Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
Studio	Stormfront Studios
Publisher	Ubisoft
Erstveröffent- lichung	September 27, 2001 December 13, 2001
platform	Windows
genre	Computer role playing game
Subject	Dungeons and Dragons
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse & keyboard
system advantages preconditions	OS : Windows 2000 / XP with DirectX 8.0 CPU : Pentium II 400 MHz or AMD 500 MHz RAM : 64 MB Graphics card : 16MB Direct3D compatible graphics card Sound card : DirectX compatible 2.8 GB of free hard disk space 8 × CD-ROM drive
medium	CD-ROM , download
language	English German
Current version	1.4 (March 20, 2002)
Age rating	USK

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor , also unofficially known as Pool of Radiance 2 , is a computer role-playing game from the US game developer Stormfront Studios . The game, originally developed for Strategic Simulations, Inc. , follows the tradition of the role-playing game Pool of Radiance from 1988 and is the first computer game to use the third edition of the role-playing game rules Dungeons & Dragons . It was published on September 14, 2001 by the French publisher Ubisoft , which had meanwhile taken over SSI.

action

The city of New Phlan suffers from the dark influence of an undead dragon and a witch queen. They have taken control of the magical pool of the lost elven town of Myth Drannor and are about to seize control of the entire region. The wizard Elminster tries to assign a troop of adventurers to the closure of the spring. However, a first group that were equipped with the Moander gloves required for this is missing. Therefore Elminster hires four more adventures to search.

Gameplay

Like the simultaneous D&D games from BioWare and Black Isle Studios ( Baldur's Gate 2 , Icewind Dale ), developer Stormfront used an isometric presentation , with the characters inserted as 3D models in front of two-dimensional backgrounds. Unlike the competing products, Stormfront relies on a turn-based combat system that is based on Dungeons & Dragons Edition 3.0 of the rules and works with fixed time windows. The clearest difference to earlier D&D implementation is the so-called point-buy character system of D&D 3.0, which replaced the randomly-based AD&D set of rules with a point system with fixed prices for character generation and the acquisition of skills .

At the beginning of the game you create a group of four characters. You can choose from different races (human, elf, dwarf, half-elf or half-orc) and classes (barbarian, cleric, fighter, monk, paladin, thief, ranger and warlock). Compared to other D&D games, Stormfront waived the implementation of the classes druid and bard, as well as the race of gnomes. This starting group can grow to six figures by adding more characters in the course of the game. As usual in role-playing games, the characters collect experience points by completing tasks ( quests , a total of 60), through which a level increase becomes available when certain point limits are reached. In this way, the character's skills can be improved. In Pool of Radiance , the player characters can reach a maximum of level 16. Due to an adaptation by the developer, the characters rise much more slowly than intended by the role-playing rules.

The size of the game world corresponds to about 9 km ² , of which the upper world makes up about 1 km ² , while the remaining area is distributed over eight large underground dungeons . The main content of the game are the turn-based battles, behind which action and non-combative interactions (e.g. dialogues) with the game world and its characters take a back seat. Similar to pen & paper, the initiative value of each figure determines the order in which the characters are allowed to act. The player can use text menus to give his characters movement and combat instructions. However, he only has a certain time window available for this. If he lets this time pass, the pawn carries out a standard command.

Even if the player has finished the main quest, it is still possible for him to complete the remaining side quests afterwards. Besides the single player campaigns there is a multiplayer mode.

development

Ruins of Myth Drannor was conceived as a continuation of SSI's gold box series (including Pool of Radiance ), with which the company gained great critical acclaim from 1988. Originally Ruins of Myth Drannor was developed on the basis of the 2nd rulebook edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons . In the course of development, however, the game was changed to the third edition of the rules introduced in 2000. It is the first computer game to use the 3rd edition of the D&D set of rules.

In order to ensure a high recognition value, Stormfront hired an architect who worked out the ruins of Myth Drannor on the basis of the floor plans from D&D manufacturer TSR. As with Baldur's Gate , the representation of the game world was limited to pre-rendered two-dimensional backgrounds, but the characters were no longer integrated as sprites but as polygon models. The cover motif was illustrated by Gerald Brom .

On September 6, 2001, Ubisoft announced the completion of work on the English version. On November 26, 2001, Ubisoft finally announced the completion of the German version, which was released on December 13.

reception

Rating mirror

German-speaking area
publication	Rating
4players	70%
Gamecaptain	70%
Gamers.at	7.5 out of 10
GameStar	69%
Games world	71%
Gbase	7.5 out of 10
Krawall.de	85%
PC action	75%
PC Games	70%
International
CGW	1 of 5
Game Informer	7.75 out of 10
GameSpy	65%
GameSpot	6.3 of 10
Gamezone	6 of 10
IGN US	6 of 10
Jeuxvideo	13 of 20
PC Gamer (US)	59%
Meta-ratings
GameRankings	60.33%
Metacritic	57 of 100

Reviews

The game received mostly negative reviews ( Metacritic : 57 out of 100 / GameRankings : 60.33%). In the first two weeks (as of October 10, 2001) only 40,000 copies of the game were sold.

The confusing, clumsy menu control was criticized several times, and there was also criticism of the adaptation of the D&D set of rules. The developers would have made inappropriate changes.

In the test of the US version, the German print magazine PC Games described the fights as sometimes escalating due to the large number of opponents and the dungeons as huge. The tester also expressed the suspicion that computer game opponents would receive unfair advantages from the program compared to the game characters. He also criticized the superficial plot, insubstantial dialogues and the fact that the benefits of the available classes were not balanced. In the post-test of the German version, the magazine praised the successful German language version. However, there was no improvement in the fun rating. Both language versions received 70%, the tester described the game as the competition of Baldur's Gate 2 and Arcanum: Inferior by steam engines and magic .

