May: Crystals of Arborea

[1998]

Thought about giving it a try over lunch break, 3 hours later here we are



I think I was quite lucky finding the first 3 crystals quickly, last one took me a bit then.

[Tweed]

**** THIS GAME!

► Show Spoiler

GIBS BADGE!

[Kowe]

Well, it was an experience. Quite rough. Makes sense with the DOS version released in 1990.
Went with 3 Warriors with stats of 35-40-40-45. Same for Jarel. The others were mages with 35-35-40-50.
Combat was fun, the Crystal hunt not so much. Took around 4 hours in total.

► Show Spoiler

Mostly due to the fourth crystal being in the Nortwest Cave while I looked through the whole map before. Still got lucky with 3 Overworld Crystals which could be taken from the altars. Had to leave behind everyone else resting somewhere as Jarel visited the last tower.

► Screenshots

CoA1.png

CoA2.png

CoA3.png

[Furin]

Managed to finish this one. It was frustrating, to say the least

Ran into a lot of technical problems and some interesting glitches.

► Progress Screenshots

► Glitches

I think this one speaks for itself


This was a rather interesting one. Here I was minding my own business in one of the caves, when I entered this endless void. Movement messed up the screen and had to be reset by going to the menu then back to 3d. There were random rock walls scattered throughout but I was able to traverse the entire map in this place. Came across an empty demon altar, the arrows shown here (which I couldn't pick up), and eventually an endless horde of trolls:


This is where I became completely softlocked. The messages shown in the status window did not match what was happening in the battle, the sound effects also did not match, and defeating one troll horde simply started another one immediately after.

If anyone needs help trying to get around the technical issues, let me know. I probably encountered the same problem you're having.

[DagothGeas5]

Wanted to play this for quite a while and thought I'd start today
But first I wanted to ask, how are these others on the list of the GoG bundle?

Ishar: Legend of the Fortress, Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom and Ishar 3: The Seven Gates of Infinity

I will be playing it through the other link for now, but if those others are also quite nice I will be sure to add the collection to my wishlist for when I will be able to set aside some money for games

Edit to say that none of the links from the site seem to work so I will have to find another source for this. If anyone wants me to share do let me know!

[DagothGeas5]

Double post, but wished to ask, is there a way to return to the "character screen"? After clicking 3D to move the Prince I can't see any way to go back to that screen and I cannot make the party rest to heal because of it (loving it so far, though I had to battle with a complete freeze of the the game when I clicked on the book in the "character screen" and then again two other times when it froze after clicking exit on the map when, I suppose, it was simultaneously trying to alert me of enemies trying to engage in battle).

[1998]

Double post, but wished to ask, is there a way to return to the "character screen"? After clicking 3D to move the Prince I can't see any way to go back to that screen and I cannot make the party rest to heal because of it (loving it so far, though I had to battle with a complete freeze of the the game when I clicked on the book in the "character screen" and then again two other times when it froze after clicking exit on the map when, I suppose, it was simultaneously trying to alert me of enemies trying to engage in battle).

There is an Exit button somewhere in the corner, that brings you back to the char screens

[DagothGeas5]

Double post, but wished to ask, is there a way to return to the "character screen"? After clicking 3D to move the Prince I can't see any way to go back to that screen and I cannot make the party rest to heal because of it (loving it so far, though I had to battle with a complete freeze of the the game when I clicked on the book in the "character screen" and then again two other times when it froze after clicking exit on the map when, I suppose, it was simultaneously trying to alert me of enemies trying to engage in battle).

There is an Exit button somewhere in the corner, that brings you back to the char screens

It freezes and crashes giving me this issue when I click on the Exit button

► Show Spoiler

It reminds me of how also clicking the book in that menu would give me issues (making the game turn green first before completely freezing), so I am thinking there must be some shader or resolution issue. Will have to find some fix to continue as, though I can evade most enemies traveling around the map if need be, I have gotten to some sort of very maze-like tunnel (full of trolls) that goes below a very extensive area while searching for the first crystal (as directed by an old man I met in a cabin), that makes my party, as they cannot join me, sitting ducks out there.

