Simpson. All industrial nations are turning fat. I don't want to peddle stereotypes, but every time I hear America somehow the picture of [ Show youtube player ] [ Show youtube player ] [ Show youtube player ].

American literature is highly esteemed, from Hemingway to Stephanie Meyer. (See, education isn't what it used to be.) For decades now almost everything new and cool came from the USA, bubble gum, iPads, whatnot. Hollywood has a firm hold on European living rooms. On the other hand, Borat and Michael Moore's films were a huge success here. Let's say, it is a love-hate relationship.

[gilgamesh]

Matt Chat 114: Ultima IV, The Quest of the Avatar
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<rant>What happened to CRPGs? I absolutely want to play Ultima4 (again), but I couldn't care less about what they make these days. It is all the same WASD+LMB click-fest action adventure RPG mix.</rant>

Nice review btw.

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/ultima_4
http://xu4.sourceforge.net/index.php

EDIT: Any idea, what language Lord British used to program U4?

[mattbarton.exe]

Thanks, Gil!

I think by then he was working in assembly.

[desiv]

Yep, great review..
I don't get the feeling that you were as enamored of U4 as I was/am.. But that's OK.. ;-)
I had played Ultima II on my friends Apple II, and I played a bit of Ultima III from a copy..
But the first one I "owned" was Ultima IV (for the C64 which I had then).
And it was incredible...
I loved trying to walk the balance between bashing away and still being a "good guy."

I think it was a game changer for RPGs. The universes weren't just hack/slash anymore...

desiv

[mattbarton.exe]

Originally Posted by desiv

Yep, great review..
I don't get the feeling that you were as enamored of U4 as I was/am.. But that's OK.. ;-)
I had played Ultima II on my friends Apple II, and I played a bit of Ultima III from a copy..
But the first one I "owned" was Ultima IV (for the C64 which I had then).
And it was incredible...
I loved trying to walk the balance between bashing away and still being a "good guy."

I think it was a game changer for RPGs. The universes weren't just hack/slash anymore...

desiv

To be honest, it was difficult for me to get into. I kept telling myself, "This is one of the greatest games of all time!", but it was tough nonetheless. It's too easy to be critical of the interface (K for climb a ladder and then D to descend it), and the fuzziness of the objectives "master the eight virtues!" doesn't exactly keep me riveted to my keyboard.

Of course, if this game were made today, it'd have all kinds of rails and tutorials and a much more intuitive control scheme, probably something like Fable.

[desiv]

Originally Posted by mattbarton.exe

... It's too easy to be critical of the interface (K for climb a ladder and then D to descend it),

I wonder if part of that is the manuals...
One of the great things about the Ultima series are the manuals..
They aren't just directions, they are part of the game...
And, at least at the time, I loved the fact that I had them, so having K for climb was no big deal..

Maybe it was the nerd in me, but I appreciated the complexity.. Every key on the keyboard did something!!!! Not just run and fire..

Originally Posted by mattbarton.exe

and the fuzziness of the objectives "master the eight virtues!" doesn't exactly keep me riveted to my keyboard.

Back to the manuals; the game told you to:
"Read the book of History.
No, really read the book of history!!"

Seriously, that's one of the things I liked.. It's wasn't just "Save the princess" or "kill the dragon."
This game did make you, as a player, work for your involvement.
But, in the end, you felt better for it..

Kind of like reading Joyce.

Originally Posted by mattbarton.exe

Of course, if this game were made today, it'd have all kinds of rails and tutorials and a much more intuitive control scheme, probably something like Fable.

Hmm.. Maybe part of the reason I never got into Fable..

desiv

[mattbarton.exe]

Hehe, yeah. I only played the second one. I liked it, but it wasn't love...If you know what I mean.

There's no doubt that all the little quirks and eccentricities of Ultima help make it lovable, though. No doubt there are folks who have those keys hardwired into their memory now, and hitting K for climb is like tying a shoe or riding a bike.

It's also possible that the vagueness and ambiguity let players imagine all sorts of possibilities that weren't in the actual game. There must have been a feeling of mystery and awe.

I know I'm so spoiled now with waypoints and clear objectives and quests. What is the next step? Go to point X and do Y, then Z. Okay, beep beep, that's part X done. Now there's a progress meter for part Y; that's helpful. Okay, beep, it's done. Now for Z...Talk to the character illuminated with the flashing outline. Ah! There he is. And so on. Okay, here's the cut scene explaining how what I did fits in the context of the story....


You know, when I look at the above, I feel kinda sick. Maybe I've lost my way.

[desiv]

Originally Posted by mattbarton.exe

Maybe I've lost my way.

