tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post6285763616089670217..comments2024-03-29T05:52:53.051+11:00Comments on The Adventurers Guild: Conquests of the Longbow – Final RatingThe Tricksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-28191202815881638822024-01-09T10:02:19.194+11:002024-01-09T10:02:19.194+11:00A shorter video of leftover details at his other c...A shorter video of leftover details at his other channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N764BQvgCwELaukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-62749471931273158542023-12-28T23:24:43.809+11:002023-12-28T23:24:43.809+11:00YouTuber OneShortEye just released an excellent, a...YouTuber OneShortEye just released an excellent, almost 2-hour documentary about the many details of this game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYawahBTJaILaukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-67680841538857103762022-08-10T08:27:15.729+10:002022-08-10T08:27:15.729+10:00Having now played it, I can also confirm that this...Having now played it, I can also confirm that this game is an overlooked gem. As a kid I would see it in the Sierra catalogues and dismiss it as that weird Robin Hood thing while I devoured the newest Space Quest.<br /><br />Its approach to design and puzzles is incredibly refreshing for Sierra, not punishing you for trying things and the multiple solutions all feel sensible. I think it holds up better today than much of the Sierra catalogue does.<br /><br />It has some issues which did bother me. There were several points in the game where I just had no idea what I was supposed to do next, and too often the answer was to wander or wait around until something happened. And then the opposite would happen and it all felt a bit too easy. I also found the boardgame much too difficult to beat and had to look up help online.LeftHanded Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09356100685489177887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-55991222169080767962016-03-11T02:50:50.994+11:002016-03-11T02:50:50.994+11:00@Anonymous,
First, thanks for commenting! We love...@Anonymous,<br /><br />First, thanks for commenting! We love feedback like this. It only helps us make the site better. And thanks for visiting. I'm very glad people are still coming here since Trickster moved on to greener pastures. It makes our hearts all warm and fuzzy, the way they get after a good longbowing.<br /><br />To your points, as Joe pointed out, we are trying to systematize a subjective scoring system based on the subjective opinions of someone who doesn't write for the site anymore. I did what Joe did, to a limited degree, and also based my ratings for Longbow on my ratings for games I have previously blogged. That said, when comparing my ratings to those of the upper-echelon games (Monkey Island, QfG I, and QfG II), I felt that Monkey Island was kind of overrated. I also felt that, if I gave Longbow--a 1991 game--10s in a bunch of categories, there would be nowhere for ratings to go when things get better, which they inevitably do, particularly in the graphics, sound, interface, and dialogue and acting categories. I mean, we could go up to eleven, which is one louder, something I am in total favor of, but that might throw the PISSED system out of whack.<br /><br />If I could score Monkey Island, quite honestly I'd give it the same score as Longbow. <br /><br />But to answer your question, what Longbow would have to do to score higher, I would say perhaps have: better graphics, QfG IV-level voice acting, slightly more difficult (but fair) puzzles, a little more variety in puzzles (enough with the clothes-stealing and tree-morphing!) and a few more opportunities to use the bow and quarterstaff-fighting interfaces (I know, I just complained about puzzle variety).<br /><br />Wow. What a long-winded response! Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-35259889726515693802016-03-11T02:44:21.377+11:002016-03-11T02:44:21.377+11:00@Laukku
I cannot want until the movie about your ...@Laukku<br /><br />I cannot want until the movie about your rise, reign, and inevitably fiery and disastrous fall from the peak of the CAP World when it comes out this summer!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-33614336545742852762016-03-11T02:43:20.459+11:002016-03-11T02:43:20.459+11:00. . . but did they play Les Manley?. . . but did they play Les Manley?Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-29736552844548895622016-03-10T22:49:35.893+11:002016-03-10T22:49:35.893+11:00Thanks for the replies all. I wasn't sure how ...Thanks for the replies all. I wasn't sure how my comments would be received so I'm glad you've attempted to clarify things. The higher end is surely hard to rate. Maybe you guys can together work out a criterion amongst yourselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-47629983997152889482016-03-10T20:01:16.768+11:002016-03-10T20:01:16.768+11:00Oh and The Last Express would be a great contender...Oh and The Last Express would be a great contender for a 10 in Enviroment and Atmosphere too.Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-25527234261369484832016-03-10T19:56:00.860+11:002016-03-10T19:56:00.860+11:00>It might be that we are a bit too afraid to us...>It might be that we are a bit too afraid to use the high end<br />>of the rating scale, since we are expecting A Still Better Game to come up.<br /><br />Some games I could see getting a 10 in a category of the PISSED scale:<br /><br />Puzzles: Day of the Tentacle (amazing time travel premise)<br />Interface: Leisure suit Larry 7 (perfect blending of parser and point&click)<br />Story: YU-NO: The Girl Who Chants Love at the Edge of the World (better than those overrated POS visual novels Clannad and Muv-Luv Alternative, which don't qualify as adventure games anyway), Gabriel Knight 1<br />Sound & Graphics: Broken Sword 1+2, Curse of Monkey Island, YU-NO (has amazing music rivaling the works of Nobuo Uematsu)<br />Dialogue: Curse of Monkey Island, YU-NO, Gabriel Knight 1<br />Enviroment & Atmoshpere: Gabriel Knight 1, Grim FandangoLaukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-49398335338490939522016-03-10T16:16:28.733+11:002016-03-10T16:16:28.733+11:00I've never played the game mind you. I'll ...I've never played the game mind you. I'll have to remedy that one day.The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-48962891130013952802016-03-10T16:14:29.843+11:002016-03-10T16:14:29.843+11:00Well said Joe.
I always found rating the games to...Well said Joe.<br /><br />I always found rating the games to be quite challenging. After spending weeks in a game environment, it becomes difficult to compare it to something you played months or even years back. I did everything I could to be accurate, like going back and reading previous final rating posts, looking at screenshots etc., but in the end it's simply not an exact science. I can only imagine how difficult it is to compare a game to others that you haven't actually played.<br /><br />As Joe says, in the end it's not particularly important, as long as it leaves the game sitting somewhere about where it should. If Police Quest III is higher than Police Quest II, we might have a problem. If any of the Hugo or Les Manley games appear on the leaderboard, we definitely have a problem. Whether Conquests of the Longbow sits in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place...not so much.The Tricksterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-44593673756480646182016-03-10T14:30:58.320+11:002016-03-10T14:30:58.320+11:00When I started reviewing games here, I went a bit ...When I started reviewing games here, I went a bit nuts. How could we judge games on a scale invented by Trickster? To do my first rating posts, I reviewed EVERY rating done on the site, assembled notes as to what it took to make each level, and then I shared that as a doc to the rest of the reviewing team. I think honestly (whether they use that doc or not), we're doing a pretty okay job with the ratings. Probably not exactly how Trickster would have done it, but that's okay.<br /><br />The other thing I realized is that even Trickster himself was not all that consistent. He'd give higher or lower scores on a game to game basis, even when we had cases like you cite where the engines would be almost identical. I think that is to be expected; it's part of the human factor that goes into these ratings. To try and be perfectly consistent with as many games as we have is impossible, even more so with multiple reviewers. <br /><br />I try to think of the ratings as being "about" right. Any given player may find a game to be a few points better or worse, but a good reviewer should end up with a well-reasoned review that gets pretty close to the mark. Joe Pranevichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12997014242774219758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-40571449975306918262016-03-10T03:27:46.982+11:002016-03-10T03:27:46.982+11:00We've had some discussion about ratings in gen...We've had some discussion about ratings in general with the reviewers, and while we all agree that we probably have a good sense of how to score a bad game, we haven't had that much experience of rating excellent games. It might be that we are a bit too afraid to use the high end of the rating scale, since we are expecting A Still Better Game to come up.<br /><br />I'll leave it to Alex to account for the individual scores he has picked (although it might be just that his and Trickster's tastes are too different to compare), but I would still note that we rate sound and graphics in combination, so a game with better graphics could still get same rating if it just had worse music (again, I cannot say, whether it is so in this case).Ilmari Jauhiainenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01655841880034965950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-73545039805195062982016-03-09T15:51:21.346+11:002016-03-09T15:51:21.346+11:00Looking at the nearest competition I can't acc...Looking at the nearest competition I can't account for some score differences - guess I'm being autistic but I would like to know your thoughts. For example the graphics of Conquests (8) is not at the same level of Monkey Island (8). They are much better to look at (yeah I know thats subjective but still...) and more of the screen is visible compared to Monkey 1 because of the interface differences. One game uses a full colour palette and the other barely has vga. Stylistically you could argue for Monkey 1 but they honestly look like prettied up ega level graphics.