Edit: As I can't find a fix, I found this site to play https://classicreload.com/crystals-of-arborea.html
It seems to work well, and, though it lacks the initial music, I prefer this version so far. If I will still have issues I will have to wait to get the GoG version which, I hope, will run without any such problems.

[1998]

Double post, but wished to ask, is there a way to return to the "character screen"? After clicking 3D to move the Prince I can't see any way to go back to that screen and I cannot make the party rest to heal because of it (loving it so far, though I had to battle with a complete freeze of the the game when I clicked on the book in the "character screen" and then again two other times when it froze after clicking exit on the map when, I suppose, it was simultaneously trying to alert me of enemies trying to engage in battle).

There is an Exit button somewhere in the corner, that brings you back to the char screens

It freezes and crashes giving me this issue when I click on the Exit button

► Show Spoiler

It reminds me of how also clicking the book in that menu would give me issues (making the game turn green first before completely freezing), so I am thinking there must be some shader or resolution issue. Will have to find some fix to continue as, though I can evade most enemies traveling around the map if need be, I have gotten to some sort of very maze-like tunnel (full of trolls) that goes below a very extensive area while searching for the first crystal (as directed by an old man I met in a cabin), that makes my party, as they cannot join me, sitting ducks out there.

Edit: As I can't find a fix, I found this site to play https://classicreload.com/crystals-of-arborea.html
It seems to work well, and, though it lacks the initial music, I prefer this version so far. If I will still have issues I will have to wait to get the GoG version which, I hope, will run without any such problems.

I actually just reinstalled the gog-games.to version, Exit works for me. Straight to the party/character screen.

In any case, you are not missing out much. Incredibly rough game, but very short at least.

[DagothGeas5]

There is an Exit button somewhere in the corner, that brings you back to the char screens

It freezes and crashes giving me this issue when I click on the Exit button

► Show Spoiler

It reminds me of how also clicking the book in that menu would give me issues (making the game turn green first before completely freezing), so I am thinking there must be some shader or resolution issue. Will have to find some fix to continue as, though I can evade most enemies traveling around the map if need be, I have gotten to some sort of very maze-like tunnel (full of trolls) that goes below a very extensive area while searching for the first crystal (as directed by an old man I met in a cabin), that makes my party, as they cannot join me, sitting ducks out there.

Edit: As I can't find a fix, I found this site to play https://classicreload.com/crystals-of-arborea.html
It seems to work well, and, though it lacks the initial music, I prefer this version so far. If I will still have issues I will have to wait to get the GoG version which, I hope, will run without any such problems.

I actually just reinstalled the gog-games.to version, Exit works for me. Straight to the party/character screen.

In any case, you are not missing out much. Incredibly rough game, but very short at least.

Thank you, will wait for when I can buy the GoG version then
I myself am really liking it so far, the fact it is a bit rough I find to be part of the charm. If it had a lot of maps and it was quite long, though, I can see how some things might become a hassle (especially navigation inside the cave I found, as the cave walls completely change shape when going from, for example, South then clicking to go North, opposite arrow, and then changing to go back South even though the image should stay the same as it was when first seen. That is incredibly un-intuitive if I am trying to keep track of where am I going.)

[Statesman]

Thank you, will wait for when I can buy the GoG version then

You can always get it on

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With so many glitches, it might be worth it to start over. I recently finished (just haven't posted the evidence here yet), so if you need any tips let me know.

[DagothGeas5]

Thank you, will wait for when I can buy the GoG version then

You can always get it on

Hidden Content

This board requires you to be registered and logged-in to view hidden content.

With so many glitches, it might be worth it to start over. I recently finished (just haven't posted the evidence here yet), so if you need any tips let me know.

Hidden Content

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Won't be the first time I restart, so it will be alright. I will be sure to ask if there are any issues, but otherwise I like to explore and learn things by myself. Thank you in advance if there will be a time where I will have to ask though and, even in case it won't be needed, I thank you for the offer

Also, congrats on finishing it!

