Fate: Gates of Dawn
| Fate: Gates of Dawn | |
|---|---|
| Studio | reLINE |
| Publisher | Soft gold |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1991 (Amiga) 1992 (Atari ST) |
| platform | Amiga , Atari ST |
| genre | Computer role playing game |
| Game mode | Single player |
| language | German English |
| copy protection | Password query |
Fate: Gates of Dawn is a German computer role-playing game . It was developed in 1991 by reLINE for the Amiga and distributed by Softgold , and ported to the Atari ST in 1992 . The conversion for MS-DOS that was started was never completed due to the bankruptcy. An English version was completed, but shortly before it was released there were internal problems with reLINE that could not be resolved until 1993, which resulted in very few copies (around a dozen) of the English version going on sale and being sold .
Gameplay
In this game you control up to four groups of a maximum of seven group members each, who can be recruited from a number of different potential companions distributed across the game world, who can belong to one of the eleven races and 31 classes . These groups are moved in a hand-drawn pseudo-3D view through different areas, cities and dungeons located above and below ground , whereby you can switch between the different groups at any time. All interaction with the game takes place in one and the same main screen, battles take place turn-based, the graphics used are mostly not animated, but reflect the distance of the opponents to the group, which has an impact on the tactical options of the group. The music support effectively incorporates environmental effects into the game, for example you can hear whether opponents are approaching and what kind of environment you are currently in.
The game puts a lot of emphasis on role play aspects. This gives information about game content and target only by communicating with NPCs , but this also experience technically is rewarded, while role playing strange behavior like killing innocent people can be punished with experience points deduction. The conversations are conducted using a complex system of behavioral patterns such as threatening, cracking jokes or flirting, which the program implements dialogues that are adapted to the situation. Dialogues and actions already carried out by the player in the course of the game have an additional influence on his fame and the willingness of the NPCs to speak to him or to support him on his quest. The different groups that you control in the course of the game can interact and cooperate with each other , a procedure that is necessary for solving different puzzles. The individual group members already have an early form of personality , the player only exercises real control over his avatar, the rest of the companions react to instructions depending on various factors such as group composition, the current situation or the weather. The latter, as well as an existing day / night cycle, also have an influence on the behavior of the NPC and the possible chance encounters. Magic exists in a variety of forms in this game, divided into 20 different magic-practicing classes, each with around 10 different spells . In terms of equipment, there are a number of different items, including everyday equipment such as oil lamps, that still have a use (in this case, to light up a dungeon).
There is no linear gameplay in this sense in this game. Due to the high proportion of content to be explored for yourself, the player is free to follow the narrative thread of the game, or rather to explore the world. A very unique system is that, in conversations with other characters, the player gradually gives the player more and more concrete information about the next steps in the main quest if he is unable to find them himself. Many possible group members also have unique abilities in addition to their class and race-specific characteristics, which in some cases enable additional solutions or expanded options for individual tasks.
copy protection
It is worth mentioning the copy protection of this game. In addition to the very complex copy protection of the floppy disks themselves at that time, there was a password query in the game that occurred regularly while playing. If this query was answered incorrectly, this did not result in the game being aborted, rather the game content was gradually restricted. Important NPCs no longer spoke to the player or gave false and pointless information, game-relevant items could no longer be found and the difficulty of the battles increased continuously.
successor
Olaf Patzenhauer, the late Fate programmer , has programmed a successor (unofficially known as Fate 2 ) as part of a private project , which, however, has no official status due to licensing problems. This game is similar in terms of handling and playfulness to the original Fate, but graphically it relies heavily on Asian characters in the Manga style and was only produced in a personalized manner, it cannot be freely purchased.