Daggerfall

[Queen Bee]

I finally got Dosbox to run on my computer (don't ask me how, I think a wizard did it when I wasn't paying attention). I was so excited to play a game that many call the best of the best, with an astounding 62,000 square miles of explorable area and 750,000 NPCs.

 

But my excitement was only equaled by my supreme disappointment. The controls make no logical sense, and no matter how many times I remap the keys it still causes me no end of frustration. Dragging my mouse to attack is awkward and slow as balls, and using keys to look up and down rather than just moving the mouse is just clumsy and stupid. It doesn't help that I chose the rogue class to begin with and keep dying in the tutorial dungeon. I don't want to be a tank, I want to meld into the shadows and assassinate from a distance like I do in Skyrim, but apparently I have no choice.

 

I'm open to suggestions on what I could do differently. Better key bindings? Mods that fix the controls to be more like Skyrim? Character build suggestions?

 

I want to like this game. I want to give it a chance. I missed the boat back when this first came out, but now I finally want to play and I don't want to just give up. There's a gigantic world in there and I want a chance to see it. I'm not shying away from a little challenge here. I welcome challenge. I'd get bored if it wasn't a challenge. But there's a huge difference between challenge and obstacle, and the way this game plays is starting to feel like the latter rather than the former.

[polluxval]

That game used to make me dizzy. One time I was about to thrown up.

 

Anyway, try this, taken from other forum:

 

 

Hold down RIGHT mouse button while moving the mouse around to swing. Up and down for thrust, left and right for slash, diaganol for dioagonal slashes (good for axes, etc)

Also, if you want an Oblivion styleinterface with mouse-look, go into the z.cfg file and edit the line that says

"controls betaplyr.dat" to say "controls viewplyr.dat" (without quotes.

Also add:

cheatmode 1

magicrepair 1

Cheat mode will allow you to get out of the problem when you "fall through" the graphics. Use [ and ]

Magicrepair allows for in game repairs of enchanted items in addition to therepairs of regular weapons/armour

The viewplyr.dat change gives you an Oblivion style interface, with the three coloured bars in the bottom left and the compass in the bottom right. That's it. Plus it gives a WASD control method and mouse look. (check Options/Controls for new key layout).

 

Hope helps.

[Symon]

I agree completely. I have never been able to get the controls to work either. The 'hold down right mouse button and try to move your mouse in a weied way' concept that was supposed to make combat 'feel real' I understand always struck me as unusable. I find it so bad it makes the game unplayable. I learned this was unusable for me in the demo so never bought the game.

 

Tried it with the free donload many years ago and still could cope with it.

 

It's a shame but a game with an unusable interface never works for, rather like Skyrim (grin).

[Queen Bee]

@polluxval: Thanks, I'll give that a shot. Good kitty!

[polluxval]

@polluxval: Thanks, I'll give that a shot. Good kitty!

 

 

You have to sing me "Soft kitty" ...

 

The Big Bang Theory Soft Kitty Lyrics

Soft kitty,

 

Warm kitty,

 

Little ball of fur.

 

Happy kitty,

 

Sleepy kitty,

 

Purr Purr Purr

 

-------------------------

 

I'm jj

 

[Cozy]

To be honest as much as I love Daggerfall it's now ancient. When I first played it, while it was full of bugs after release it still made my head explode with how revolutionary it was. It just filled me with a sense of wonder. Basically there was nothing remotely close to it's level when it first came out. However it's been 16 years and now it's just old... I think maybe I've just been spoiled with newer RPG's but it's much, much harder to get into Daggerfall, or to forgive it's clunky controls that it used to be.

 

But then again, when I am feeling nostalgic I can still get a great deal of enjoyment out of the game. Just need to be in the right mood. Speaking of Daggerfall, what ever happened to climbing? That was an AWESOME ability! Wish they kept it for the newer games, even if you hit an invisible ceiling when trying to climb city walls. It would be awesome climbing up rooftops and jumping roof to roof in a high speed chase.

[Queen Bee]

I don't mind the old school graphics, I grew up with that shit. If I could just get Skyrim controls on this thing, I'd go to town. And climbing? Like, as in an ability to climb walls? Jesus, yes! Someone make a Skyrim mod, please!

 

I know there's DaggerfallXL, which is attempting to update the game so that it can be run without Dosbox, as well as improve the graphics a little. No idea if that'll ever get done, though. I mean, this is a huge fucking game.

