The Shack Remembers: Dungeon Master! The 1987 FTL classic for the Atari ST
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- Опубликовано: 27 апр 2023
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Every time the disk drive started to spin while playing the game had you convinced something nasty was about to happen.
Oh I had forgotten that! That made the heart rush!
It was possible to tell what area of the game was being loaded based on the sound the disk drive was making.
I recall reading an interview with the developers that this was only to scare players, the whole floor was already stored in memory..
The disk spin! gave me heart palpitations 😆
Each time the cassette player STOP making noise while loading, I worried. 🥷
I'll never forget Dungeon Master and my first day with it. I was 11 years old and took a Bus to the local Mall to purchase it. I remember reading the box and manual on the Bus trip home and the excitement I had. And best of all, I remember being blown away with how immersive the game was and how it didn't only not fall short of my hugely inflated expectations but fully surpassed them! Truly in my top 3 games of all time list. I loved that time in gaming and cherish the memories of my beloved Atari ST.
Edit: I also wanted to give a shout out to the Devs. and that haunting coin they included in the box... I remember it said something like "Danger, thus reveals it's face" and had a demonic face on the one side. I remember convincing my buddy I found that coin while waling through the woods one day and it TOTALLY freaked him out! What fun! Good times!
Coming from 8 bit to my STFM, this game was simply mind blowing. This was the first time when a player could throw a Shirikan at a closed gate and sometimes the flying weapon would fly through the space between the bars. It brought a level of realism never dreamed possible.
Probably my all-time favourite gaming experience.
How this game isnt mentioned more when reeling off the classics I never understand. Brilliant game.
I'm a 60 year old gamer who played Dungeon Master on the Amiga when it first released. To this day, after having played possibly 1K+ games over the years, Dungeon Master STILL remains my favorite game of all time.
Besides all of the countless games that followed in it's footsteps (Eye of the Beholder(s), Lands of Lore, Wizards and Warriors, etc, etc), little compares to the special place Dungeon Master holds in the history of this genre.
Dungeon Master is my main memory from the 16bit days - nothing ever came close to the atmosphere of that game back then. My 53 year old brain still has some of the levels embedded in there. I may upset the wife and disappear into my lair later on to have another play for a couple of hours ;)
35 years since I played this and I still remember the final fight against the big red dragon at the end. Trapping it in a doorway, freezing it with a spell and pelting it with every firebomb, poison cloud I'd horded over countless hours finally managing to kill it just as it unfroze before it could throw a party wiping fireball :).
Loved this on my Amiga. Unique magic system.
I loved this on the amiga too
I played the hell out of this on my Amiga 500 back in high school. I loved the syllabic magic system and trying to discover new spells before I was supposed to learn them haha
Same here one of my all time favourites so far ahead of its time and refreshing in Real time 3D
It really did feel like you were going embarking on an adventure when that metal gate clanked open at the beginning. I've never felt again that nervous excitement like I did with this game, even when playing games like Fallout or Elder Scrolls. And that moment when I first opened that wooden door and met my first mummy is burnt into my memory. It scared the bejezus out of me. A brilliant game even today.
That feeling of walking through the hall of champions and picking your characters for the first time was so epic
I remember getting the Atari ST and waiting for Dungeon Master to be delivered via mail order.
A battered box arrived and it had the manual with a little back story in it and the instructions. I remember the excitement of reading the manual, the ftl logo appearing, which was amazing, and clicking the button on the entrance.
It was exactly as you said in the video....the hall of heroes was wonderful and the game hadn't even begun.
Great memories, thanks for the video.
We were so impressed by that FTL animation at the beginning back in that day!
One of my favourite games ever. Loved this playing on my mates Atari st. The atmosphere is so good. Had to wait till Bloodwych came out until I could have this experience on my Amstrad !
Anyone remember the Knightmare computer game for the ST? (The one by Mindscape.) it was dungeon master style, with a moody colour palette and outside areas, and monsters out of Tolkien. I loved it as a kid!
Absolutely. I loved Knightmare, had it on my Amiga 500, along with Captive (which I think was also Mindscape).
I believe Anthony Crowther was responsible for Captive and Knightmare. The guy had an amazing vision for fps rpgs.
