The Lords of Midnight (Universal)

[iPadisGreat]

Originally Posted by Planetshooter

Agreed, although I have to also add that a summary like that will leave the uninitiated as confused as when they started!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...isionary-games

That's a link to a piece in The Guardian about Mike Singleton and his work, which includes a great description of the kind of game LOM was and how important it was to the evolution of computer gaming. Remember, this game first appeared in 1984.

I followed the link, but am still confused as to what Lords of Midnight actually is. I guess it must be one of those games that you have actually play in order to get.

Waiting for a price drop then...

[Icemark]

Originally Posted by ross_ntu

I bought this when I read so many positive things about the original and so far I am intrigued. The atmosphere is great, however I feel like I am missing something. Is there any way to make decisions based on anything but pure chance - for example, if I am attacking enemy armies or even creatures who just happen to be hanging around, there seems no way to know if it is best to attack or run away.

I assume dragons are tougher than wolves, but how tough are they compared to Luxor? How much difference does it make if Luxor has 100 men with him, or 1000?

Also, is there a way to see the effect of drinking water or staying in a village has? Is this an important strategy or is the promise of healing etc just flavour text? How do you know how a weapon effects your fighting power?

I want to love this game as it seems to be great - at the moment though I feel like strategy is hard when I don't know what I am basing any decisions on.

Simply. Fighting wolves or dragons as a lone lord, without a sword of wolfslayer or dragonslayer is dangerous. However having an army with you will result in success. Doesn't matter how many soldiers... wolves and dragons are not a match for an army.

When seeking at villages and lakes etc, it increases stats within the game. You see this displayed by how invigorated or tired the lord is, or his armies are. As the energy reduces toward utterly tired, you will get less and less moves in a day for that lord. A lord can be utterly invigorated, and his army can be less so...

[ross_ntu]

Thanks for the help funambulist and icemark - I think the only thing I am unsure about now is how to judge whether it is a good idea to attack an army or not? Are Doomdark's forces equal to my troops eg 1000 men vs 1000 warriors is a fair fight? Or are they stronger / weaker? Are riders stronger or weaker than warriors? How can I find out the composition of an enemy force? Is it simply from the graphical represenation? Lastly, are there benefits to holding on to citadels / keeps after recruiting troops / heroes, or is it only important to save your major city?

Thanks again for helping!

[Icemark]

Originally Posted by ross_ntu

Thanks for the help funambulist and icemark - I think the only thing I am unsure about now is how to judge whether it is a good idea to attack an army or not? Are Doomdark's forces equal to my troops eg 1000 men vs 1000 warriors is a fair fight? Or are they stronger / weaker? Are riders stronger or weaker than warriors? How can I find out the composition of an enemy force? Is it simply from the graphical represenation? Lastly, are there benefits to holding on to citadels / keeps after recruiting troops / heroes, or is it only important to save your major city?

Thanks again for helping!

Enemy force is either riders or warriors. The think screen gives you all the information required.

Every keep/citadel lost to the foul, has an affect on the Ice Fear and thus affects all your armies. You must decide the strategic importance of specific strongholds. Location of the fight makes a difference.

[Sanuku]

Originally Posted by iPadisGreat

Hi, what kind of game is this? Still can't figure out after watching the Youtube video.

Originally Posted by grits

Can someone post some gameplay footage? Hopefully we will see a TA plays.

Low bandwidth Version | Pop Up

[metalcasket]

Sanuku, I love you. This video either makes or breaks the game for me. Hopefully the former. *crosses fingers and watches*

EDIT: *pauses 9 mins in* I...ermmm...*scratches head and continues to watch*

[drelbs]

Originally Posted by metalcasket

Sanuku, I love you. This video either makes or breaks the game for me. Hopefully the former. *crosses fingers and watches*

EDIT: *pauses 9 mins in* I...ermmm...*scratches head and continues to watch*

I know, it's a difficult game to describe, you almost have to be playing it yourself. Videos of the game seem rather disconnected because you flip between the various lords. It's a big game to wrap your head around.

Personally, I think of it like when you are in the wilderness of Bards Tale II, only there are no cities/dungeons to enter, and it's a wargame instead of an RPG.

I guess it's also very much like overview mode of Heroes of Might & Magic where you are moving your knights around the map, except on a square grid instead of hex, and from a first-person perspective.

Several people have said "Lord of the Rings in your pocket" and I'd agree. The game flow reminds me a lot of War In Middle Earth.

You could think of the game as a giant traditional turn-based wargame with all of the lords on a big map of the continent, and the computer only populating things in the immediate sight (basically, right in front of) each of the lords.

You can check out the game's manual and maps HERE on the World of Spectrum page.

THIS MAP is a bit of a spoiler, but shows the scale of the game.

There are several ways to win the game, you start with control of four lords at the beginning and have to find and recruit others. The lords have different characteristics, night and day are important, and the game plays rather differently depending on what route(s) you take.

In addition to the wonderful "updated but still faithful to the ZX style" graphics, the touch interface is fantastic compared to the bazillion-key interface of the original, and the game is much easier to play now.

A side note: besides being securely in the "C64 blows the crap out of the ZX" camp, somehow I had only played this on the ZX until (somewhat) recently, and didn't know that it had been ported to the C64!

[metalcasket]

Decided to take the plunge and I'm glad I did. While I'm nowhere close to grasping exactly how to play the game, it just feels like this is something that's so rewarding if you give it the time...something I'll certainly be doing over the next few days. Also, the small file size pretty much ensures this has earned a permanent spot on my device.

[iPadisGreat]

Oh I finally found a review that clarified what Lords of Midnight is: the predecessor of The King's Bounty and Heroes of Might and Magic.

And the review in question came from Touch Arcade itself today:

http://toucharcade.com/2012/12/31/th...ess-adventure/

[Mire Mare]

I have played this game a lot over the years, originally playing it on my C64 circa 1985.

During the recent festive holidays I have been playing LoM a lot again thanks to this iOS release. I think it's as superb as it ever was. In fact, like a slowly ageing wine reaching the perfect moment to be uncorked, I think it's got better! Atmosphere drips from the screen, the characters, particularly if you read the accompanying novella, are whole, likeable and believable. The gameplay is simple and once you've got to grips with the screens and information the adventuring begins. I love that there are different ways to approach the game. This depth and complexity makes Midnight hugely endearing. All the praise that LoM rightfully receives is relevant here. In fact, I think this version has more of a case for being the ultimate version because the iPad and LoM seem made for one another.

This release has resulted in my defeating Doomdark for the very first time! Hurrah!! I'm really pleased about that! I know there are numerous ways to win which means my appetite for the game hasn't diminished at all and I'll be back trying some other ways and adventuring some more whenever I can.

This is an epic game. That's an overused phrase, but not in this case. I also want to say a big thanks to Chris, I think that you're Icemark on this forum/thread(?), for all your time and effort in releasing this.

Anyone still considering buying this game, just stop. Stop considering and buy it. I know us iOS gamers are used to .69p, or free, but at £2.99 this is still exceptional value for money. So buy it and then you can begin your own adventures in the rich lands of Midnight.