[Cozy]

I have noticed, then again maybe it's my imagination, but I know I've had issues strafing before. So I've noticed that Dosbox for whatever reason makes the controls even worse for whatever reason. Then again perhaps I just have a bad memory, but I don't remember Daggerfall being nearly as clunky as it is in recent days I've played it.

 

Also yes scaling walls, is loads of fun. Also I totally love the soundtrack.

[Rhavik]

It takes a lot of tweaking to get the controls to a point that you like... most of the keys are thrown all over the board without a thought of where your hand has to go... there's no fix for the attack, but at least for movement I can recommend that you go to your controls, change to these settings:

 

Forward - W

Reverse - S

Turn Left - ignore it who cares

Slide Left - A

Turn Right - again, ignore

Slide Right - D

 

Then go into mouse controls and change to "View". This should at least change the way you move around to be like newer games. Other controls are just trial and error. Sorry

[movomo]

WASD is good choice as Rhavik said. Daggerfall controls is just excellent and convenient... relatively to Arena . You know.. they were old games you must put up with that..

Think about the gamers after 20 or so years. They are playing the elder scrolls 11: Black Marsh or something and it's so realistic.. And they try to play Skyrim as well, and will say: Urgh, that game really sucks, poor graphics make me dizzy and I can't really get the hang of control. how in talos' name they could play game with hands.

[Cozy]

WASD is good choice as Rhavik said. Daggerfall controls is just excellent and convenient... relatively to Arena . You know.. they were old games you must put up with that..

Think about the gamers after 20 or so years. They are playing the elder scrolls 11: Black Marsh or something and it's so realistic.. And they try to play Skyrim as well, and will say: Urgh, that game really sucks, poor graphics make me dizzy and I can't really get the hang of control. how in talos' name they could play game with hands.

 

 

Yeah, I mean it's weird back when I played Daggerfall back in the mid to late 90's I had no complaint's. Now the controls are so awkward, but chances are I may feel the same way about Oblivion or Skyrim 15 years from now.

 

Actually come to think of it, Daggerfall was the first game I ever modded. It's funny, that people like me would mod clothing and such for Daggerfall, when you only saw it on your character when you pulled up your inventory.

 

Still thinking about the first time I played that game and got out of the starter dungeon, it was magical. I really don't like Dosbox though, since I honestly believe it makes the controls more clunky than I remember. I'd like to find a really old computer and run Daggerfall on that instead.

[Queen Bee]

Okay, redid the keys as suggested and now I have mouse view (yay!)

 

But holy shit, why are things so hard to kill? Why am I so squishy? I die to fucking rats and bats, for fuck's sake. And I'm playing the rogue class, why can't I equip the thief's armor when I kill him?

 

I don't want to cheat, but I may have to.

[movomo]

Okay, redid the keys as suggested and now I have mouse view (yay!)

 

But holy shit, why are things so hard to kill? Why am I so squishy? I die to fucking rats and bats, for fuck's sake. And I'm playing the rogue class, why can't I equip the thief's armor when I kill him?

 

I don't want to cheat, but I may have to.

It eventually gets easy. Escaping tutorial dungeon is the toughest part in daggerfall, in fact. If you done that, half cleard daggerfall.

But becoming stronger is tougher than Oblivion or Morrowind. You remember how you had trained athletics skill in Oblivion.. you just keep running toward the wall for 6 hours while you're sleeping in real life! Do some petty courier quests in the town to make money and find trainers. If you see the wall, climb it..for no reason other than training.

[Cozy]

 

Okay, redid the keys as suggested and now I have mouse view (yay!)

 

But holy shit, why are things so hard to kill? Why am I so squishy? I die to fucking rats and bats, for fuck's sake. And I'm playing the rogue class, why can't I equip the thief's armor when I kill him?

 

I don't want to cheat, but I may have to.

It eventually gets easy. Escaping tutorial dungeon is the toughest part in daggerfall, in fact. If you done that, half cleard daggerfall.

But becoming stronger is tougher than Oblivion or Morrowind. You remember how you had trained athletics skill in Oblivion.. you just keep running toward the wall for 6 hours while you're sleeping in real life! Do some petty courier quests in the town to make money and find trainers. If you see the wall, climb it..for no reason other than training.

