*ALL PHYSICAL COPIES ARE SOLD OUT*: REALMS OF QUEST V (Digital version is available)

[Ghislain]

I had to play "where's Waldo" comparing the two covers for a while before I noticed the change(s). Although a small change, probably for the better in some aspects (like making the game more inviting for women to play). Just wondering what your personal rationale was.

I do think the outfit on the pre-change cover is a little impractical. It's funny, when I look at depictions of women in old D&D manuals, etc.; though they were titillating for a young teenage boy, they are quite impractical in retrospect - who in their right mind would go dungeon exploring wearing the equivalent of a string bikini where the slightest exhortation would result in a "wardrobe malfunction"?!

The cover was based on my loosely defined specifications and sketches made by darkatx. In these, Alania was wearing plate armor with pretty much everything covered. Then the official cover artist provided an image with Alania only wearing string bikini armor. I then asked for it to be revised so that she could be covered more. And it is that second rendition that would see the light of day (partial plate covering the shoulders and the thighs).

But the aesthetics of the leather bikini with the partial plate armor just did not seem to quite fit (and I think everything else in the cover is great, by the way). I could even cover her up some more, in turn giving her an image that could project more power, but this might betray the limits of my image editing skills:

In an alternate reality, I could have a game that is closer to what I want. And so my editing and implementing improvements in my spare time is my way of taking more control over my creation. I'm not fingerpointing or blaming anyone--but sometimes in large projects, there are limits in regards to resources, organization, communications and most of all, time.

[Mayhem]

What version are we up to now?

Would be nice if when there are NO more updates to come, Double Sided could issue a final set of physical disks for purchasers, especially if they don't have access to transfer the D64 to disk.

[Ghislain]

What version are we up to now?

Would be nice if when there are NO more updates to come, Double Sided could issue a final set of physical disks for purchasers, especially if they don't have access to transfer the D64 to disk.

I'm working on version 1.4. I consider the game "feature-locked" now. I'm currently doing a thorough review of all of the text elements to make sure that there are no errors there and to improve the writing in terms of aesthetics and dramatic impact. If Double Sided Games releases a third batch, I will certainly provide the latest build of the game to them to make sure they get released in physical form.

But I am working at my own pace, and I can't guarantee when I will stop modifying my own game. For posterity, I have kept D81 copies of versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 just in case there are people who might ask for them.

[Mayhem]

And for anyone else still interested in a physical version...

Realms of Quest V boxed "light" edition
If you missed your chance to grab a boxed edition of Realms Of Quest V for the Commodore VIC 20, you're in luck! We will soon open pre-orders for a small batch of 15 boxed "light" editions, less expensive with a map but no coin.

[Ghislain]

And for anyone else still interested in a physical version...

Realms of Quest V boxed "light" edition
If you missed your chance to grab a boxed edition of Realms Of Quest V for the Commodore VIC 20, you're in luck! We will soon open pre-orders for a small batch of 15 boxed "light" editions, less expensive with a map but no coin.

Hopefully it comes out soon. There has been a delay because of the current pandemic situation which is preventing the publisher from being able to receive the necessary materials to produce the third batch of physical copies.

A European magazine that is dedicated to Commodore 8-bit and Amiga computers has done a feature on Realms V. The cover artwork is based on the characters in the game, actually.

It is available in both printed physical and digital versions here: http://ka-plus.pl/en/issue-15/

I myself can't wait to receive this in the mail, pending the current international shipping situation.

[Ghislain]

I have set October 1 as my final deadline where I will no longer do any more revisions to Realms of Quest V, and with just a few hours before the end of this day, I am keeping that self-imposed promise. Now, that doesn't mean that this is definitive--if someone were to show me a reproducible bug, then I would certainly try to fix it and then provide a new update. But from here on out, I consider the game to be fully completed and "feature locked". But I feel now that I am about 95% satisfied with the game as it is--far more than when I looked at my game about a month after it was published in physical form back in August of 2019. Certainly there is some text I could improve or some oddly placed pixels that could be taken out, but at some point, one has to let go of such a massive project. Sometimes "good enough" just simply has to be good enough. In the 3+ years that it took me to complete the game, I learned a lot about the discipline it takes to work every day on a long term goal or project. I am using this skill to dedicate about an hour every day to learn new technical skills to advance my career in the technology sector. Right now, I am on a track to becoming a certified AWS Devops Engineer.

If you have purchased the game and would like to receive this update, PM me with your email address after which I will ask for a receipt for proof of purchase and then I'll send it to you.

