Sunday 20 December 1998

Pic of the day: Screenshot from the old RPG Darklands.
Yes, after months (or is it a year?) of absence, I finally couldn't stand it any longer and tried to fire up Darklands on my 686 PC. It didn't have nearly enough free conventional memory, MEMMAKER (which I had to import from the old machine) did not manage to free up enough, and I couldn't make a boot disk since the floppy stopped working a few days after I brought the machine home. (Not that I've missed the floppy much in the intervening 10 months, since I use an Iomega Zip drive. But the Zip isn't bootable - to my knowledge at least.) Anyway, I finally made two small bat files, who renamed various system files before a reboot and renamed them back after I was finished. This way I got enough free conventional RAM to play Darklands. Probably it would be enough to play Master of Magic too.
Darklands is graphically outdated (and actually was when it was released) though the graphics are functional and set the atmosphere well enough. The special thing about this RPG is that it's not set in some Tolkienesqe mythology, but in late medieval Germany, at the onset of the gunpowder age. Real German towns, with names and features from that age. The role of magic is filled by alchemic potions (some of them based on real chemicals) and miracles by saints who were actually prayed to in that age. Weapons and armor are carefully modeled on those who were actually in use. And there are no levels, experience points etc. The characters strenghts and skills are determined by their class in society and their careers and studies, studies who continue into the game, as increased skills are the only kind of improvement possible. (Oh, yes, and holyness can be increased too.) There are no superhuman levels of anything, but you can hone your skills to become one of Germany's best fighters or alchemists or thieves, and you can build up holyness and divine favor to a level where Heaven will intervene on your behalf when you later go up against witches and even the occasional demon.
Sadly, the game has been abandoned by MicroProse, but it may be possible to aquire a used or unsold set if you sniff around on the Net. Be aware that warez may be infected with virus or be just plain something else than their names indicate.
Anyone who can guess why I'm suddenly thinking of Germany now, can reckon themselves eligible for 1 virtual hug. Anyway, I've not spent the entire sunny sunday in a fantasy world. I've also washed clothes (there must be tons of them, and they're all mine), cooked pasta dinner and found a new webcam to watch in my favorite category (non-stripping woman webcam online all day all week AND with a diary! Woo hoo! Yay diary!). Love it, hate it, or be just plain bored, the GabGabCamCam is in my list - at least for a try.

Visit the Diary Farm for the diaries I've put out to pasture until they buy the farm:
November 1998