Dungeon II: Solstice

[s0c7]

Ahhhhh still want a cart!

Soon.....

[Albert]

I'm happy to announce that Dungeon II - Solstice will be available for the first time at next month's Portland Retro Gaming Expo! Dungeon II - Solstice features beautiful, original artwork from Dave Dries. The game will include a professionally printed box, label, manual and possibly a poster as well.

 

 

The artwork featured in the video is the same used for the printed materials.

 

[TrekMD]

Fantastic!

[+Nathan Strum]

I'm happy to announce that Dungeon II - Solstice will be available for the first time at next month's Portland Retro Gaming Expo! Dungeon II - Solstice features beautiful, original artwork from Dave Dries. The game will include a professionally printed box, label, manual and possibly a poster as well.

You gotta do a poster.

[+sramirez2008]

Wow!!! Love the video. Have to have this CIB and poster (hopefully) too.

[Albert]

You gotta do a poster.

 

That is the plan.

[MrBeefy]

I like the original dungeons poster with a map on it.

[Dionoid]

The game, artwork and video all look great!

 

I didn't play any RPG games before, but the idea is that you walk inside a maze, pick up things and fight with/flee from enemies, right?

 

My brain has trouble seeing movement when the main character navigates through the maze. Would it be an option to scroll the 3x3 grid a bit when you move into a specific direction? Or is this in the style of classic RPG games?

Edited October 2, 2018 by Dionoid

[s0c7]

Think of the world as a gigantic grid. You are at the center of a subsection of the grid, moving around on it in regular increments. This is the style of most of the oldest dungeon crawl type games. Modern RPG games are quite different and younger folks who didn't grow up with this sort of thing may not get it. This is an old school, turn based, RTFM game. Action RPG's such as Zelda, etc. are a completely different thing.

[MrBeefy]

Think of the world as a gigantic grid. You are at the center of a subsection of the grid, moving around on it in regular increments. This is the style of most of the oldest dungeon crawl type games. Modern RPG games are quite different and younger folks who didn't grow up with this sort of thing may not get it. This is an old school, turn based, RTFM game. Action RPG's such as Zelda, etc. are a completely different thing.

The artwork looks great! Been waiting on this one!!!!

[s0c7]

The artwork looks great! Been waiting on this one!!!!

 

Thanks! DaveD, as always, did an amazing job on the artwork. For those who attend Portland, be sure to check out the Dungeon II banner hanging at the AA booth. It features even more of Dave's mind blowing art!

[Albert]

Thanks! DaveD, as always, did an amazing job on the artwork. For those who attend Portland, be sure to check out the Dungeon II banner hanging at the AA booth. It features even more of Dave's mind blowing art!

 

It's always a pleasure to have Dave work on an AtariAge project!

[+sramirez2008]

 

Thanks! DaveD, as always, did an amazing job on the artwork. For those who attend Portland, be sure to check out the Dungeon II banner hanging at the AA booth. It features even more of Dave's mind blowing art!

 

Someone please take a picture of the of the banner, for those of us that can't attend.

[Albert]

Dungeon II: Solstice is now available in the AtariAge Store, along with several other new games.

 

..Al

[Asaki]

I don't have a AFP, or know a lot about them. I understand the emulation is "off" somehow, but don't know the specifics. Not something I'm terribly interested in.

Have you talked to Nukey Shay about it?

 

Looks like something I might need to try out.

[s0c7]

No. That sort of thing gives them no reason to fix the issues in their product. From what I understand regarding things like HMOVE behavior, it would take a massive rewrite on my part to get it to work with their crap emulator. Which they could potentially change from release to release. There's no point. It works fine on hardware and things that emulate the hardware correctly.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

We'll be playing the brand new retail boxed copy of Dungeon II Solstice on the ZeroPage Homebrew stream tonight on Twitch at 6PM PT/9PM ET! Hope everyone can tune in to watch us play!

Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.t...ropagehomebrew/

EDIT: Link to Episode!

 

Edited November 23, 2018 by cimmerian

[s0c7]

We'll be playing the brand new retail boxed copy of Dungeon II Solstice on the ZeroPage Homebrew stream tonight on Twitch at 6PM PT/9PM ET! Hope everyone can tune in to watch us play!

 

Twitch Stream: https://www.twitch.t...ropagehomebrew/

 

 

Thanks guys! Great show as always. The faerie is probably the easiest character for me to consistently win with. Familiarity with the game and tactics I guess.. There's also an unlockable 4th character. I was glad everybody got to see an example of a dark faerie stealing the mistletoe back from you. Winning without the owl is possible, but he is a big help. One thing I noticed, even though you were using him to kill the dark faeries, you'd still fight a monster you'd already hit instead of finishing it off with the owl. Hint for everybody - weigh the costs/risks of actions and what is an automatic hit and what isn't (several stats in the manual worth taking in).

[DaveD]

 

It's always a pleasure to have Dave work on an AtariAge project!

