Larian Studios

[color:"yellow"] Azrael’s Tear [/color]

In 1993 IIRC, I bought a game; it was a FP-AD-RPG with a T3D engine; its name was “Azrael’s Tear”.
That game was a DOS game and by the standards of its time the graphics were fantastic.
I do have positive memories concerning finishing that game and having an extraordinary experience and suspense.
Yesterday, I dug that game up and installed it again and run it.
I tell you the truth, today I find its graphics miserable and its interface pathetic.
The game did not change for sure but it is me who changed; the game machines’ specifications and capability changed and the game design standards changed too.
I failed to tolerate the clumsy walk-through as seen in first person.
I failed to enjoy the low resolution polygons.
I know that it was one of the best productions of Mindscape at that time, but now there is no way one can enjoy it after experiencing Divine Divinity and anticipating the runner.

I a sure that I would like to play <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/riftrunner.gif" alt="" /> at the highest resolution available in combination was Larian Studios highly intellectual User-Interface.

Only today, the Tear of Azrael made a new sensible meaning. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

First Person, A??? D???, Role Playing Game.
What's the middle one?

Graphics haven't been a major factor in buying games for me. I do appreciate good graphics, especially with Myst style games. The biggest factor has always been the gameplay for me. I still enjoy 4D Sports Driving, better known as Stunts. Crappy untextured polygons, but an unlimited driving and stunt experience. With the freedom of the editor, you can make so many more stunts than what they provide. They lose on sound and graphics, but they win on pure fun!

AD = Adventure.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, my boyfriend and I were just saying the other day that ten years from now we'll talk about the games we play today and remark that the graphics and gameplay were cool at the time, but so outdated and miserable compared to what we'll have then. Considering some of the games coming out this fall, like HL2, I can't even imagine what games will be like 10 years from now...

I too have fond memories of some of my old games... Caveman Olympics, Little Computer People, the Bard's Tales and Ultimas, Leisure Suit Larry, the Kings Quest series, Leather Godesses of Phobos... I actually found a java version of that game, for those of you who don't know it's a text based adventure. Yup, that's right, no graphics at ALL, all text. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stupid.gif" alt="" /> The graphics on all these games are hard to look at now, but the memories will always be sweet... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

it will be funny if in 10 years all of us are still on this forum chatting, and talking about how "in our day" of the origanel <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/div.gif" alt="" /> games (there will be 10 by now)
it was funner, and origanel, but the greaphics were bad and the engine couldn't handle anything, and remember how old Lews was always spamming? and remember so and so was in those first couple games.
and remember when the chat was only in text on the Internet, I mean really, that was like 5 years ago, the Interenet, now we have the picanet



lol, but probably true; well, I hope we'll still be here <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sad.gif" alt="" />


3000!!!! yea! finally, I've reached it, the big prize at the end is!!!

what! nothing! just higher than any ranks; oh well <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />

ROFL @ lews.

and yeah, the gfx of today's games are very sweet and I think I'll still be on this forum in 10 years and maybe we'll pick this thread up again <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> ... I'm wondering as of how the forum will look like by then

Over 10 years..
I wonder if the technologie of computers will advance even more (with the speed it had done compared 10 years ago)

let's fantasise here:

-There will be a 6 gig processor
-Watercoolling is a standard by then
-Nvidia and ATI will be one company
-That stupid floppydisk drive is also a standard <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/memad.gif" alt="" />
-And duke nuke'm forever still publishes the message "it's done when it's done" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

Well I doubt floppy disks will still be a standard. Many of the notebooks are no longer being delivered with a floppy disk. The USB key is replacing them, with faster and bigger storage they are the way to go. not only on laptops but on PCs as well.

Four years ago, there was classified information concerning the development of Optical-Crystal-Memory-Cubes (AKA “OCMC”). The technology was very crude then and certainly extremely expensive, but hopefully it is not still classified, a single OCMC can hold an order of Terra Bytes of data not Giga and not Mega anymore.