I still remember the day I went to work in 1987, bought a magazine at lunchtime and saw the review of Dungeon Master, spent most of the afternoon looking at the clock and bought the game for my ST on the way home. It was probably the first 16bit game that really blew me away. I still play it now and again on my Amiga and emulators, it takes me right back to 1987 every time.
My dad showed me this game on the Apple II GS when I was little, and it's still one of my favorites. The first person dungeon crawl is my favorite genre of game because of it. Thanks dad.
It was the first game in 1987 that induced fear into me when hearing the mummies.
Best game ever I remember going out to buy an ST just to play it I still have both played it for hours
I vaguely remember that I got my own Amiga back in 1989, and this was the first game I bought for it.
An interesting detail it had, which still many new games of today lack, was look-ahead when loading stuff.
Amazing that this has now been rereleased for the C64, and it is absolutely perfect!
This? Wasn't it Eye of the Beholder?
@@pedrotimoteo329 Yes, it was.
Fantastic! DM is a game I know very well and also think it's one of the most revolutionary games made. A few years back, I could still do the first 4-5 levels completely in the dark, that's how many times I did it. 2 years back, I downloaded, compiled and analysed the source code - then I spent several months working out what all the code did, how the mechanics of spells, combat and xp gain actually worked. I left a thread on the Dungeon master forums called "DM mechanics - Azizi through the mirror of dawn" which details in pseudo code and real language, how the game actually works. As much as I appreciated the game when it came out and played it on my ST, I had that burning itch to find out what the game was really doing and it was suprisingly complex.
As a little easter egg - Only on the atari ST versions - due to a compile error, the stats anti-magic and anti-fire never actually worked in the game.
P.S. Sonja is the best char :)
classic game..defo one of the reason I bought an ST.. great video too, hope you do some more retro reviews of classic games
Same here. DM and the MIDI ports.
Oh I love Dungeon Master. I played it on the Amiga and PC. And now, on the Mister, the original ST version (which I prefer). What a great game that is!
My faaaave game! Scared the crap out of me back in the days.
In retrospective i believe that dungeon master felt so alive and creepy when the monster moved on different levels, even if you where not near them.
Would really like to see an interview with the creators!
Keep up!
Good to see this getting some love, this was so brilliant for its time.
Played on ST, took over from Elite on Speccy as my biggest time absorber! Interestingly I played it with mates like I did Elite previously. Ground breaking and loved it got me close to the AD&D I also loved to play away from the computers.
My favorite game of all time! I still play it from time to time, see if I remember all the secrets and strategies. Grind them shriekers in that little room.
Played it first in 89 on an Amiga 2500, even during the day with the shades pulled it was genuinely frightening. You really felt lost in the depths of those dungeons. Great review.
It *was* amazing.
I had a friend with an ST who moved to the other end of the country. We would send tips and spell instructions to each other via post.
Absolutely loved my time playing this. Running accidentally into my own fireballs less so. 😊
Played this on the Amiga Computer, my favorite dungeon crawler of all time, thanks!
Thank you sir great work
I've played a lot this game til the end (so cryptic... thank you old magazines to give the solution!)
I've a remark to make to this great video: you've not shown the magic system! it's one of the most innovative and clever system i've ever seen! In other games, you don't spell, you click on a "already made" spell, where Dungeon Master needed to master the system of spells.
Remember...
- first rune the strength of the spell
- Second: Element of the spell
- Third and fourth: other combinations!
What was smart?
- Low level means a low strength for the first rune... or a great mana consumption!
- Some spells had to be used with a flask to make water or healing potions. Simple and efficient!
- Some spells were cryptic with only one use... but so useful when you knew where.
- Some spells specially dedicated to a special type of monster (ghosts...)
This game has introduced so much, and is almost forgotten. The technology has made DM out of date? I don't think so. I dream of a remake with the respect of the smartests elements (magic system in top 1)!
Being surprised by the FTL boot screen while checking out my friend's new ST is what made me buy mine. The game felt so advanced back then. I played for a *ton* of hours.
I was so immersed in this game. Played it on on Amiga 1000.
I loved all of this series...Dungeon Master, Dungeon Master 2, and Chaos Strikes Back.
I was thinking about that modern game in the same vein the whole time, so I was glad to see the shoutout for it at the end :) I love how influential this one was, and it really made the best use possible out of the new 2D and sprite based powerhouses. No more empty or flashing boxes around items, now they're integrated seamlessly within the stones and brickwork. Just click on them and point to where you want the item to go. Lovely.