[Tangerine]

I can see how some things might become a hassle (especially navigation inside the cave I found,

I highly recommend breaking out the grid paper and mapping it out as you go. The caves are not nearly as complex as the visuals make them seem and it'll save you a lot of grief.

[DagothGeas5]

I can see how some things might become a hassle (especially navigation inside the cave I found,

I highly recommend breaking out the grid paper and mapping it out as you go. The caves are not nearly as complex as the visuals make them seem and it'll save you a lot of grief.

It's alright I like getting lost, it adds to the suspense of being underground. If it will get too much to follow by orientation and memory alone I will take out pencil and paper, but thus far it was quite alright. The issue is when the image of the cave wall changes to something different instead of remaining the same when turning around, it throws me completely off balance.
I thought it was for a diagonal movement, but I did not move in any such direction whenever it happened.

[DagothGeas5]

@1998 (Did not want to derail the other topic)
I wanted to show you what I see with each, but today one of the links finally worked (number three) where before it would refuse to download the file saying I "downloaded it too many times" or some other thing like that. Thank you for having me try this one more time
The GoG version is also working correctly.

[DagothGeas5]

@Statesman Wanted to ask, I found an NPC that gave me a sword for answering his question correctly, do I have to access somewhere to equip it or is it done automatically by the game? The only inventory I see is the potions.

[Statesman]

I can see how some things might become a hassle (especially navigation inside the cave I found,

I highly recommend breaking out the grid paper and mapping it out as you go. The caves are not nearly as complex as the visuals make them seem and it'll save you a lot of grief.

It's alright I like getting lost, it adds to the suspense of being underground. If it will get too much to follow by orientation and memory alone I will take out pencil and paper, but thus far it was quite alright. The issue is when the image of the cave wall changes to something different instead of remaining the same when turning around, it throws me completely off balance.
I thought it was for a diagonal movement, but I did not move in any such direction whenever it happened.

Take heed, I like exploring too, but in the end I had to map the Cave. Ended up glitching out and traveling to every other cave within the game multiple times searching for the last crystal.

@Statesman Wanted to ask, I found an NPC that gave me a sword for answering his question correctly, do I have to access somewhere to equip it or is it done automatically by the game? The only inventory I see is the potions.

Those items are just a stat stick and it is equipped automatically.

[DagothGeas5]

Wanted to share in case it may be of help to anyone.

I was getting this error when I tried to load my save

► Show Spoiler

What fixed it is to NOT give it a custom name. In my case I had called it SAVEFIRS.DAT ("save first", but it cut off one letter, so I left it at that) so as to not overwrite the game's default saves, but doing so gave this error when loading it and the only way to successfully load my save was to go into the game's folder and rename the save file's name to match the game's default save (called DEFAULT.DAT). Now everything loads correctly.

Save game location is inside the game folder, in a sub-folder called "cloud_saves" (using the GoG version here).

[DagothGeas5]

This was an incredible adventure, truly sad it was this short. I was expecting it to be so, but not by this much, though, still, it has charm in my opinion because of it. If the map is randomly generated, that would be amazing, as I really enjoyed this game and would have loved to play more of it. Was also expecting to find some ship or something (for the island in the South-East) and so much more, but it was beautiful in its simplicity.

I loved how the combat felt like chess, in a way. It took some trial and error but I learned the positions before I could manage to read the in-game manual. The rangers were ones I was left unsure of until much later than the other classes, but once I got going it was quite a blast to hunt down orcs and dark elves just for fun, which also made me realize too late that I couldn't recover health by sleeping XD The idea of the fountain in the forest was beautiful, and though my hunting trips almost became my doom, I believe this game works so well specifically because of how it all melds together.

The final skeleton guy was quite a shock to see, especially when I came out of the dungeon I found the last crystal in and I noticed, opening the map, that all the enemies were gone. It gave me a sense of foreboding, especially because it was night-time, that it is hard to replicate, I truly enjoyed it.

