Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Updated Preview
We visit Mattel Interactive to track the progress of Pool of Radiance 2.
The latest build of Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor shows that the game's creators have made a great deal of progress on an already solid foundation for the game. Despite the fact that Ruins of Myth Drannor will feature detailed 3D graphics and TSR's new 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules, it will be a traditional computer role-playing game that's the spiritual successor to a true role-playing classic: the original Pool of Radiance. That's not just because the two games share the same title, either; both the original and the new Pool of Radiance games are developed by Stormfront Studios and published by SSI.
There have been many new features implemented into the current build of the game, including most of the game's lighting and special effects. This latest build features full day/night cycles, as well as spectacular effects for the game's many magic spells, which have also been implemented as per the 3rd Edition rules. For instance, as producer Jon Kromrey demonstrated, when the infamous magic-missile spell is cast by a high-level sorcerer, it can be used to attack multiple targets within a certain range. Some magic spells, like the eighth-level cleric spell fire storm, blanket the screen in billowing flames and showers of sparks. In addition, the game features lighting "halos" on characters that have been targeted by spells with persistent effects, like bless. These indicate not only what sort of spell has affected each character but also about how long it will last before it runs out.
Ruins of Myth Drannor's character-generation system is also more or less complete, and it seems to be a streamlined and easy-to-use way to create 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons characters. Though you'll eventually have a party of up to six characters, you'll only be able to generate up to four at the beginning of the game. The remaining slots will be designated for allied nonplayer characters, which will become player characters under your control once they join the party. When generating your characters, you'll be able to choose from six of the 3rd Edition's seven character races (the seventh race, gnomes, wasn't implemented in the 3rd Edition Rules when Ruins of Myth Drannor began development, so it isn't included in the game). You'll also be able to choose from eight different character classes: the fighter, the ranger, the paladin, the barbarian, the monk, the sorcerer, the cleric, and the thief. Single-classed characters (those that don't join any other character classes) will be able to advance to 16th level; clerics and sorcerers will be able to attain spells of up to eighth level.
Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor Quick Links
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- Ubisoft
- Stormfront Studios
- Computer Role-Playing
- Release: Sep 28, 2001
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