Dungeon Master, the game that started my love for dungeon crawlers
I owned and played Dungeon Master on my Atari ST when it came out in 1987. Having played AD&D through High School this game was particularly fun.
We had this game on our Apple IIGS back in the late 80s and kids mode was uber fun since you didn't need a torch unless you go down the dragon's den. Regular mode was scary back then and it still is today lol
I have played and beaten Dungeon Master on... The Atari ST, the Amiga (both 500 and adapted CD32), the PC (both floppy in 1990 and recently on Dosbox), Super Nintendo and Super Famicom.. I own a copy on the Sharp X68000 but haven't been able to find a machine to play it on...
It is the greatest game ever made... I play it every year in the summer to keep it fresh in my mind..
What a game that was. I loved the naughty giggle when the thief scampy thing taxed something off you and ran off lol. Happy times man.
I remember getting DM for my STFM. It was like nothing we'd ever seen before (except for maybe Starglider). What a time!
Loved this, and the Eye of the beholder series
an all-time classic. such a great game, even today, still plays great.
Dungeon master was my gateway to classic Dungeon crawlers. Eye of the beholder, Captive, Black crypt and Nightmare etc.
I love this game.
All those experiences you talk about were my experiences when I first played the Eye Of The Beholder trilogy on the PC.
I had this on the ST. Loved it along with another FTL title called Oids.
This game consumed me when it arrived...wonderful memories :) Good journey...Peace!
Released the same year as the VGA graphics card, always found that impressive, great video!
This game was a pivotal part of my youth. Wore out two mice for my Atari ST grinding up levels of ninja and fighter!
oh god yeah remember it on the Amiga back in '87. Just after I'd migrated from the C64. Great vid.
DM's 36 years old. Bloody hell! This is why I bought an ST.
Played this when I was 10 years old, and was hooked. Great memories, thanks!
Haha, good ol' THAC0. Also it was fun to get the spell to see through walls. I remember going all the way back up to the beginning of the whole dungeon, to the door that was sealed, and peering through it with that spell. That was a real treat to see what was on the other side.. :D
I still have a working Windows port of Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back. I spent countless hours playing these on Amiga and Atari ST as a teen in the early 90s.
The game that literally changed my life. Got an ST as a graduation present after four years of Economics. Played Dungeon Master into my mouse stopped working. Took it to the local computer shop (Capital Computers in Edinburgh) who cleaned it, and after several months of helping in the shop gave me a job. Been in IT ever since.
Loved the game.
I played it multiple times on snes.
I always thought I had beaten it, after I killed the dragon, but...I've installed ot on my tablet, in2023, and discovered, through reading information online, that there was still more to do!.
Played on the Amiga. Spent hours at the first wooden door getting the mages to hit it and the non-magic users to cast fireball. Made it a hell of a lot easier when everyone can cast fireball and wield a sword, fun times!!
I played on an Atari ST and I still remember vividly to this day. The time I discovered you could close a portcullis gate on the rock monster and it will kill it. Those things were tough apart from that.
This was the game that had me save up my pocket money for months to get the half meg upgrade for my Amiga 500 so I could play it.
Absolutley loved this game!
I really enjoyed your video. I never had the chance to play this title but I did play the eye of the beholder series. Thanks again!
Very nice Episode i love the Revision you made for the RPG games up to that time so people can understand a bit just how revolutionary this was at the time.I Remember it on the Amiga what an awesome game it was it really changed the way RPG's were played on the Home computers and consoles.
Still play this regularly - awesome ST game :)
*I* played it on the Amiga, thank you very much.
One of my top 3 games of all times. Awesome video. Thanks!
Excellent review of one of my favorite games ever. You really sell how it was different from everything else available at the time (though I thought Wizardry deserved it's place in this video) and how it felt to play the game for the first time. Cheers!
Edit: Eye of the Beholder deserves mention as continuing on the legacy of this style of computer game. Also one of my favorites.
This game was the main reason I bought my Atari 520STfm. Great memories!
My god, 36 years later and i can still remember a few spells off the top of my head......zo ka ra. Lol
I totally agree with you, one of the best games I ever played. I would love to play it again. I still remember my original characters, Hisssa, Chani, Gothmog, and Zed.