► Show Spoiler

Seeing that form and those shiny eyes in the dark in front of the last tower was... no words to explain that. Through roleplay I could feel the sheer terror of the being that was there, though I am still unsure who it may be. I was going to think Morgoth would appear, but I always thought of him as someone in full black armor, though it has been a while since I read of him.


The empty map that made me realize *something was going to happen*, beautiful stuff.


The end screen (where the game also froze and I had to force-close it unfortunatly)


My party. Irvan (a warrior) died gloriously in battle defending the mages. I always knew we would lose one of our team as every good story always has this sort of sacrifice, but it was unexpected to see regardless.

Thank you @rusty_shackleford for hosting this and for making me discover such a beautiful game

[rusty_shackleford]

This was an incredible adventure, truly sad it was this short. I was expecting it to be so, but not by this much, though, still, it has charm in my opinion because of it. If the map is randomly generated, that would be amazing, as I really enjoyed this game and would have loved to play more of it.

There's 3 sequels to it that are much bigger, the Ishar trilogy.

[DagothGeas5]

This was an incredible adventure, truly sad it was this short. I was expecting it to be so, but not by this much, though, still, it has charm in my opinion because of it. If the map is randomly generated, that would be amazing, as I really enjoyed this game and would have loved to play more of it.

There's 3 sequels to it that are much bigger, the Ishar trilogy.

Had no idea they were sequels to this! Thank you for sharing! I thought they were "just" a collection of all the games done by that same company when I was perusing the collection's page on GoG.

[Statesman]

Finally got back to my home PC, so I can post these.

After I initially considered dropping the game (due to the archaic controls+getting stomped by enemies), I managed to push through. The game had a steep difficulty curve that was quickly alleviated once your party got some powerups (be it either levels or equipment). I went with the default party (3 Warriors, 2 Mages, 2 Scouts), but in retrospect, 4 Warriors+3 Mages would have been better. Archers were a headache to lineup and thus ended up nearly useless in-combat outside the initial turns; they do become OHKO machines once they get a few levels+equipment though. I suppose they were literally meant to scout landmarks while the rest of the party explored the overworld. Mages were a lot more versatile, while Warriors were pretty boring the whole playthrough.

► Show Spoiler

I really hated caves...

Sometimes they glitched, with only small portions of the screen actually responding to movement:

And in other cases the tunnels crossed over the whole continent:

Ended up finding all the (empty) pedestals before I managed to stumble upon the one holding my last remaining crystal:

Nor was Nightvision helpful at night...

Apparently my Warriors broke while in the caves:

Morgoth, I mean Mogroth ended up being easier than my first battle:

I guess the [spiritual?] sequels will end up playing on the restored lands.

[J1M]

Interesting to see others viewing rangers as less valuable. My warriors never hit with their attacks so most of my damage was from rangers so far. I was actually considering an all ranger party at one point given how enemies can't move and attack on the same turn.

I also think the level scaling of this game is wonky. My first attempt seemed significantly easier once someone died and I'm wondering if you are supposed to level up characters and then use them for another run in order to increase the chances of seeing other spells?

Can't figure out how to use teleport on the map. It made a blue circle but doesn't seem to do anything else.

Really don't like the cave sections. Should have had different areas with different wall colors or something. Currently have 3 crystals and looking for the last one but last time I was in the caves I found an area where the walls just ended and the screen glitched.

[DagothGeas5]

Interesting to see others viewing rangers as less valuable. My warriors never hit with their attacks so most of my damage was from rangers so far. I was actually considering an all ranger party at one point given how enemies can't move and attack on the same turn.

I also think the level scaling of this game is wonky. My first attempt seemed significantly easier once someone died and I'm wondering if you are supposed to level up characters and then use them for another run in order to increase the chances of seeing other spells?

Can't figure out how to use teleport on the map. It made a blue circle but doesn't seem to do anything else.

Really don't like the cave sections. Should have had different areas with different wall colors or something. Currently have 3 crystals and looking for the last one but last time I was in the caves I found an area where the walls just ended and the screen glitched.