Ten years from now, this technology and direct-satellite-uplinks (4GHz or more) shall be a corner stone for the first Holographic games that Microsoft shall produce and support. Larian Studios should catch up sooner than others then, as it shall be a king sitting on top of the RPG hill. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />

We may not need to buy games any more as it is going to be a membership monthly payment that allows us to uplink to software-headquarters and play the latest holographic selection of virtual reality RPG games.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

I had a problem w/my puter a few years back and I had a 40,000 terra bite drive!
LOL! I wish! @ DAD what you were talking about sounds like a book by Tad Williams, Otherland. In the book the gamers jack in , and are then transported into the game world. In that world all of the senses are active. Touch, feel, taste, etc.. The hero is a bigtime RPG'er, who holds the record for the most kills, but in RL is an invalid. It kinda reminded me at first of Brave New World, with the feely movies, but Otherland goes way beyond that. It is a good read.

Hi Mslynx
I was very serious concerning the OCMC, because the IBM R&D is on it.
Those crystals are light-active through wave frequency filtering and phase sensitive quantum-bits called “qubits”. Each quibit is a unit of memory, and each cube contains trillions of them. The idea is that the state of a qubit may be altered by a specific wavelength when a LASER beam phase is locked orthogonally with another two (x,y,z) at this particular qubit. To read the status of this qubit was and perhaps still is the problem because extremely precise scanners target a quibit by an (x,y) coordinate address controlled externally by the simultaneous z-scan. The z-axis beam is allowed to pass or not pass depending on the state of the solid crystal at that particular qubit being scanned.

Mechanical mirror scanners that control LASER beams by controlling the tilt have failed. A gated matrix had some merits but it reduced the qubit resolution drastically.

A LASER beam resembles a line and when scanned in a direction resembles a plane but when scanned in all directions resemble a cone. The cube must be within the intersection region of three orthogonal cones.

Another problem was the refractive index mathematics involved during a scan.

Ultimate precision is not required as much as targeting repeatability.

So they do have some serious problems but eventually each problem shall be solved in time.

This reality sounds like fiction but it is a convincing reality as far as I was informed on the science-physics news groups.
When such unlimited memory becomes available, the applications to manipulate it shall begin to be considered commercially and all sorts of applications shall follow.

Yes it is quite a future from now but neither it is far nor fiction.

Kind regards.


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I was not kidding either DAD. I did at one time have a 40,000 teribite drive! It cost me almost 100$ to get it fixed! Windows 98 changed the drive specs. The tech that worked on my drive had never seen anything like that befor. He was as amazed as I was. It would have been much more spectacular if the drive size was a reality! I do look forward to the new technologies comming of age. I find it all very fasinating to say the least. Anyway, I was commenting to you about a prior post where there was talk of "lets fantasize" about the future of gaming, and it reminded me of a good book! Okay? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/alien.gif" alt="" />

LOL. No not a terrible drive but a Tera-Byte Memory, where each Tera-Byte is 1000,000,000,000 Bytes, with 12 zeros thrown in. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
What would you have in that 40,000,000,000,000,000 (40 Peta Bytes!) the whole Congress library books including pictures of every cover page, with walk through tutorials and virtual reality pick-and-read and my kids reading in there as bonus video? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

LOL.

Seriously now, (I hope there was no mistake), are you sure your eyes even fell on such a beast not to mention “OWNING” one?
Just tell us what is the storage medium and for what is 40 Peta Bytes are being used and I shall believe you.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/evilgrin1.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

[What is this leg doing in my hand; and whose?] <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" />

It started out as a 40 gig, then metamorphised. When I looked at the drive everything on it was the same. Just the numbers changed to empty my wallet! LOL! Funny now, but it wasn't then!

LOL @ Mslynx, you are definitely a funny person.

Metamorphosed! ROTFLMAO

So you did not even know what a Peta-Byte drive would be.
I thought so.
It was a good laugh, thank you.

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