Ah, nostalgia has inflicted a crippling strike on me! The magic system was very clever. You weren't just equipped with ready made spells, you had to learn spells by finding scrolls. I remember the runes for a medium strength fireball looked a bit like the word "one"
I love the custom dungeons people have made on RTC😊
Thank you for this video. This brings back a lot of great memories. Played this game on my 1040ST. Incredible game for its day.
The spell system was crazy and brilliant
Had this on the Amiga. I didn't make much progress, but I do remember that pretty early in the game, like 90% of the food in my bags was "screamer slices". I was thinking damn, good thing I didn't need to rely on normal food because this would have been one truncated adventure.
My favorite game which was played on my Atari 1040 STf ❤
This & Captive 🕹 ❤
I would like to add Hired Guns.
Great retrospective. Loved this game back in the day on my beloved Atari 520 ST FM. Keep up the great work :-)
Love to see this type of retrospective
I still remember that Shieker room on the 2nd level, where you could level up as high as you liked before you continued.
Apple IIGS: I remember hearing one of the monsters laughing and running around before you even saw it.
I LOVED this on the Amiga and ST, I can never see/here mention of a fireball in a film etc without also hearing the word `Mon`
Yep many happy memories of playing this on my STFM
I’ve played this game at least once every year since I first booted it up in 1990.
The jump scare of the first mummy will forever be with me.
A true classic.
I had just completed "Sundog" (most fun I had ever had in a game to that point - HIGHLY recommended), and figured FTL would be a good bet for another fun game. Only took me about 10 minutes before I realized I was playing Tunnels of Doom again (my first ever RPG from way back in 1982). Beautiful graphics and atmospheric sound that its TI-99 grandfather could never have dreamed of (not to mention the zippy re-draws). Dungeon Master was a mastecraft of turn-based battles and 3D Dungeon exploring long before trianghles and polygons started rendering our digital worlds..
So glad you mentioned Legend of Grinrock. It brngs back the familiar gampleplay feel (including grid mechanics) with modern lighting models, free look and mult animation to the critters. I enjoyed it as much a Dungeon Master (along with enjoying the sequel to one about as much as I enjoyed the sequel of the other...neither as good as the original, but bothe quite fun.
I just noticed that Almost Human Software is based in Espoo, Finland (pronounced Espohh) - the same Helsinki suburb that gave us Remedy Software (Max Payne), Futuremark (3DMark), and more than a few of the worlds best game designers. Not sure what they feed those Viking coders (and hockey players), but please keep feeding it to them.
FTL produced only a few titles but each one was great. Sundog was also very influential on game design and considering it was written in 1985 it really showed the potential of 16 bit computers for gaming. Oids was good too.
@@arifeldman6365 I love Oids as well. A graphically stunning Gravitar clone.
Its why I bought an ST played it for days weeks even before I finished it. That led on to Captive which kept me going for months.
Loved this game to death. Felt like I was the only person who played it back then which felt even more special. Atari ST. I also loved Bloodwych, this game allowed my brother and I to spend days doing similar but 2 player! :D
Ahh bloodwych. Good creature design
This game kept from many morning college classes.
FTL Games made only a few titles but each one was great in its own way.
shout out to Bloodwych as well, many who played Dungeon Master also enjoyed it ❤
This was also my favorite game and I also played it on an Atar St
Would have loved this game back then. I geeked out over this. Thanks for the video.
I love that Dungeon Master didnt give you that "feel good" from modern Dungeon Crawlers or RPG, the nice cozy torches or little magic effects, maybe due to missing music on the Amiga? You step down the stairs and the dungeon is black! You hear nothing. You need to cast magic light to see anything, also, many times, and it fizzles out after a while. There are not friendly things in this dungeon, you are "alone"
Great game!
Loved it - played it endlessly on my 520 STFM. Final fight was so tense I still remember that……
Dungeon master and bloodwytch I loved so much.
Absolute masterpiece.
The fact that Gothmog isn't in your team is disturbing ......
Over 30 years it still has the best UI design for a dungeon crawler. Lots of games have tried to improve on it but I think the problem is it was already perfect. You can't improve perfection.
This isn't my sort of genre but I had this on the 520st. I would have been 3 or 4 when this came out and it absolutely terrified me!!! And still does to this day but I need to dig it out from time to time. Nice video 😊😊
Great video! More ST stuff, please!