I still watch your tabletop RPG videos regularly. When I first found them, I was mystified, but in the years since I’m now 8 years deep into running a continuous campaign. Your Huckleberry Finn video in particular helped me a lot. Hoping you’re well - and selfishly, that you’ll post again.
Would love to see more videos in this series, very interesting and well researched - or even more videos on the channels as a whole. Hope you're keeping well
That's gratifying to read, and sweet of you to type. Hopefully 2021 will be less of a disaster and I can start posting things again. I admire the amount of fun stuff you've managed to produce over the years across the platform.
@@Almacov thank you! I hope to see more of your stuff this year, your videos are a great way to unwind after a day and learn some cool stuff. take your time and hope to see more in the future!
Rad video, thanks for uploading! I haven't bought an Intellivision game since 1990, and that was Thunder Castle at a Toys R Us in Baton Rouge, LA. Still have the original system and the Intellivison II from the early 80's and both are still working great! I love all of their dragon and dungeon crawler games.
I've not played this title yet, as a collector of vintage games this is particularly interesting. Have you ever heard of Tunnels of Doom? Its a pretty nice RPG for the TI-99/4A. I think you may enjoy it. Also, I really appreciate the depth and passion you put into these videos, it gives them a wonderful flavor that greatly contrasts from the typical content found here on TH-cam.Thanks for a great video Almacov!
Excellent video and overview of the game with some very well thought-out points and detailed analysis that I can't recall having seen elsewhere. As a big fan of the game I especially liked the bit of historical perspective behind it offered in the intro. Two thumbs up! This game and the Intellivision in general flew under the radar after the great North American video game crash as Nintendo became the hot thing and basically saved the video game industry here at the time. Anyway, some further thoughts: - I also have the Intellivision Lives CD shown early on in the video. A few pop up on eBay here and there but I'd say the subsequent Intellivision Rocks CD (with the Imagic & Activision games) is significantly more rare and harder to find. - Connie Goldman was an absolute animation wizard and her work was quite impressive, defying what you might have thought was possible on the system and pushing its capabilities to the limit. If I'm not mistaken she also worked on Tower of Doom which came out around the same time and you can definitely see her influence in the art direction there. I'm also glad you alluded to the easter eggs hidden in the loading screens as well as David Warhol's use of classical music :) - I am glad that you compared & contrasted Thunder Castle with Pac-man for example because I've noted before as well that, while perhaps not as easily accessible, there are many more variables involved which make it a far more strategically complex and deep game than Pac-man ever was. - THANK YOU for accurately pointing out how meaningless high score is in this game. To me it has never been a proper measure of skill or achievement in Thunder Castle. I suppose how fast you can progress could be a reasonable criteria (as you mentioned) though I feel like random chance could play into that too much. Personally I prefer how many total enemies you can kill / how far you can get. - Speaking of score note that since the comb cuts it in half you can gain extra lives by picking it up at the right times and then re-reaching certain score plateaus. Extra lives are awarded at 4000, 8000, 15000, 25000, etc (note that the numbers stated in the official manual are incorrect). So picking up the comb can actually be beneficial and it adds another nuance to the game. That fact that this tactic exists and is advantageous to your longevity in the game to me further underscores how meaningless playing for high score is. - As far as random chance goes (a.k.a. RNG): yes, while it does play a factor at the same time this is very much a game of skill. The better you get at it the more and more you realize that. One of the smart things you can do is work to gain as many extra lives as you can so as to mitigate RNG as much as possible. That can be a skill-based tactic as well. - Nice bit there about the 4 cardinal virtues. Prudence and temperance in particular stand out to me here as getting overly aggressive in this game of cat and mouse can put you in a world of hurt & potentially losing a lot of lives in quick succession. Knowing when to go on the offensive and when not to is key. As can be knowing what risks to take and when..... - I also used to struggle mightily to get beyond level/screen 9 but can now surpass it with regularity. The red demons are especially problematic here due to their speed so it's best to try and avoid leaving yourself in the position of having to potentially deal with them on a player respawn if at all possible. Just because you CAN use an item to achieve a kill on a yellow/orange demon doesn't mean that you SHOULD and leave yourself up against a red one with no decent magical item in hand as a safety net. By extension, improving one's proficiency at scoring kills without having to use items is a wise thing to work on. Additionally, in situations where you have the opportunity to slay two or more enemies simultaneously it isn't necessarily prudent to do so. As a general rule it is safer and less risky to try eliminating one stack at a time so as not to have to deal with multiple faster tier 2 or tier 3 enemies at once. As they say practice makes perfect. That and evolving one's understanding of the game and resulting strategies.