You can still find your way back..
Just search for the mantra..
(You have your rune translation guide handy??)
:-)

To be fair, I like both types of games.
But the more direct quests, I prefer to be shorter little quests..
Kind of like in Neverwinter Nights, I think I almost preferred the sidequests.. ;-)

I'm sure some of it is just the fact that I "chose" the Ultima series.
Never got into Wizardry, I liked Bard's Tale OK..
But I chose Ultima..

I suppose it's similar to later in my life, when I "chose" the Amiga...
From then on, it's a bit religious and we tend to overlook the faults...

I admit I probably have blinders on to some of the faults, but it was just the right game at the right time for me...

And luckily, my spell-check lets me know nowadays that climb is spelled with a c. ;-)

desiv

[gilgamesh]

Matt Chat 115: The Life and Times of Chris Taylor
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I know that beep at 20:45. Is it from King's Quest 6?

PS: Matt's Podcast #1: Human Revolution, Elite, Copy Protection, and Pack-Ins

[mattbarton.exe]

Originally Posted by gilgamesh

I know that beep at 20:45. Is it from King's Quest 6?

Nope.

It is from one of the games I reviewed earlier, though.

[laffer]

Cool interview, looks like a cool guy as is often the case with the people Matt interviews.

Loved the podcast as well, I agree with everything he says there... that Elite copy protection sounds annoying as hell!

[gilgamesh]

Second part, in which Ron Gilbert comes into play. Nice, Chris seems to really start enjoying the interview.

[ Show youtube player ]

As for Elder Scrolls, I've played Arena and it really got me, the looks and back story I mean. The auto generated quests didn't really weigh in.
I've played Morrowind too, but not too much. Maybe I'll give it another go. You often hear Daggerfall is the best part of the series. So you really should focus on the first two parts imo, since they stole the crown of ego perspective RPGs from Ultima Underworld in their time.

[lifeschool]

Totally cool channel. I love Matt Chat, and I like the way it feels so retro. I'm glad he hasn't been tempted to go for many console games yet, but that's just my loyal Amiga bias talking. I don't mind PC/PS1 games, or most things before 1995 really (just not NES/Sega/N64).

I wrote Matt a mail recently but I forgot to mention....
On the intro sequence it shows a C64 loading Matt Chat - but is there supposed to be a space between LOAD and the first open quote (")? I keep seeing the intro without the space and it just looks odd to me.

Anyway, in my letter to Matt, I included a number of games I'd like to see get the MC treatment. Does anyone else have any games they dearly need to be adressed to a wider audience? I chose mostly driving games like the Lotus series, the Vroom series and Stunt Car Racer, as well as a few classic PS1 games (Tomb Raider), so without wishing to hijak this announcement thread I'd love to hear any thoughts on this.. <cough> Apidya <ahem>

[gilgamesh]

Matt Chat 117: Supreme Commander and more with Chris Taylor
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Final part. I like those dual futuristic/fantasy settings since Citadel's Hero's/Space Quest times. Bioware does something similar with DA and ME. Not to mention Shadowlands/ShadoWorlds. Game designers seem to enjoy this sort of symmetry.

If anyone wants to play Daggerfall before Matt covers it, it's free. (Thank you, Bethesda!)
http://www.elderscrolls.com/daggerfall/

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by gilgamesh

If anyone wants to play Daggerfall before Matt covers it, it's free. (Thank you, Bethesda!)
http://www.elderscrolls.com/daggerfall/

Thats the one game I actually want a remake of. I'd be very cool to see what Bethesda could do with this title with modern technology. I think it would introduce a new standard of procedurally generated landscaping and cities for one. If the modding capabilities can be maintained it could be a very epic RPG indeed.

[lilalurl]

Originally Posted by gimbal

Thats the one game I actually want a remake of.

Not really what you want but Serpent117 (the guy who helped me with my interrogation about SkyNET level 1) pointed me towards the XL Engine, a modern engine which, among other games, run Daggerfall:
http://xlengine.com/?page_id=56

Nothing fully playable right now from what I can see, but I guess the more testers the quicker the development

[gimbal]

Daggerfall also runs great in Dosbox, no real need for a direct port there. But still nice that people keep it up with the remakes, there have been a few in the past that mysteriously disappeared - most likely because Bethesda Softworks (the mother company, not the development company) has a very active legal department. For proof of that, check out the pending lawsuit against Mojang for creating a game called "Scrolls" :/

[Lorfarius]

I downloaded Daggerfall about a week before Matt mentioned his upcoming vid. I decided to put it on hold for a bit until I've seen it