<br /><br />Also I'm not sure I agree that Conquests has a much poorer interface (7) than Monkey Island (9). There is an argument to be made for minimalism and Monkey Islands interface is big. Admittedly there are more interactive possibilities with Monkey 1s interface but then the interface is pretty much the Maniac Mansion one which got an (8). I can't imagine that a scumm interface would be an improvement for Conquests as a game. What else did it need to do to score higher?<br /><br />But all in all a fair score and enjoyable read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-46476788876396075362016-03-08T08:00:56.481+11:002016-03-08T08:00:56.481+11:00My understanding is that it was basically impossib...My understanding is that it was basically impossible to not get 5/5 on a Dragon review.Fryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07805219432946673379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-66038779981497096112016-03-08T01:42:59.388+11:002016-03-08T01:42:59.388+11:00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s
Now I...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s<br /><br />Now I have to work harder to regain my spot! <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_0CzvUJe4Is/TvYZq3D2-xI/AAAAAAAADPM/3_np32sJiMg/s1600/eb01.jpg" rel="nofollow">Or to possibly even become to most CAP-wealthy person in the world...</a>Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-74976925316901796612016-03-07T20:39:33.745+11:002016-03-07T20:39:33.745+11:00And the leaderboard has been updated.
In notable ...And the leaderboard has been updated.<br /><br />In notable moves, Mark E. has his first points and Joe Pranevich has overtaken Laukku to hit 4th spot!TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815382857422719383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-936473672230287032016-03-07T17:56:05.286+11:002016-03-07T17:56:05.286+11:00...
...
Yes!
...<br /><br />...<br /><br />Yes!<br />TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815382857422719383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-46690182972408660612016-03-07T17:53:06.035+11:002016-03-07T17:53:06.035+11:00Ummm....
...
...
Ummm....<br /><br />...<br /><br />...<br />TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815382857422719383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-36052368933420850112016-03-07T15:57:04.739+11:002016-03-07T15:57:04.739+11:00Wait, wasn't I the closest guesser of the scor...Wait, wasn't I the closest guesser of the score of this game?Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-47404688898340452732016-03-07T11:33:55.286+11:002016-03-07T11:33:55.286+11:00CAP Distribution is here!
Leaderboard will be upd...CAP Distribution is here!<br /><br />Leaderboard will be updated later today (I mean it this time, I promise)TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010934567583163570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-71998448095060077492016-03-07T09:40:17.287+11:002016-03-07T09:40:17.287+11:00@Aperama
We can maybe append the "evil"...@Aperama<br /><br />We can maybe append the "evil" play through to this post when you're done.<br /><br />And I am glad that opinions very; it keeps things interesting. For example, like you, I think QfG I and II should have been ranked higher--perhaps equal to Longbow perhaps. And I also think Trickster, and the gaming public at large, overrate Monkey Island a bit. So if we each rated every game ourselves things would shake out quite differently. <br /><br />Now there's a time-consuming project for us!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-78769954487616397482016-03-07T09:36:05.814+11:002016-03-07T09:36:05.814+11:00@Rowan
Good to know, thanks. I do take these with...@Rowan<br /><br />Good to know, thanks. I do take these with a grain of salt, but I just wanted a couple of examples of how the game was viewed at the time. Will take the Lesser Three's word with even more salt now (but don't tell my doctor).Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-53375783357623710392016-03-07T09:35:10.032+11:002016-03-07T09:35:10.032+11:00@Ilmari,
Great question! I'll put it on the q...@Ilmari,<br /><br />Great question! I'll put it on the queue. Also, I will check out the hint book as a part of my homework before speaking with Christy; thanks for the link!Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-87775392009091321742016-03-07T09:34:07.458+11:002016-03-07T09:34:07.458+11:00@Joe
You know, I almost did a hint book review, b...@Joe<br /><br />You know, I almost did a hint book review, but I didn't want to seem like I was muscling into your territory. Plus I'm lazy. Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.com