Yeah, I was fortunate enough to purchase what was probably the last copy of Intellivision Rocks that their online store had in stock. I'm really pleased to have access to all that Imagic and Activision gold. As for measuring success in Thunder Castle, the reason I think it's necessary to take into account speed of progress is that farming lives is so simple, particularly with that comb tactic. If someone is sufficiently tolerant of tedium, they could easily create a pretty massive buffer of lives. In any case, I very much agree that even with the random elements it is certainly a game of skill. A game like poker is highly random, and sometimes luck bites even good players, but without question some poker players are better than others. Thank you for taking the time to make such a detailed comment! It's great hearing from someone who appreciates the game as much as I do.
I've read about it, but I've never had access to it. It seems like the kind of weird I dig. If I ever find an Odyssey² at a yard sale... As it stands though, not likely to be covered in this series. I'm probably going to be working my way through my list chronologically anyway, unless I stumble upon and acquire something older that surprises me. Plans are not set in stone.
I'm okay, but current events have certainly complicated some things. I may put together an update video soon. I'm not in a position to do anything too elaborate at the moment, so a couple of projects stalled. Sorry for the long silence, I can't blame it all on the big news item - lots of little things have contributed to the quiet. I appreciate your concern, in any case, and hope you're safe as well. I feel very fortunate to be able to maintain a degree of isolation right now, and I worry for any that don't have that luxury.
The day almacov comes back will be a generational event. Miss this guys content so much
I still watch your tabletop RPG videos regularly. When I first found them, I was mystified, but in the years since I’m now 8 years deep into running a continuous campaign. Your Huckleberry Finn video in particular helped me a lot.
Hoping you’re well - and selfishly, that you’ll post again.
This channel has the potential to be massive. so well researched and produced.
Where you at my friend?
Would love to see more videos in this series, very interesting and well researched - or even more videos on the channels as a whole. Hope you're keeping well
The world needs you now more than ever Almacov
Still hoping to see new uploads on this channel. Cheers, Al!
Please start making videos again :(
When the world needed him the most he left us.
Yo what's up
I love your channel
That's gratifying to read, and sweet of you to type.
Hopefully 2021 will be less of a disaster and I can start posting things again. I admire the amount of fun stuff you've managed to produce over the years across the platform.
@@Almacov thank you! I hope to see more of your stuff this year, your videos are a great way to unwind after a day and learn some cool stuff. take your time and hope to see more in the future!
Come back my friend
Still waiting for more videos
Hope u come back
Rad video, thanks for uploading! I haven't bought an Intellivision game since 1990, and that was Thunder Castle at a Toys R Us in Baton Rouge, LA. Still have the original system and the Intellivison II from the early 80's and both are still working great! I love all of their dragon and dungeon crawler games.
Easily my favorite channel on TH-cam.
Can’t believe the last video was now 4 years ago. Hope you are well!
The king!
With a castle!
I've not played this title yet, as a collector of vintage games this is particularly interesting. Have you ever heard of Tunnels of Doom? Its a pretty nice RPG for the TI-99/4A. I think you may enjoy it. Also, I really appreciate the depth and passion you put into these videos, it gives them a wonderful flavor that greatly contrasts from the typical content found here on TH-cam.Thanks for a great video Almacov!
Excellent video and overview of the game with some very well thought-out points and detailed analysis that I can't recall having seen elsewhere. As a big fan of the game I especially liked the bit of historical perspective behind it offered in the intro. Two thumbs up! This game and the Intellivision in general flew under the radar after the great North American video game crash as Nintendo became the hot thing and basically saved the video game industry here at the time. Anyway, some further thoughts:
- I also have the Intellivision Lives CD shown early on in the video. A few pop up on eBay here and there but I'd say the subsequent Intellivision Rocks CD (with the Imagic & Activision games) is significantly more rare and harder to find.
