User:Datumizer/Sandbox/Gold Box gameplay
The Gold Box series of games, created by Strategic Simulations, Inc. all use a very similar engine that changed very little over the course of the series of games. The main focus of this article is to help users better understand the gameplay basics of all Gold Box games and some of the small differences.
Copy Protection
All games have a form of copy protection built in, so that pirated copies may not be easily played. In order to play the games, a player must have a valid copy with a complete manual or in the case of Pool of Radiance or Curse of the Azure Bonds, a translation wheel. The game will prompt a user to find a word in the manual under a certain section, such as "What is word 3 of journal entry 46 on page 37?". Guessing incorrectly or misspelling the word will bring another prompt. Three incorrect guesses will force the game to exit. Some games even bring the prompt up when a party tries to save the game.
Party Creation
The first step in playing the games is to form a party. Some games give a pre-made party, though many players will typically prefer to create their own. To do so, one simply needs to select "Create new character" from the menu. From here, one can select the race, class, alignment, and gender of the character.
After the basic character options are done, a player is brought to the stats screen of the character with the 6 basic attributes and hit points randomly generated. A player may re-roll these numbers, if desired. When satisfied, a player can now name the character (up to 15 characters).
The final step is selecting the appearance of the combat icon. This is a simple 2-D sprite of sorts that has different parts loaded for the head, body, arms, and legs. The player can alter these and can change the colors. The player can also change the appearance of the weapon to anything, regardless of what the character actually has equipped. A good practice, however, is to make the characters easily discernable so that one won't be confused in combat.
When finished, the final step is to save the character and add it to the party. The party may consist of 6 characters. It is generally recommended to have the maximum.
Movement
All games follow a sort of first-person point of view in the maps. To move, the player first must select the "Move" option and then uses the arrows to move around. The up arrow will move the party forward in the direction it is facing. Down turns it around, and left and right will turn it counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively.
Some places in the game allow the "Area" option which lets the player see a map of the place and can allow for easier navigation. It is typically not available in the harder dungeons. Doors may appear as walls in most "Area" views.
When the party is not moving, the player can bring up a list of things to do such as viewing stats of a party member, equipping items, encamping, or searching. The Search option lets the party get more details on some things when it moves, though it brings the encounter rate up. Some secrets can only be found with the search turned on.
Encamp
One very important option is Encamp, which is used to rest and learn spells for mages or clerics. Both casters may select from a list of spells and, when satisfied, would need to rest for a period of time to memorize those spells. After use, the spells would need to be selected again. Pools of Darkness implemented an option of saving all previous used spells to conveniently memorize them again rather than having to reselect them from the list.
One other option called "Fix", which was implemented in Curse of the Azure Bonds will allow a party to be healed very quickly by assuming a cleric casts and re-memorizes spells.
Depending on the area, an Encamp may be interrupted by an encounter and sometimes resting is impossible. The game will typically give clues on the safest places to rest. It's very important to have any used spells memorized again, so players should remember these areas.
Overworld
Many games feature an overworld. The player's party is visible by a small icon on the overworld map. In all games, except Curse of the Azure Bonds, the player may move the party icon one space in any direction at a time by using the arrow keys. In Curse of the Azure Bonds, the player simply navigates the party with a list of destinations to travel to. When the party comes to a location or if an event occurs, a list of options becomes available and the player must select one.
There are random encounters in the various overworlds, some which give options such as attacking the enemies directly or other options such as avoiding the encounter by fleeing or talking. Other encounters sometimes result in an immediate battle with no options. In some games, sometimes fleeing can give a party member bonus experience points for successfully doing so.
Combat
The games feature many battles to fight, but the battle system is relatively simple to follow. Each character and opposing monster has one turn per round to perform some action. Turns order is randomly decided at the start of battle unless one side surprises the other, then that side is favored.
A player's character, if using a melee weapon, may attack a monster by simply using the arrow keys and moving right into the monster. Ranged weapons require aiming and the target first and then firing. A ranged weapon may only be used if the user is at least one empty space away from the monster. Spells may be targetted in similar methods to ranged weapons. Monsters follow the same rules.
Any monster that loses all hit points will die and disappear from the combat screen. When all monsters are defeated, the battle is won and may be ended. The party will receive experience points divided equally among the survivors.
If a party member loses all hit points, it will go down. If the character takes damage to drop to EXACTLY 0 hit points, it will be unconscious. If it goes to -1 to -9, it will be in a "dying" status. A fellow character may bandage any dying characters to bring them back to unconscious status. Anyone reaching -10 or lower will be dead. Another method of a party member becoming inactive involves being turned to stone by certain monsters such as a Basilisk or Medusa. A party member may not be revived, be it from death, stone, or unconsciousness until combat is over, or at least until after all the opposing creatures are defeated.
It is possible to run away from battles by moving a character to the very edge of the combat screen. To successfully escape, the character must either have a movement speed faster than the enemies or not be in the visible sight of ANY of the enemies. Any character that flees will gain no experience from the battle, assuming the battle is won. If the party flees and there are any dead/inactive characters, those characters are lost permanently. It is generally not recommended to run away from battles.