Tuesday 10 July 2018

Treasures of the Savage Frontier - PC (MS-DOS) - 1992


Treasures of the Savage Frontier marks the end of the road for SSI's Gold Box engine.  It has given good service over the nine AD&D (and two Buck Rogers) games starting with Pool of Radiance in 1988.  There have been a couple of hiccups along the way, but for the most part the series has been very good.

This game is the follow up to Gateway to the Savage Frontier released the previous year.  The main things I remember about Gateway was the step backwards the Gold Box engine took and the contrived ending.  This time I am playing the DOS version as the VGA graphics are a big improvement over the 16 colours displayed on the Amiga.  Things got off to an inauspicious start when I had to create my party using the awkward character designer.  Picking the icons was so much easier in The Dark Queen of Krynn.
I can't say I'm sorry to see the back of this.

Indeed, it seems like Treasures of the Savage Frontier used a Gold Box engine several versions older than the last couple of games:-
  1. You have to press (M)ove to enter a move mode and then (E)xit before you can perform any other actions.  In most of the games you can simply use the cursor keys or the mouse to move.
  2. You have to quit the game and restart in order to load a saved game.
  3. It's not so easy to move around with the mouse - the cursor no longer changes to show your intended direction in the 3D window.
  4. The graphics aren't as good as The Dark Queen of Krynn which was also released in 1992.
  5. This last point affects all Gold Box games - what is described is not what you see in the first person view.
Description vs reality.

The manual says that Amanitas has magically transported your party, the Heroes of Ascore, to the city of Llorkh.  Zhentarim survivors from the last game are battling the resident dwarves for control of the city.  You have been summoned to aid the dwarves in defeating the Zhentarim and are then to visit Amanitas in Secomber.

Amanitus was the mage in Gateway to the Savage Frontier  who told us where to go next.  He does this again but this time we can communicate with him via a magic crown so we don't need to travel to Secomber each time we complete a task.

As the game goes on it is revealed that the Zhentarim, Hosttower Mages and the Kraken society have joined forces with the goal of taking over the region.  The Lord's Alliance is made up of a dozen cities who have grouped together to combat common threats in the area.  The evil union is intent on breaking up the Alliance using kidnapping, deception and subterfuge to set the cities against one another.  They have also framed the Heroes of Ascore as traitors.

Miscellaneous notes...

  • Combat has been tweaked by occasionally adding fresh opponents or friendly NPCs to a battle already in progress.  This can make the fights a little more interesting.
  • Some higher level items of magic equipment have been given names such as Sword of Stalking +4, Squid Shield +2 and Redflame Armour +2.  I'm not sure if they are imbued with extra abilities.
  • I kept picking up loads of Lucky Papers during the game.  Without knowing what they were for I didn't want to throw them away...

  • It turned out you can read them with three coloured crystals, one each from a Zhentil Lord, a Hosttower Sorceress and a Kraken Master.  If you meet them in battle and kill one of the enemies you can pick up their crystal. The remaining opponents smash theirs.  To collect them all you have to ensure you kill a different type of opponent first.  Lucky papers show the enemy objectives in each town.  I guess you can use these if you want to complete any city quest out of order.  I didn't.

  • There is a cheesy romance between the main character and a recruited NPC.  It doesn't detract from the plot but doesn't really add anything either.
*barf*
  • There were at least a couple magic stores that sold the whole gamut of +1 weapons and armour.  I don't recall seeing one in any of the other gold box games apart from the occasional store that sold wands, potions and scrolls.


After completing quests in all the cities it was off to Mirabar to meet with the Councilors of the Lord's Alliance and to prove our innocence.  This brought up the usual end game screens with pages of reading...


What came next seemed disconnected from the main quest and felt like it was tacked on afterwards.  We were tasked with retrieving a magical gem from the hoard of a long dead (yeah, right) dragon.  This was to be found in Ice Peak in the far north of the overworld map.

The dragon's lair was located in a maze-like area on the far side of a one way door - once in you can't get out.