 

 

Thanks Al! This was another fun one to work on. David wrote a really elaborate backstory with unique characters, environment and secrets that is easy to lose yourself in. That attention to detail and how all those elements interacted was what helped inspire the art. And it's also what makes the game so fun and easy to lose yourself in. It may only be 4K but every bit has been thought out and packed with the kinds of cool details that make you keep coming back for more.

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

Thanks so much for checking out the stream David! We definitely want to go back and work on winning with the faerie and also unlocking the 4th character to play the game with that too! Thanks for the strategy hints and using the owl for better success during battles. I'll let you know when we take another run at the game on the show. :-)

 

 

 

Thanks guys! Great show as always. The faerie is probably the easiest character for me to consistently win with. Familiarity with the game and tactics I guess.. There's also an unlockable 4th character. I was glad everybody got to see an example of a dark faerie stealing the mistletoe back from you. Winning without the owl is possible, but he is a big help. One thing I noticed, even though you were using him to kill the dark faeries, you'd still fight a monster you'd already hit instead of finishing it off with the owl. Hint for everybody - weigh the costs/risks of actions and what is an automatic hit and what isn't (several stats in the manual worth taking in).

[s0c7]

Happy Solstice to all!

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by s0c7

[Nognir]

I received my copy from the AA Store last week and I love it! Just like the first game it's pretty addictive and it will keep me busy for the next weeks.

[s0c7]

The game has been out long enough that a few people are coming across the Easter Egg on their own and asking questions, so I thought I would try to explain it in detail.

 

Get the mistletoe and go to the other megalithic structure (not the grove where you start). If you move into it, you will teleport to <somewhere else>. You may notice the mistletoe did not make the journey with you. You have misused the power of the mistletoe and are now trapped in an infinite realm with no way back home. Your only recourse is to try and survive for as long as you can. Meanwhile, back in the forest the dark faeries would have found the mistletoe laying on the ground where you disappeared from and returned it to the Temple of the Crow.

 

After your inevitable death, cycle through the playable characters and you will find a 4th character (from the dark realm). He also wants the mistletoe. Not to restore nature in this realm, but to return home (he was sucked through when you opened the portal). Therefore he needs to pass through the other megalith after getting the mistletoe to win the game. Healing at the grove doesn't work for him because he is not aware of the Old Gods, who in turn will not bless an unbeliever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrBeefy]

On 6/4/2019 at 6:37 PM, s0c7 said:

The game has been out long enough that a few people are coming across the Easter Egg on their own and asking questions, so I thought I would try to explain it in detail.

 

Get the mistletoe and go to the other megalithic structure (not the grove where you start). If you move into it, you will teleport to <somewhere else>. You may notice the mistletoe did not make the journey with you. You have misused the power of the mistletoe and are now trapped in an infinite realm with no way back home. Your only recourse is to try and survive for as long as you can. Meanwhile, back in the forest the dark faeries would have found the mistletoe laying on the ground where you disappeared from and returned it to the Temple of the Crow.

 

After your inevitable death, cycle through the playable characters and you will find a 4th character (from the dark realm). He also wants the mistletoe. Not to restore nature in this realm, but to return home (he was sucked through when you opened the portal). Therefore he needs to pass through the other megalith after getting the mistletoe to win the game. Healing at the grove doesn't work for him because he is not aware of the Old Gods, who in turn will not bless an unbeliever.

 

I'm excited to say I finally ordered this and can't wait for it to arrive! I never beat it knowing I would eventually buy it.

 

I remember it seeming harder than the original. Any tips?

 

Also was there any Easter Eggs in the first game? Going to have to play the first one while waiting for my package!

[s0c7]

4 hours ago, MrBeefy said:

Any tips? Also was there any Easter Eggs in the first game?

Make sure you read the manual. Understanding the stats can really help. Ex. If you attack something and miss, what could it potentially do to you? Would it be better to cast a spell now or conserve it? Utilize the owl?

Although it is possible to win without it, the owl can really come in handy.

Try playing as each of the different characters. They are more different than it may seem at first.

 

Just some bits I've seen people make wrong assumptions about:
Pretty much everything is random every game. This includes the placement of the cave, the open corridor in the tower, the location of the owl & key. This helps keep it fresh. What character you are playing as doesn't factor in to these things.

The owl & key can potentially be in either the forest or the cave. It is possible you might search through the entire cave only to find the key laying in front of the tower.

The probability of successfully running is based on a sliding scale. It is harder to run against the stronger monsters. It is next to impossible to run from a Crow. You might get lucky once in a blue moon, but it is usually a option best left for the weaker ones.

Depending on what point you are in the game and what the current situation is, healing more than a couple of hit points at a time is usually a bad idea.

 

 

I don't know if I would qualify these as Easter Eggs or not, but:
If you kill the demon without rescuing the princess, you get the downer ending.

If you rescue the princess but try to leave the dungeon without killing the demon, she's not too happy about it.

The last level before the hell level, if you map it out is supposed to be a stylized dw (my initals).  In Dungeon II, in keeping with the theme, if you map out the forest it is supposed to be a stylized stag's head (although it actually looks more like a reindeer from an ugly X-mas sweater).

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by s0c7