From my experience with this game the last crystal usually is inside a cave, so you might want to focus there.
I can't speak for the level scaling, but I did notice the enemy danger is quite randomized, and with how it also allows you to import a party and the game has somewhat of a timer, so to speak, I can believe there was an intent for having a built party at the start, or at the least there is the freedom for it. I myself did not use that feature but I know I did level up quite a bit, enough that I then started to hunt the enemies on the map later on instead of strategically evade them at the very start.
As for teleporting, I cannot recall precisely at the moment, but I think to recall it was all done through the map, possibly a spell? I might be wrong, but I think I recall it was "select a location through the map, then cast the spell" or just selecting the circle? I wish I could help more

[J1M]

Interesting to see others viewing rangers as less valuable. My warriors never hit with their attacks so most of my damage was from rangers so far. I was actually considering an all ranger party at one point given how enemies can't move and attack on the same turn.

I also think the level scaling of this game is wonky. My first attempt seemed significantly easier once someone died and I'm wondering if you are supposed to level up characters and then use them for another run in order to increase the chances of seeing other spells?

Can't figure out how to use teleport on the map. It made a blue circle but doesn't seem to do anything else.

Really don't like the cave sections. Should have had different areas with different wall colors or something. Currently have 3 crystals and looking for the last one but last time I was in the caves I found an area where the walls just ended and the screen glitched.

From my experience with this game the last crystal usually is inside a cave, so you might want to focus there.
I can't speak for the level scaling, but I did notice the enemy danger is quite randomized, and with how it also allows you to import a party and the game has somewhat of a timer, so to speak, I can believe there was an intent for having a built party at the start, or at the least there is the freedom for it. I myself did not use that feature but I know I did level up quite a bit, enough that I then started to hunt the enemies on the map later on instead of strategically evade them at the very start.
As for teleporting, I cannot recall precisely at the moment, but I think to recall it was all done through the map, possibly a spell? I might be wrong, but I think I recall it was "select a location through the map, then cast the spell" or just selecting the circle? I wish I could help more

Thanks, I've been mapping the caves because when I made my way to the island the only thing I found was a fountain. At first I thought all of the caves were connected to each other, but given the shape of the map I've made I'm thinking there may actually be two separate cave systems.

I found this, which I assume is an evil alter where a gem could be? Also assuming there is more than one of these?

[DagothGeas5]

Interesting to see others viewing rangers as less valuable. My warriors never hit with their attacks so most of my damage was from rangers so far. I was actually considering an all ranger party at one point given how enemies can't move and attack on the same turn.

I also think the level scaling of this game is wonky. My first attempt seemed significantly easier once someone died and I'm wondering if you are supposed to level up characters and then use them for another run in order to increase the chances of seeing other spells?

Can't figure out how to use teleport on the map. It made a blue circle but doesn't seem to do anything else.

Really don't like the cave sections. Should have had different areas with different wall colors or something. Currently have 3 crystals and looking for the last one but last time I was in the caves I found an area where the walls just ended and the screen glitched.

From my experience with this game the last crystal usually is inside a cave, so you might want to focus there.
I can't speak for the level scaling, but I did notice the enemy danger is quite randomized, and with how it also allows you to import a party and the game has somewhat of a timer, so to speak, I can believe there was an intent for having a built party at the start, or at the least there is the freedom for it. I myself did not use that feature but I know I did level up quite a bit, enough that I then started to hunt the enemies on the map later on instead of strategically evade them at the very start.
As for teleporting, I cannot recall precisely at the moment, but I think to recall it was all done through the map, possibly a spell? I might be wrong, but I think I recall it was "select a location through the map, then cast the spell" or just selecting the circle? I wish I could help more

Thanks, I've been mapping the caves because when I made my way to the island the only thing I found was a fountain. At first I thought all of the caves were connected to each other, but given the shape of the map I've made I'm thinking there may actually be two separate cave systems.

I found this, which I assume is an evil alter where a gem could be? Also assuming there is more than one of these?

