Castle Master has grown old

[Mr Creosote]

https://www.goodolddays.net/game/id%...le-Master.html

Man, this was so impressive back in the day... but there is just so little to do!

[dreadnought]

It's still impressive as all get out. It just have to be apporached with a retro mindset, not the Cyberpunk 2077 one

[TCD]

I didn't try it back-in-the-day™ but around 2005 and found it quite dull. Really interesting to see a full 3D game, but comparted to Midwinter or Hunter it's more of a tech demo.

[dreadnought]

On Amiga it wasn't really that impressive because of other games but on 8-bit it was still a revelation. Plus you have to remeber it was running on an "ancient" 3 year old engine which back then was sort of an equivalent to dog years, regarding progress and innovation factor.

In 2005, well, Oblivion has been released this year Context is everything when it comes to retro.

[Megalomaniac]

Freescape is 8-bit technology, albeit noticeably faster on the 16-bits. 3D games are processor-hungry, and they live or die on how full the world is and how much there is to do - an Amiga or ST had twice the clock speed and four times the memory of even a 128k Spectrum. Midwinter, Hunter and Cybercon 3 are all much fuller creations. Look at the Top Games list on LemonAmiga - you've got to go to the bottom of the top 50 to find any games which originate on the 8-bits, and those are IK+ and Bubble Bobble (I count that as the 8-bit computer versions were done before the 16-bit ones) rather than anything complex.

[Mr Creosote]

All that is true. Though some other games managed to stand the test of time due to great playability, good gameplay ideas etc. Castle Master (all the Freescape games) only had its impressive technology.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by dreadnought

In 2005, well, Oblivion has been released this year Context is everything when it comes to retro.

Sure, when I compare Midwinter (1990) to Castle Master (1990) I certainly have to get my head out of Oblivion to do that...

[dreadnought]

Originally Posted by TCD

Sure, when I compare Midwinter (1990) to Castle Master (1990) I certainly have to get my head out of Oblivion to do that...

You said you played it in 2005 first and found it dull, don't you think the date and perception going with it could affect this judgement somewhat?


And, again, Castle Master is not really (1990) but (1987). I consider Midwinter one of the greatest games of the 16 bit era, but that doesn't mean I forget who paved the way for this masterpiece.



I also still don't agree that the Freescape games were just tech demos - nope, they were greatly playable puzzlers. Only now this fact is somehow lost due to the fact we've been traversing infinitely more complex 3D landscapes for nearly 3 decades.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by dreadnought

You said you played it in 2005 first and found it dull, don't you think the date and perception going with it could affect this judgement somewhat?

No. I wouldn't be able to play retro games otherwise I think.

[alexh]

Castle Master (1 & 2) just recently got a WHDLoad improvement that greatly increases performance on Amiga's with true FastRAM. It is so much faster it needs to be frame limited.

As for there not being much to do, if you don't know where you're going, or what to do in each room, and you regularly get killed, there was lots to do.

[gimbal]

It's a complicated maze with some puzzle elements (especially Castle Master 2...). If you like mazes, Castle Master is fun. If you hate mazes, don't play Castle Master

[Mr Creosote]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Look at the Top Games list on LemonAmiga - you've got to go to the bottom of the top 50 to find any games which originate on the 8-bits, and those are IK+ and Bubble Bobble (I count that as the 8-bit computer versions were done before the 16-bit ones) rather than anything complex.

Uh, Pirates!?

[Megalomaniac]

My mistake, missed that one which did originate on the C64, probably as I've never really played it (maybe I should).

[Mr Creosote]

It makes my point. That game is partially written in BASIC. It excels at nothing technically. Nevertheless, it's timeless fun.

[Fiery Phoenix]

I never had it originally but I think it's ok - music especially is soooo atmospheric.

The C64 plays like a brick (unless up the speed in emulation) but I think the Amiga version is ok