In his review for the US-American online magazine GameSpy , author Allen Rausch complained that D&D fans, after the successful Infinity games ( Baldur's Gate , Icewind Dale , Planescape: Torment ), had the prospect of a revival of the gold box classic and the The first implementation of the 3.0 rules would have had high expectations that would have been disappointed in the worst:

“What ended up coming out was an atrocity on several levels. [...] Sometime the past should just stay the past. If you see this game, walk away… really fast! ”

“What came out in the end was cruelty on several levels. [...] Sometimes the past should rather rest. If you see this game, go on ... very quickly! "

- Allen Rausch : GameSpy

The American Games Magazine Computer Gaming World awarded Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor in its annual review the libel award Coaster of the Year (German: roller coaster ride of the year ):

“Forget the unusable interface, the hideously repetitive play, the lack of real role-playing in a role-playing game, and nearly every other profound failure swirling the drain of this horror. It was the betrayal of gamer's trust and the Gold Box Pool legacy that cemented Pool of Radiance s place as the worst game released in 2001. ”

“Forget the unusable interface, the hideously repetitive style of play, the lack of real RPG in an RPG and almost all of the other profound flaws that swirl around in this drain of horror. It was the betrayal of player trust and the legacy of the Pool / Gold Box franchise that cemented Pool of Radiances' place as 2001's worst game release. ”

- Computer Gaming World

Bug problem

When the game was first released in the United States, it suffered from two major bugs. On the one hand, the specified directory path could not be changed during installation. On the other hand, important system files of the operating system were also deleted when the uninstallation routine was carried out.

The later published German version already contained the first two published updates and was brought onto the market with version number 1.28. Patch 1.3 was released on December 22, 2001, followed by the final patch 1.4 in March 2002.

novel

• Carrie A. Bebris: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor . Wizards of the Coast , Renton (Washington) 2000, ISBN 978-0-7869-1387-9 .

Web links

• Official website ( Memento of September 29, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
• Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor at MobyGames (English)
• Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Jörg Luibl: Test: Pool of Radiance 2 . In: 4Players . freenet AG . December 4, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Old school combat-heavy RPG . In: PC Games . Computec Media Group . November 21, 2001. Retrieved August 30, 2013./
3. ^ ^{A b c} Stefan "Desslock" Janicki: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Review ( English ) In: Gamespot . CNET . October 1, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
4. ↑ Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Interview ( English ) In: Gamebanshee . February 28, 2001. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
5. ↑ Vitus Hoffmann: Release on December 13 is observed ... . In: Gameswelt . Web media publishing. November 26, 2001. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
6. ↑ Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Interview ( English ) In: Gamebanshee . January 6, 2001. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
7. ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/PC-CDROM/832/8984/Pool_of_Radiance_2.html
8. ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/PC-CDROM/832/11247/Pool_of_Radiance_2.html
9. ↑ Michael Mombeck: Test: Pool of Radiance 2 . In: Gamecaptain . Maiwald & Benne GbR. December 28, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
10. ↑ TopSecret: Pool of Radiance . In: Gamers.at . December 28, 2001. Archived from the original on September 26, 2003. Retrieved on March 28, 2013.
11. ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/pool-of-radiance-ruins-of-myth-drannor/wert/37214.html
12. ^ Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor - Review . In: Gameswelt . Web media publishing. December 28, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
13. ^ Pool of Radiance 2: Review . In: Gbase . Retrieved March 28, 2013.
14. ↑ Heiko Häusler: Continuation of a classic . In: Krawall.de . December 21, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
15. ↑ PC Action 12/2001
16. ↑ ^{a b} Ubi Soft has given the classic role-playing game a great translation. . In: PC Games . Computec Media Group . Retrieved March 28, 2013.
17. ^ Rob Smolka: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor . (Article scan) In: Ziff Davis (Ed.): Computer Gaming World . No. 210, January 2002, pp. 112-113.
18. ↑ Jay Fitzloff: D&D For Dummies ( English ) In: Game Informer . Archived from the original on March 1, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
19. ↑ James Fudge: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (PC) ( English ) In: GameSpy . March 28, 2013. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
20. ↑ Dylan Parotta: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor ( English ) In: Gamezone . October 28, 2001. Archived from the original on February 24, 2004. Retrieved on March 28, 2013.
21. ↑ ^{a b} Steve Butts: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor ( English ) In: IGN . October 26, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
22. ↑ Pilou: Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor ( French ) In: Jeuxvideo . December 19, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
23. ↑ ^{a b} Steve Klett: Pool of Radiance ( English ) In: PC Gamer . Archived from the original on December 7, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
24. ↑ ^{a b} GameRankings : Average rating , based on 23 articles. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
25. ↑ ^{a b} Metacritic : Average rating of the Windows version , based on 19 articles. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
26. ^ ^{A b} Robert Mayer: When good elves go bad ( English ) In: Computer Games Online . theGlobe.com . October 16, 2001. Archived from the original on April 8, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
27. ↑ Allen Rausch: A History of D&D Video Games - Part V ( English ) In: GameSpy . News Corp. . August 19, 2004. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
28. ↑ CGW editorial team: Coaster of the Year . (Article scan) In: Ziff Davis (Ed.): Computer Gaming World . No. 213, April 2002, p. 84.
29. ↑ http://www.gameswelt.de/pool-of-radiance-ruins-of-myth-drannor/news/download-der-patches-nicht-noetig,65082
30. ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/PC-CDROM/832/11750/Pool_of_Radiance_2.html