*****************************************************************************************************************
Revision 1.50 changes:
-------------------------------
-Fixed a color display bug in land/city/dungeon modules when cancelling a spell
-Selecting Give, Pay & Join in city conversation will flash the text area to provide a tactile response
-Selecting Bye during a city conversation will pause longer at the 'Farewell' message
-The Tablet is now multicolored for the Search command
-There are now 2 digital versions of the manual: Medieval font with original cover and Arial font with alternate cover
-The sailing ship icon now has animation
-Fixed bug with level draining
-Fixed bug with raise dead/resurrection where players with 0 maximum HP (permanently dead) were being revived with 0 hit points
-Corrected the Vigilant Armor so that it becomes Chain Mail+4 instead of Plate Mail+5 when it is destroyed (because this is a Priest item)
-Fixed bug so that when an ally is autokilled, its symbol is no longer displayed
-Fixed bug with Use Item->Gate Spell where the spell effect graphics became garbled afterwards
-Fixed display issues with resting at the Inn
-Reduced flicker when traveling over dangerous land or dungeon tiles
-Reduced flicker when printing numbers on the screen
-Fixed bug with greeting monsters
-Added Disk Labels graphic file to the digital download
-Changed the back cover to include a large, full screen graphic portrait image
-Fixed bug where "Use Item" would sometimes not ask the player if they wanted to use an item from their Personal items or Inventory
-Fixed display bug after using an item that had the Dimension Door power
-The screen will flash briefly when a traveling spell's effect has run out
-You can now see the direction that you're moving when you're inside the dungeons

Revision 1.40 changes:
-------------------------------
-The cursor color for 'Select Player' is now white, making it more visible.
-You can no longer cancel buff, clone, cure or heal spells for single player (this avoids the wasting of spell units by accident).
-You can use the exit keys from the History or Settings menu to return to the main menu.
-You can no longer remove allies (this was an almost never-used option)
-"Save & Return" has replaced "Return to Main" in the settings menu.
-Graphics display data is no longer corrupted when viewing a player who wields a missile weapon
-Fixed bug for "Use Item" where selecting an empty item to inspect caused the menu to change
-You can now use items directly from the inventory in non-combat mode (this reduces the need for having to equip them first, especially in the case of single-use items)
-You can now swap a player's equipment directly from the party inventory (this reduces switching between various menu contexts)
-Queen Alania is wearing fuller armor on the cover of the manual (this doesn't change what has been published in physical form, this is just my personal preference.)
-Added the "What We Are Fighting For" section on page 35 (replaces the full page image that used to be there)
-Added "Notes On The Revised Edition" on page 51 that explains why I still continue to work on this project, long after it was published in physical form.

Revision 1.30 changes:
-------------------------------
-New items: Aspergillum, Balthazar Ring, Blade Of Titus, Phase Armor, Shield Of Grace, Spirit Shield and Vigilant Armor were added
-Improved the presentation of the Items and Monster listings in Appendixes B & C of the manual
-Revised Armor Class values for Tiamat and Bahamut.
-Revised and corrected the XP values (LEV) for the more powerful monsters.
-Fixed a major bug (that was introduced in version 1.20) with the inventory that was causing the game to crash

Revision 1.20 changes:
-------------------------------
-Added images to death slideshow sequence
-Added 2 images for the "Dark Times" sequence
-Added digitized map to "Castle Rivaria" sequence
-Added additional images to "Civil War" sequence
-Made the in-game Search Tablet chart easier to read (to match what appears on page 34 of the manual)
-Changed "Acknowledgements" to "About This Game" to show a slideshow sequence about the features. Acknowledgements are listed at the end of the sequence.
-The Allies menu allows you to view information about your companions directly from here
-You can choose to view "alignment-sex-race-class" with runes symbols or 2-letter abbreviations
-The number keys can be used to switch the player that you are currently looking at with the View command.
-View Pic allows you to select additional player portraits to view when you are under this command
-Exit keys can be used to go from "menu mode" to "movement mode"
-A "Join" symbol appears next to the player when they have an ally.
-The number of files that are loaded when the game boots have been reduced

Revision 1.10 changes:
-------------------------------
-Lady Carmilla Bane's portion of the tablet is now located in the centre. This makes more sense from an aesthetic perspective.
-The village leaders now give you tangible clues on how to succeed in the game (instead of them saying "We saw orcs marauding in Samunda!" which is random and meaningless, they will say something quite useful like "Protection from Evil will raise the armor of your entire party during battle!")
-3 magic spells have been modified (for the sake of game balance)
-There were minor spelling and grammatical errors that needed to be corrected.
-Several graphical slideshow sequences have been added to the "History And Lore" section of the main menu. <- I found that I had a lot of free space across 4 disks after I implemented compression, so I decided to make use of it.
*********************************************************************

[Ghislain]

I started tinkering with my game again. In addition to optimizing code, I just added a feature to the "Reveal Location" spell where it not only tells you what your X,Y,Z coordinates are, but it gives you a bird's eye view of the of the dungeon. It's similar to the MAP command in "Pool of Radiance" except that it will cost you spell units to use it. I figure that the game shouldn't be too easy and allow you to move around in automap mode.

[rubygolem]

I started tinkering with my game again. In addition to optimizing code, I just added a feature to the "Reveal Location" spell where it not only tells you what your X,Y,Z coordinates are, but it gives you a bird's eye view of the of the dungeon. It's similar to the MAP command in "Pool of Radiance" except that it will cost you spell units to use it. I figure that the game shouldn't be too easy and allow you to move around in automap mode.


realms1.jpg

It's looking great! Testing it out yields the following resulting images.

