I still think the Atari XL version was the best, I have played every version
(I think) and the XL version was the only one where everything worked as it
should. I can still remember the day I found the magical flame sword, wow!
that was something, but I only found 1 and the amount of stuff you used to
find after quaffing a treasure finding potion was great. In the ST version I
have, magical flame swords were found about every 20 kills, and treasure
finding was minimal.
OK so you could get Jobs and join guilds, but if I remember rightly the idea
was to reach the palace before you could join a guild in the original game
plan. You could also buy houses and open the houses of ill repute, once you
had bought the deeds.
As for the PC version I have only played this in the last 3 or so years and
I also think it's the weakest of the ports.



-----Original Message-----
From: Xavier [Xavier--rocketmail.com]
Sent: 04 October 2004 23:30
To: <Address Masked>
Subject: RE: Player ages.

Frank, are you insane? How can you compare the 16
color PC version to the beautiful Atari 256 color
version? What about the lack of sound on the PC?
No way, the Atari and Commidore versions were WAY
better.

No, my intention is NOT to start a war here. :)

--- "Piringer, Frank" <Frank.Piringer--msnyuhealth.org>
wrote:

> I cede to your youth.
>
> In terms of the City -- well, I tried playing the PC
> version, and my
> impression was that it felt very ... Incomplete.
> Not far from your
> estimation. However, the other versions I've played
> (ST and C64, both
> emulated) fared much worse -- in fact, I thought the
> PC's graphics were
> superior and much more convenient (no disk
> swapping!).
>
> There was no Dungeon for the PC. There were rumors
> of a port, but
> nothing ever materialized. A half-complete Amiga
> port was done, but UAE
> always choked on the image for me so I can't compare
> it to the others.
>
> In my heart, AR will always be an Apple //c game. I
> think I still have
> an old 286 Laptop with the City and a few SSI
> Goldbox games installed,
> but it's not as fondly recollected.
>
> --Frank
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rebecca Steltzer
> [rsteltzer--15wpharmacy.com]
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 5:33 PM
> > Subject: RE: Player ages.
>
>
> Actually, the award goes to me!
>
> 23 (and female). I played the PC version - it came
> bundled with my
> first computer. I was 10 years old at the time
> (1990 for those who
> don't want to do the math) and quickly became
> obsessed with Alternate
> Reality. At the time thought that I somehow had
> received a "broken"
> game - I would go through some doors and get an
> error message "Can't
> find dungeon.exe" or "Can't find arena.exe", etc. I
> was also quite
> annoyed that no matter what I did, I could never
> join a guild. I had
> found it all quite mysterious - there were so many
> unanswered questions
> surrounding AR.
>
> Of course when I looked it up online later in life I
> got the answers to
> all my questions - and then some. It really upset
> me to find out that
> it was never completed - there was no other game I
> can remember from my
> childhood that captured my attention quite like AR
> did.
>
> Speaking of the past, I have since played the Atari
> version on an
> emulator and was always struck by how difficult it
> must have been for
> you all to make money in the city at the beginning.
> The PC version had
> jobs at various locations - the Inns, the Taverns
> and the Banks - and I
> could always just work a lot if I needed extra cash
> (or needed to pass
> some time).
>
> Is there anyone else here who played the PC version?
> How do you think it compared?
>
> Rebecca
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Piringer, Frank
> [Frank.Piringer--msnyuhealth.org]
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 10:14 AM
> > Subject: RE: Player ages.
>
> I'm 26 -- so I guess I win!
>
> I got interested in AR back in 1985 (yes, I was 7)
> thanks to those
> full-page adverts in Home Computing magazine -- the
> magazine published
> the code for BASIC games, and I was teaching myself
> the language despite
> being in 2nd grade. Does anyone remember the name
> of the uber-character
> that was in there--I want to say Jester the Quester
> but I'm pretty sure
> I'm wrong.
>
> Anyway, I had already gotten my feet wet in the RPG
> genre with Wizardry,
> but I had gotten fustrated with the multi-character
> parties and quasi-3d
> maps and had sworn off RPGs until I saw the ads for
> AR. Even though my
> computer was a meager little Apple //c, with it's
> Monochrome graphics
> and one 360k floppy drive, it was still being
> developed for and had some
> of my favorite games still to this day (7 Cities of
> Gold, Oregon Trail,
> and Night Mission pinball)
>
> Unfortunately, the only version I ever got for my
> Apple was the Dungeon.
> Or maybe fortunately, because after playing the City
> much later I can
> say that the Dungeon was a much more rewarding
> experience for a young
> explorer. If I had the complete open-endedness of
> the City I probably
> would have gotten bored pretty quickly. Having all
> of the dungeon's
> different environments to explore was so fascinating
> for me. I
> literally spent days just searching every square of
> the Sewers,
> searching for secret passages and bashing Molds and
> Rats with my torches
> (my weapon of choice for lv0-3).
>
> To this day I'm dissapointed ARO never got developed
> -- the MMO market
> was still young, and AR was *built* for just that
> kind of world, ten
> years before they became mainstream. Sometimes, I
> still boot up AR:D in
> my Apple II emulator -- it just doesn't feel the
> same on any other
> platform -- and wander around familiar hangouts.
> Not to mention the
> stares I get on the subway when I sing "The
> Devourer" when I get into
> the mood ;)
>
>
> Is it him or her? Is it scale or fur? Does it occur
> In the dark of night? Crystal Cavern Light? Metal
> appetite?
>
> I want to know...
>
> I want to know...you...
>
> --Frank
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Darryl Giors [darryl--mindsyncpost.com]
> Sent: Saturday, October 02, 2004 8:56 PM
> > Subject: Player ages.
>
>
> Wow, I hadn't previously thought of myself as a
> junior member of the AR
> List but I just might be one of the youngest. I was
> only 10 Y.O. when
> AR:C came out. My brother picked up a copy a few
> months after it came
> out but I didn't really play it until Summer of '85.
> I was instantly
> enthralled with the gameplay and one of my best
> friend's whom I still
> see regularly was into the game as well. It became
> a regular after
> school habit. I couldn't wait until the Dungeon
> came out and I was
> counting the days despite the delays that occurred.
>
> Anyhow I'm currently 29. Anybody younger than that
> around here?
>
> Darryl Giors
>
> Lance, of the City of Xebec's Demise
>
> Tyr, wielder of the Eater of Evil, wrought by the
> Dwarven Smithy of the
> Dungeon.
>
>
>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> The Alternate Reality Mailing List Archive
> http://www.alternaterealityarchive.com/
>
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