Alas, I was unable to finish the game due to an impossible penultimate battle.  You are attacked by three groups made up of blackrobed mages, spies and masters.  The blackrobed mages and blackrobed spies always get the jump on you and have a propensity for casting hold monster and hold person spells.  The blackrobed masters finish off held characters and disrupt my mages spells.  I'm lucky if I can get through the first round with half my party able to move.  Having a hasted party, invisible characters, and even turning the level down to Novice makes no difference to the outcome.  After many failed attempts I watched a couple of 'Let's Plays' on YouTube to see how it was done.  The videos showed the players being attacked by two groups of four and one group of five.  I had this...
Thirteen opponents would have been doable, twenty-five were not.  If anyone has any ideas please let me know*.

Although I couldn't complete the game I did like it.  Contemporary reviews weren't very kind calling it more of the same.  This is fine by me as I like the series.  Also, I found Treasures of the Savage Frontier was refreshing as it took us back to where Hold Person and Stinking Cloud spells still worked and my starting characters couldn't yet cast Fireballs. 
It was not quite the fitting end to the series I had hoped for but I still enjoyed it.  Here's hoping SSI's Dark Sun engine games are just as good.









*Addendum

After finishing writing this entry I did go on to complete the game.  I needed to load up my final save just to confirm the names of the enemies in the 'unwinnable' battle so I didn't bother buffing.  I decided to have a go anyway and was lucky enough to get off two fireballs before the enemy started to cast, so disrupting most of their spellcasters.  Their first volley of 'holds' only affected a couple of my party.  Some friendly dwarves and extra enemies turned up and I eventually won with only three dead characters.  The end game....








Having no chance to rest or heal we were thrown into a battle against Freezefire.  This was an ancient dragon that once terrorised the realm.  After the last battle it was disappointingly easy.  Although it had a -8 AC, it only had 56 hit points and was not immune to magic.  It went down within two rounds managing to hit only one accompanying dwarf with some kind of cold attack.

"You do realise this game doesn't have a sequel don't you?"




The End


 

39 comments:

  1. PetrusOctavianus7 August 2018 at 05:32

    Yeah, disappointing final battle.
    But the penultimate one was a good challenge.

    All in all I think Treasures was a marked improvement on Gateway, mainly due to improved encounter design.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This wasn't technically the end of the Gold-Box engine. It would live on in the online sequel to "Treasures of the Savage Frontiers," called "Neverwinter Nights." It would also return as "Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures," which included a mostly-forgotten 10th Gold-Box scenario called "Heirs to Skull Crag," which honestly doesn't deserved to be remembered.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing this informative blog about treasures of savage frontier pc ms dos. CS GO is one of the other popular game among all other Game. Buy CS GO Rank accounts and entertain game play.



    ReplyDelete
  4. Great Post , but i would consider you to try out CSGO , you can try CSGO its a great game

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is an amazing source of information. Thanks for sharing!.. Buy csgo lem accounts

    ReplyDelete
  6. First, make sure that you get the right kind of deal. Find out about the different varieties and the benefits they provide. While you can't buy any genuine PlayStation gaming controllers on the internet, you can buy some of the fake ones. Get more details about moded ps4 controllers visit on this site.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gaming is one of the productive activities that ensure the personal developments of individuals for them to impact favorably on the development of their societies. Unfortunately, this creatively designed applications better known as electronic or video games that function on consoles such as X-box and play station on computers, mobile devices, and other electronic gadgets have been negatively branded as evil by some critics. There is the urgent need to offer a convincing reply to these unfair critics who dwell solely on the unkempt disadvantages of gaming to plunge its whole benefits into disrepute. 파워볼사이트

    ReplyDelete
  8. In the ultra high-speed age of the modern age the trend of online games have caught up with the concern of people belonging to all ages. The craze for online games has appeared as an integral part of this era. It seems that without them it is almost impossible to think of anything. سایت شرط بندی حضرات

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the sensible critique. Me & my neighbor were just preparing to do a little research about this. We grabbed a book from our local library but I think I learned better from this post. I’m very glad to see such magnificent info being shared freely out there.. 918kiss

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing this, I am in love with Savage frontier. Also, check out MODSDROID.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You published a wonderful short article. I was really touched after I saw your writing, as well as I truly suched as the tale of what I was searching for since it included whatever. I'm so interested regarding just how you considered this info and also just how you located it. Consider my writing and also let me recognize. 바카라사이트

    ReplyDelete
  12. 2.5D pixel games are cool. This game also looks great after reading this post. Thanks for sharing such well-explained post. I liked reading it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, awesome blog structure! How lengthy have you been running a blog for?
    you make running a blog look easy. The whole glance of your web site is fantastic, as well
    as the content material!Click Here 오피월드