Absolutely, those are the altars where the crystals the enemies get will then be placed. As it is empty, I would simply make a note of it for later, just in case, and look for the normal crystal holders on the surface as maybe the enemies have not found the last crystal themselves or are perhaps slowly bringing it there. I think this as myself do not recall to have ever found the last crystal holder on the surface in my game but only saw one of the "evil holders" and it was the one with the last crystal, so I wonder.

As for the caves, not sure if they are randomized, but in my game there were two that were very extensive, one that connected to the island like in your case, the other being below the thick bushes in the North-center area of the map. The island one was somewhat straightforward that I recall, but the other was very extensive and connected to different areas of the map like true burrows (which, though I never saw them down there, I believed the enemies might use to travel across the map easier).
I would recommend giving it one last try to first see if the last crystal holder is on the surface, being as thorough as possible, as that will also reveal new cave entrances and, worst case scenario that the enemies took it, you will at least have already plenty of new options for cave entrances to explore for later, and as you have the other crystals, you have nothing to fear time-wise

As for the fountain, the fountain restores you as if you had a long rest plus healing that I recall, but I think it is one-time use only unless I am mistaken the one I myself found was in the forest to the East, with another fountain somewhere else I forget but that I recall as "having a lesser effect"(if you do use it, waiting a day and then checking back might show if it truly does respawn).

[Tangerine]

Thanks, I've been mapping the caves because when I made my way to the island the only thing I found was a fountain. At first I thought all of the caves were connected to each other, but given the shape of the map I've made I'm thinking there may actually be two separate cave systems.

There's also a cave in the thickets of the south east that lead to the small island, if you haven't checked that out yet. I didn't find anything on the island myself, but it might be where your last gem is.

[J1M]

Thanks for the advice folks.

At this point I've fully mapped the caves that connect the 4 entrances on the south-eastern half of the island. Found an empty alter and nothing else. Which was pretty disappointing because fumbling around without thinking about things led to me finding a shield and arrow quiver in my first attempt at the game. Those items were very impactful (ranger damage went from 10 to 25).

Two things of note from the caves: first, an empty alter so maybe I can leave the game running and eventually come back for the gem there. Second, the exit to the thicket in the south of the map closed up after I loaded my game to continue today. I guess this could be a time passage element but it just looks like a bug.

I really hope I don't have a 4th crystal somewhere on the surface because I have no idea where that would be. Went through all the tree areas already. If the monsters have taken a crystal, do you still stumble across an empty pedestal or does it get removed from the map entirely?

Next step will be to explore the other cave system via the northwest entrance. I'm assuming there is a second evil alter in there.

[J1M]

I'll give this game credit for getting me to break out the graph paper in order to navigate the mazes. Also for making the 'flee' option useful.

There's a lot of jank here. I was worried the game had glitched because in my successful attempt there was nothing to be found in the caves except the altars and at one point I found myself in the negative space between the hallways but I was able to navigate out of there when I realized it was a bug. Assuming it isn't a random layout, each of the cave networks had one evil altar. Found the last gem on the second altar.

My party was 2 warriors, 3 mages, 1 ranger. Honestly the warriors were pretty useless and if I had to play this again I'd probably take 6 mages since their attacks can't miss and don't require positioning. If you were trying to "speed run" I'd take 6 rangers and finesse the tactical combat since that could remove the need to rest.

Biggest tip for new players: flee most of your encounters on the overworld map.



@Oyster Sauce badge please.

[Statesman]

My party was 2 warriors, 3 mages, 1 ranger. Honestly the warriors were pretty useless and if I had to play this again I'd probably take 6 mages since their attacks can't miss and don't require positioning. If you were trying to "speed run" I'd take 6 rangers and finesse the tactical combat since that could remove the need to rest.

Warriors are meant to bodyblock but the sparse healing makes them a pain the *** to use properly in early. And while at end-game they can be quite strong, mages are useful at lvl 1. Bodyblocking also makes ranger suck (I mostly use my rangers as scouts early game to explore the overworld. A speedrun team, would probably have at least 1 mage due to teleportation (plus the MC counts as a warrior).