 

Totally, the first dungeon is the worse part of the game imo. It's WAY too hard for someone just starting, and it's a real pain in the ass to navigate. Until you get down the way out, that place is generally a nightmare. I would suggest looking up at the very least a walk-through for the first dungeon. I remember I almost didn't play the game because I got stuck in there for almost a day when I first purchased the game. Once you finally get out of there, you can walk straight to a small village or head straight to a capital, borrow money from a bank, or as I loved to do continuously rob every shop keeper blind come nightfall and sell them back their own stolen goods.

 

Get yourself a horse, carriage, boat to live on! But I don't have high lock picking so how can I rob a store you say? Meh in Daggerfall you can pick  the lock, or kick the door down! So long as you're quick and work up your sneak, speed, and climbing the guards will never catch you. But if they do catch you, you are totally dead.

 

The guards in Daggerfall or rather High Rock where the game takes place are not normal... The guards in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim are at least mortal, the guards in Daggerfall are unholy abominations. I think they're cyborgs, and they always yell one word.... "HALT!" When you hear that run for dear life, because it'll take everything you have to kill just one guard, and if by some miracle you kill one, the rest will swarm you like an insect swarm of cyborgs's yelling "Halt!"

 

Seriously a guard running at me yelling "Halt" scares me more than King Lysandus' ghost yelling "Vengeance" at night in Daggerfall, because there is just one ghost. If you hear, or see one guard you know the swarm is coming for you.

 

Great, now I feel like playing Daggerfall myself.

 

That also reminds me of a funny Daggerfall mod i saw once. Someone basically changed the guards to look like pixelated Ed-209's from Robocop,

[Queen Bee]

I hate cheating, but yeah, that first dungeon is just too hard. I'll find a walkthrough and book it out of there. I just hope I don't have to keep saving after every fight, like I'm doing now.

 

Once you finally get out of there, you can walk straight to a small village or head straight to a capital, borrow money from a bank, or as I loved to do continuously rob every shop keeper blind come nightfall and sell them back their own stolen goods.

 

Wait, you mean...you don't need to sell stolen goods to a fence? But...but that's like how it is in real life! What sorcery is this?!

[Cozy]

I hate cheating, but yeah, that first dungeon is just too hard. I'll find a walkthrough and book it out of there. I just hope I don't have to keep saving after every fight, like I'm doing now.

 

Once you finally get out of there, you can walk straight to a small village or head straight to a capital, borrow money from a bank, or as I loved to do continuously rob every shop keeper blind come nightfall and sell them back their own stolen goods.

 

Wait, you mean...you don't need to sell stolen goods to a fence? But...but that's like how it is in real life! What sorcery is this?!

 

 

Nope you can sell stolen goods anywhere, even to the merchant you just ripped off 5 minutes ago!  Grant you that is a little immersion breaking ripping off a merchant and selling him his stuff back the very same day, but the game was made in 96 so the AI wasn't particularly bright.

[Queen Bee]

Hey, I'm just glad they don't restrict the sale of stolen goods. I mean, how the fuck does a merchant know it's stolen? I could see a merchant recognizing the stuff you stole from him, but then I'd expect him to call for the guards rather than just refuse to buy it.

[Cozy]

Well in terms of get rich quick schemes in Daggerfall, the quickest way to make lots of septims without borrowing from a bank, is to get your sneak, and such level's reasonably high. Break into a weapon shop at night, clear the place out with as much as you can carry. Come back in the morning and sell the victim back his own goods, then rinse and repeat.

[movomo]

The most brilliant and immersive thing in daggerfall (and one of the most annoying thing) is that blacksmiths need few days to repair things.

So you're back from the adventure, repair your equipment, but have nothing to do for a week. So you just loiter around the town then accidentally hit the rest button in the middle of the town, and the guards come to arrest you. HALT!HALT!HALT!

[Cozy]

The most brilliant and immersive thing in daggerfall (and one of the most annoying thing) is that blacksmiths need few days to repair things.

So you're back from the adventure, repair your equipment, but have nothing to do for a week. So you just loiter around the town then accidentally hit the rest button in the middle of the town, and the guards come to arrest you. HALT!HALT!HALT!

 

HAH! Forgot about that, and yes the swarm would go after you for loitering too!

[ChancellorKremlin]

On a totally unrelated note, QB, have you ever played Fallout 1 or 2?

[Queen Bee]

No, but to be honest I don't have much interest in those games. I dunno why, but the whole post apocalypse thing isn't as interesting to me.