Revised edition 1.60

revised_edition_1.60.png (3.82 KiB) Viewed 918 times

sample map 1

newmapf1.png (7.13 KiB) Viewed 918 times

sample map 2

newmapf2.png (7.32 KiB) Viewed 918 times

sample map 3

newmapf3.png (6.94 KiB) Viewed 918 times

I really like that different dunjons have different colors in the Reveal Location spell, just as the dunjon walls you see within the various dungeons throughout the game.

[ral-clan]

Oh my gosh! That spell would have been so helpful when I was playing the game. I suppose I can use it as a point of pride I completed the game before this was implemented - but I think it's a good feature as it can remove some of the monotony and frustration from dungeon exploration, since you can only see two squares ahead.

[Ghislain]

It's looking great! Testing it out yields the following resulting images.

I really like that different dunjons have different colors in the Reveal Location spell, just as the dunjon walls you see within the various dungeons throughout the game.

Thanks! And here I almost considered locking away the source code for fear of being tempted to continue to modify the game. It's impossible to achieve perfection, of course, and perhaps one day I will abandon working on it.

As for the line map colors matching the dungeons--that was very easy to do because I didn't bother with changing the color registers when it is being displayed.

[Ghislain]

Oh my gosh! That spell would have been so helpful when I was playing the game. I suppose I can use it as a point of pride I completed the game before this was implemented - but I think it's a good feature as it can remove some of the monotony and frustration from dungeon exploration, since you can only see two squares ahead.

It's one of those nice features that I had thought about doing while working on the game originally, but I had never gotten around to doing it. I spent a good 6 hours to implement it. but a good part of that involved becoming reacquainted with the source code.

[rubygolem]

I'm finally getting around to finishing up Gnarshm's Book of Cartography Volume II: A Realms of Quest V Story

I didn't want to release all of the dunjon maps in advance of the game release so people would need to hand draw most of the maps out themselves instead of referencing online maps from the blog, cause that would be cheating!

Since the game has been out for a while now and most have had a chance to play it, I figured I would release/upload the remaining handdrawn maps I made when the game was in development, along with new accompanying storylines for further amusement, so Gnarshm's Book of Cartography: Volume II can be completed. I had released the first 10 dunjon maps/stories for Realms of Quest V back in 2019 leading up to the game's release and had spent many countless hours testing out the various different prior versions of the game that had come before since Ghislain began developing it back from 2017 onwards.

I have released 7 more maps and storylines since December 2020 and have 3 more posts (the remaining 3 dunjons of the void levels 3-5) to write up storylines for to complete the playthrough and will be uploading the last 3 dunjon maps/storylines soon.

Curious to know how many here have completed the game? and what you thought of it? I think it's Ghislain's best yet! and it certainly has the most features of any in the series in terms of game functions and graphics too. I very much enjoyed designing the dunjons layouts and text descriptions for the 20 dunjons contained within the game. It's a total blast of fun to play and if you haven't checked it out yet you should do so!

Realms of Quest V can be purchased from DoubleSidedGames, and the other games in the series have multiple various releases, digital, physical disk, premium editions etc. See link below for links to all the various different versions and places to purchase/download.
https://rubygolem.wordpress.com/about-r ... quest-i-v/

[ral-clan]

I finished it. I had to draw out all the maps by hand.
It was a very good game. The only thing that was a little tedious was that the dungeon view only shows three squares ahead, and there is no compass indicator, which makes mapping rather tedious. However, that those issues have been fixed.

[rubygolem]

I finished it. I had to draw out all the maps by hand.
It was a very good game. The only thing that was a little tedious was that the dungeon view only shows three squares ahead, and there is no compass indicator, which makes mapping rather tedious. However, that those issues have been fixed.

Cool! Yes the new Reveal Location Spell graphics definitely improve the mapping visuals to keep folks more on track in the dunjons. The disk save graphic is also a nice touch also.

I wanted to make Gnarshm's Book of Cartography Volume II for Realms of Quest V somewhat similar to David K. Simerly's Bard's Tale II Cluebook with it's maps and storylines which I always found to be interesting with his characters of Gethsah, Meric, S'imr-li, Arku, etc.

[Ghislain]

I think with all of the recent additions, I will call the next revision, Version 2.0

I also wanted to let you all know that with the help of a translator, I've started to work on a Japanese language version of the game. I'm going to base the character set on that of the VIC-1001, which are Katakana characters. I'm not sure if my game will work on an actual VIC-1001--I did try to use the VIC-1001 system ROMs (that I downloaded from the internet) into VICE. My game would crash after game started to load. I'm not sure if this is an emulator issue or it's because my game makes JSR calls to KERNAL and BASIC routines and these might be located in different memory locations. I will have to do more research in that regard.

For those who don't know, the VIC-1001 was released in Japan a few months before the VIC-20 would be released in North America and Europe.

Here's a preview of what the manual might look like:

The game will also support the VIC-1001 Katakana keyboard matrix, so that you can type in the names of the player characters that you create with Katakana characters.

The following is just a mockup that the translator provided for me:

And this is my editing the character set to match that of the VIC-1001's Katakana characters. Because my game displays a lot of graphics, it will only support displaying Japanese text without English on the screen at the same time.