I must admit I have never heard of Kingfield before.
Am I missing out on something?

In the UUW games all of the monsters and items and
stuff are in the same places (Well your secret room in
UUW2 has different stuff dependant on your class, but
that is all I can think of.) This takes some of the
replayability out, I usually wait awhile before I play
it again, after I beat it. I like the replayability in
AR.

There is something in the UUW games that is also in AR
that I really like, and I feel isn't in so many games
anymore. I am talking about the extra level of
immersion. AR is full of examples (I haven't found
another RPG that has taverns with a full menu of
items, dozens of diseases that have different
incubation periods, effects, and may stay hidden or
mess with the stats at the top of the screen.) UUW is
also full of examples. I like it how you can pick up
practically anything and put it in your inventory, how
there are different kinds of food (You can make
popcorn by using a torch on corn. Eating dreamspice
allows you to visit the Ethereal Void when you sleep.)
Many different skills, and a well done
conversation/bartering system.
Another thing about both AR and UUW is that they are
1st-person, you control one character as if you are
the one in the game.

I also enjoyed Morrowind and Wizardry 8.

What I have heard about Arx Fatalis (Including this
thread) seems to fit the pattern I enjoy.


--- Darryl Giors <darryl--mindsyncpost.com> wrote:

> Once again not AR related :)
>
> Indeed I did find the samurai sword. I
> wholeheartedly agree that KF1 was
> much better than KF2. Largely it was because KF2
> limited the playing field
> to 2 dimensions to make the automap work. KF1 with
> no automap had corridors
> and caves in complex overlapping layers making the
> environment very rich and
> fun to explore.
>
> If you missed it Kingsfield IV came out on the
> Playstation2 about 3 years
> ago. It follows quite closely in the footsteps of
> KF1 but the graphics are
> far far better (not to mention the framerate is
> almost always perfectly
> smooth). The feeling of immersion and the level
> design truly stand out.
> The only complaint I have about the aesthetics in
> KFIV is that the
> environments feel a bit claustrophobic. Wide open
> spaces don't have the
> appearance of being expansive enough. That is a
> shortcoming I felt in Arx
> Fatalis as well.
> http://kingsfield.agetec.com
>
> BTW if you are wondering why there is no mention of
> Kingsfield 3 it is
> because the real KF1 was never released outside of
> Japan. Here's a list.
>
> KF1 Japan= Not released U.S./Europe
> KF2 Japan= KF1 U.S./Europe
> KF3 Japan= KF2 U.S./Europe
> KF4 Japan= KF4 U.S./Europe
>
> That should keep everybody nice and confused :P
>
> Thank you,
> -Darryl Giors
>
> Mindsync Post Production
> www.MindsyncPost.com
> 9507 Olema St.
> Temple City, CA 91780
>
> Voice: (626) 254-1590
> Cell: (626) 665-1590
> darryl--mindsyncpost.com
>
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> effects, titling, compositing, sound for picture
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: cdabladerunner--aol.com
> [cdabladerunner--aol.com]
> Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2005 6:26 PM
> > Subject: Re: Ultima Underworld I & II
>
>
> I am a big fan of the kingsfield games I liked 1
> better than 2 Did you
> ever find the samurais sword on his grave?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Darryl Giors <darryl--mindsyncpost.com>
> > Sent: Sun, 3 Apr 2005 18:00:31 -0700
> Subject: RE: Ultima Underworld I & II
>
> I played through Arx Fatalis a little over a year
> ago. It was fun but
> I had
> a few complaints about it after playing games such
> as Morrowind and the
> Kingsfield series on PS1/PS2. I can draw parallels
> between Arx and the
> other games mentioned from experience but I never
> did play the UU
> games.
> Perhaps I felt that playing Arx would clue me in
> to what I had been
> missing.
> Ultimately I felt it was a mixed bag.
>
> Thigs I loved about Arx:
> Single player character RPG. I dislike party RPGs
> in general and the
> focus
> on a single character was nice.
> Immersive environments (similar to Kingsfield)
> Huge variety of food and herbal items.
> Ability to grind certain items into powder which
> then could be made
> into
> potions (however much more limited than the Alchemy
> in Morrowind).
> Symbol based magic system (hard to learn but
> "writing" runes with the
> mouse
> to cast spells gives the magic system a "hands on"
> feel missing in
> almost
> every other game)
>
> Things I disliked about Arx:
> No random encounters (this made a cieling to how
> far you could level
> up plus
> once areas were cleared there was not much fun in
> revisiting them)
> No outdoor environments making day/night cycles
> and weather
> non-existent.
> Claustrophobic linear environments and frequent
> load times between
> somewhat
> small areas of exploration (Kingsfield I, and IV
> had similar
> claustrophobic
> environments but they were far more non-linear and
> the environments
> were
> streamed so you never broke from the action unless
> you visited a save
> game
> station or brought up a menu)
> Limited selection of weapons. It seemed most
> weapons were quite
> generic and
> there was small variety to be found in armor as
> well.
> Fairly limited character creation. Compared to the
> likes of Morrowind
> your
> character creation and development was very
> limited.
>
> Hopefully if you are familiar with UU I&II you
> will be able to glean
> from
> what I've said if Arx Fatalis is similar.
>
> Also although they are console games I've been a
> long time fan of
> Kingsfield. They are very slow paced and suffer
> many limitations but
> the
> atmosphere in them is amazing. Few games have ever
> given me the sense
> of
> "being there" as these have. Overall I was hoping
> Arx Fatalis would be
> more
> akin to these games but was somewhat disappointed.
>
> -Darryl Giors
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric Platt [eplatt314--yahoo.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 11:28 AM
> > Subject: Ultima Underworld I & II
>
>
> I just finished UUW II again. I just love the 2 UUW
> games. (I like Ultima I & Ultima III - VII also.)
>
> Are there any games out there that are similar to
> UUW
> and AR that anyone would recommend? I have heard
> things about the game Arx Fatalis, and have even
> heard
> it compared to an UUW III.
>