    4YOUNGYANG

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for sharing this amazing game.Thanks for the detailed article on this topic. I would like to see more such awesome articles from you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 토토검증업체 They were active listeners and viewed meetings deadlines as an imperative.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I didn t know there was a place like this. I think it s good because there are many good comments. Let s get along well from now on. 먹튀보증업체

    ReplyDelete
  17. exceptionally fascinating post.this is my first time visit here.i discovered so mmany intriguing stuff in your blog particularly its discussion. 카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete

  18. Great Article it its really informative and innovative keep us posted with new updates. its was really valuable. thanks a lot.
    야설

    ReplyDelete
  19. Attractive portion of content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to claim that I get in fact loved account your blog posts.
    일본야동


    ReplyDelete
  20. I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The web site style is perfect, the articles is really great. Feel free to visit my website;
    일본야동

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is a smart blog. I mean it. You have so much knowledge about this issue, and so much passion. You also know how to make people rally behind it, obviously from the responses. Feel free to visit my website; 한국야동

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello, I read the post well. 안전놀이터 It's a really interesting topic and it has helped me a lot. In fact, I also run a website with similar content to your posting. Please visit once


    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you so much for such a well-written article. It’s full of insightful information. Your point of view is the best among many without fail.For certain, It is one of the best blogs in my opinion. 먹튀검증


    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks for an interesting blog. What else may I get that sort of info written in such a perfect approach? I have an undertaking that I am just now operating on, and I have been on the lookout for such info 먹튀검증 It's amazing. I want to learn your writing skills. In fact, I also have a website. If you are okay, please visit once and leave your opinion. Thank you.


    ReplyDelete
  25. 카지노사이트13 December 2021 at 08:34

    Don't go past my writing! Please read my article only once. Come here and read it once"카지노사이트


    ReplyDelete
  26. 온라인카지노13 December 2021 at 10:15

    It's too bad to check your article late. I wonder what it would be if we met a little faster. I want to exchange a little more, but please visit my site 온라인카지노 and leave a message!!


    ReplyDelete
  27. 바카라사이트30 December 2021 at 06:46

    You are really a genius. I also run a blog, but I don't have genius skills like you. However, I am also writing hard. If possible, please visit my blog and leave a comment. Thank you. 바카라사이트


    ReplyDelete
  28. https://gameeffect.xyz Lots of people have loved the overall game of baseball for a long time. You will find followers around the world, from dedicated small-leaguers to die-tough spectators. This article has suggestions to show how pleasant baseball is really.

    ReplyDelete
  29. https://gamezoom.xyz Obtaining a workout companion can drastically increase your muscle tissue-constructing final results. Your partner can be quite a important way to obtain determination for sticking to your exercise routine period, and forcing anyone to increase your endeavours as you work out. Developing a trustworthy spouse to sort out with can also help make you stay harmless as you will usually have got a spotter.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hello folks. Nice to see others remember those good old days. I have an art project, where I tried to make a real life pixel artwork from digital art. I have done this with the Amiga version from a Red Dragon picture from Champions of Krynn. This game uses up to 32 colors. This dragon picture is also to be seen in Secret of the Silverblades, but with less colors. For the dragon I made, each pixel was replaced by a square of felt of the according color.
    I am planning do more of this and made a gallery with some pictures, to see how they might look if ever created.It features a lot from the Goldbox series, too.
    For anyone interested, just have a look:

    https://www.pixelartbilder.com/gallery/

    ReplyDelete
  31. I saw your article well. You seem to enjoy 온라인바카라사이트 for some reason. We can help you enjoy more fun. Welcome anytime :-)

    ReplyDelete

  32. I'm writing on this topic these days,
    블랙잭사이트

    This post is really magnificent.
    블랙잭사이트

    ReplyDelete
  33. The 로우바둑이 한게임머니상 Basic Strategy Card - Why You Need It and How To Use it

    ReplyDelete

  34. This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!!
    온라인바카라

    I am very happy to have found this site.
    홀덤사이트

    ReplyDelete
  35. Nice http://bestretrogames.blogspot.com/2018/07/treasures-of-savage-frontier-pc-ms-dos.html

    ReplyDelete