Descent to Undermountain
| Descent to Undermountain | |
|---|---|
| Studio |
 Interplay entertainment
|
| Publisher |
Interplay entertainment
|
| Senior Developer | Chris Avellone |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
September 1997 |
| platform | DOS , Windows |
| Game engine | Descent engine |
| genre | Computer role playing game |
| Subject | Dungeons and Dragons |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Keyboard & mouse |
| medium | CD-ROM |
| language | English |
Descent to Undermountain is a computer role-playing game by the US computer game manufacturer Interplay Entertainment from 1997. It is based on the fantasy role-playing game rules Advanced Dungeons & Dragons by TSR and was published for DOS and Windows .
action
In the city of Deep Water in the Forgotten Realms , numerous people disappear without a trace. The rulers of the city therefore ask an adventurer to help them solve the problem. The journey leads to the underground giant dungeon Unterberg ( Undermountain ), which is known from the regulations . There the player has to find eight pieces of an amulet in order to be able to use the flame sword of the spider goddess Lolth and thus protect deep water from the threat.
Gameplay
The game is based on the 2nd rulebook edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons . At the beginning the player creates a character, whereby he has the choice between gender, six different races (including human, half-elf, dwarf, drow) as well as single and multi-class characters (fighter, thief, magician, cleric). Mainly through the classes, the characters differ in their skills and characteristics. The character attributes (strength, constitution, dexterity, wisdom, intelligence, charisma) are rolled. The player controls his character in first person view within a three-dimensional environment. Within the largely linear course of action, the player can move his character almost freely, but only in the accessible part of the game world, which is divided into a total of more than 20 dungeons. Access to further dungeons opens up depending on the progress in the fulfillment of orders, whereby the framework is carried forward. There are also some side quests and the research of additional dungeons. The battles against more than 50 different types of monsters and other opponents are carried out in real time. In addition to the usual melee and ranged weapons, there are more than 160 magical objects and 40 different spells available. The opponents are relatively firmly placed within the dungeons. Once the dungeons have been cleared of enemies, they can be re-entered, but will not be repopulated.
A multiplayer mode is missing, although this was announced by the game developer and explicitly advertised on the product packaging.
development
Descent to Undermountain was the second game, after the real-time strategy game Blood & Magic , that Interplay released on the basis of the AD&D license, which the company had only acquired from TSR in 1995. The name of the game is partly due to the graphics engine that was originally developed for the corridor shooter Descent . The development team consisted of the designers Chris Avellone , Scott Bennie, John Deiley, Robert Holloway and Steve Perrin. The programming comes from Andrew Pal, James Gardner, Robert Holloway and Chris Farenetta, the music from Richard Band .
reception
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Contemporary criticism
Descent to Undermountain was largely rated negatively. Chris Gregson from GameSpot awarded 3.7 out of 10 points, because the game came onto the market visibly unfinished so as not to miss the Christmas business, the graphics were out of date and all of the criteria that were expected for an RPG and AD&D implementation did not meet:
“Even if everything in DTU were picture-perfect, this would still be a derivative game, treading the same path of all the AD&D computer games that inundated the market from the late 1980s into the early 1990s. But if it looked good and played smoothly there'd at least be some happy AD&D fans right now; as it stands, no one's happy, and in fact, a lot of people are downright angry. The lesson to be learned should be obvious: If you're gonna ride the hype machine, you'd better deliver the goods. "
“Even if everything in Descent to Undermountain were absolutely perfect, it would still be a copied game that follows the same trodden paths of all AD&D computer games that flooded the market from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. But if it looked good and was playable without any problems, there would at least be a few happy AD&D fans now. Nobody is happy with this result, and in fact, many people are downright angry. The lesson should be obvious: If you're riding the hype wave, you'd better be delivering the goods. "
In the Australian computer magazine PCWorld , Julian Schoffel described the game as "sad" and expressed the hope that the upcoming publication of Baldur's Gate would restore Interplay's reputation. On the other hand, Ahmed Kamal Nava of the New Straits Times called it the best computer role-playing game in 1997. As early as May 1998, Feargus Urquhart , head of Interplay's role-playing division, described the decision to use the Descent engine as the basic graphic structure as a design flaw. as extensive revisions of the source code were necessary to support the role-play scenario.
Retrospectives
According to Andrew Park and Elliott Chin from GameSpot, the announcement of the game was followed by high expectations after the last AD&D titles (including Deathkeep ) from SSI failed to score with both customers and critics. However, they were ultimately disappointed. The graphics, which were still up-to-date at the time of the announcement, only looked "terrible" when it was released, too many role-playing game mechanics seemed to have been abandoned in favor of a stronger action / shooter aspect, which, however, was also not convincing: According to game designer Eric Bethke, the program errors resulted , the poor AI , the poorly appealing to lousy graphics and numerous other problems to the consensus that the game is an example of a title, the publication of which was forced before the actual completion. Technical problems would already have been included in the concept that delayed development and required multiple redesigns and reprogramming. Last but not least, the “quick switch” to the Descent render engine has proven to be extremely challenging, as it has exceeded the technical understanding of the company's management, which is mainly dependent on adherence to specified delivery dates. This lack of understanding led to a hasty development process and, according to Bethke, is "a classic example of a game that was delivered too early".
Gamasutra's Matt Barton described Descent to Undermountain as even more unsatisfactory than Birthright: The Dark Alliance and, along with Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor, as an example that a popular license is worth little without a reliable development team. "Poor graphics combined with even worse AI", "bleak and always the same looking levels", plus the labyrinthine structure, which is unpopular with gamers, lead him to the judgment that Descent to Undermountain is one of the worst computer role-playing games of all time. According to Allen Rausch from the online game magazine GameSpy , Descent to Undermountain had essentially one quality: "It made everyone forget The Dark Alliance and all of the previous two years of ghastly Dungeons & Dragons computer games."
"In every respect, Descent to Undermountain was deemed a failure, and Interplay quickly tried to forget it."
"Descent to Undermountain was seen as a failure in every respect and Interplay was quick to forget about it"
Web links
- Descent to Undermountain at MobyGames (English)
- Gamespot Review
Individual evidence
- ↑ Allen Rausch: Magic & Memories: The Complete History of Dungeons & Dragons - Part III ( English ) In: GameSpy . News Corp . August 17, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
- ↑ Chris Gregson: Descent to Undermountain Review ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . February 6, 1998. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
- ^ Julian Schoffel: RPG Revival . In: PCWorld , April 1, 1998. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ↑ Richard “Jonric” Aihoshi: Interplay 98 (Part 1) ( English ) In: IGN RPGVault . May 13, 1998. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
- ^ A b Andrew Park, Elliott Chin: Gamespot's History of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Descent to Undermountain ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . Archived from the original on November 11, 1999. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ↑ Eric Bethke: Structural Key Design Elements . In: Gamasutra . UBM plc . April 11, 2003. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ↑ Eric Bethke: Game Development and Production . Wordware Publishing, Inc, 2003, p. 79.
- ^ Matt Barton: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part III: The Platinum and Modern Ages (1994-2004) ( English ) In: Gamasutra . UBM plc . April 11, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ^ Allen Rausch: A History of D&D Video Games - Part IV . In: GameSpy . August 18, 2004. Retrieved November 17, 2012.