- Connie Goldman was an absolute animation wizard and her work was quite impressive, defying what you might have thought was possible on the system and pushing its capabilities to the limit. If I'm not mistaken she also worked on Tower of Doom which came out around the same time and you can definitely see her influence in the art direction there. I'm also glad you alluded to the easter eggs hidden in the loading screens as well as David Warhol's use of classical music :)
- I am glad that you compared & contrasted Thunder Castle with Pac-man for example because I've noted before as well that, while perhaps not as easily accessible, there are many more variables involved which make it a far more strategically complex and deep game than Pac-man ever was.
- THANK YOU for accurately pointing out how meaningless high score is in this game. To me it has never been a proper measure of skill or achievement in Thunder Castle. I suppose how fast you can progress could be a reasonable criteria (as you mentioned) though I feel like random chance could play into that too much. Personally I prefer how many total enemies you can kill / how far you can get.
- Speaking of score note that since the comb cuts it in half you can gain extra lives by picking it up at the right times and then re-reaching certain score plateaus. Extra lives are awarded at 4000, 8000, 15000, 25000, etc (note that the numbers stated in the official manual are incorrect). So picking up the comb can actually be beneficial and it adds another nuance to the game. That fact that this tactic exists and is advantageous to your longevity in the game to me further underscores how meaningless playing for high score is.
- As far as random chance goes (a.k.a. RNG): yes, while it does play a factor at the same time this is very much a game of skill. The better you get at it the more and more you realize that. One of the smart things you can do is work to gain as many extra lives as you can so as to mitigate RNG as much as possible. That can be a skill-based tactic as well.
- Nice bit there about the 4 cardinal virtues. Prudence and temperance in particular stand out to me here as getting overly aggressive in this game of cat and mouse can put you in a world of hurt & potentially losing a lot of lives in quick succession. Knowing when to go on the offensive and when not to is key. As can be knowing what risks to take and when.....
- I also used to struggle mightily to get beyond level/screen 9 but can now surpass it with regularity. The red demons are especially problematic here due to their speed so it's best to try and avoid leaving yourself in the position of having to potentially deal with them on a player respawn if at all possible. Just because you CAN use an item to achieve a kill on a yellow/orange demon doesn't mean that you SHOULD and leave yourself up against a red one with no decent magical item in hand as a safety net. By extension, improving one's proficiency at scoring kills without having to use items is a wise thing to work on. Additionally, in situations where you have the opportunity to slay two or more enemies simultaneously it isn't necessarily prudent to do so. As a general rule it is safer and less risky to try eliminating one stack at a time so as not to have to deal with multiple faster tier 2 or tier 3 enemies at once. As they say practice makes perfect. That and evolving one's understanding of the game and resulting strategies.
Yeah, I was fortunate enough to purchase what was probably the last copy of Intellivision Rocks that their online store had in stock. I'm really pleased to have access to all that Imagic and Activision gold.
As for measuring success in Thunder Castle, the reason I think it's necessary to take into account speed of progress is that farming lives is so simple, particularly with that comb tactic. If someone is sufficiently tolerant of tedium, they could easily create a pretty massive buffer of lives.
In any case, I very much agree that even with the random elements it is certainly a game of skill. A game like poker is highly random, and sometimes luck bites even good players, but without question some poker players are better than others.
Thank you for taking the time to make such a detailed comment! It's great hearing from someone who appreciates the game as much as I do.
yo bro idk if youre still reading comments but you are amazing and jesus loves you bro
Absolutely fascinating, thank you again for the high quality content.
omg I remember playing Intellivision Baseball into the deep night when I was a college senior. damn I am OLD af. Thanks for a great video!
Come back!
It feels like I've been waiting for years for this video!
Good to see you back again 👌👌
Love your videos, please upload more often!!
Are you familiar with Quest for the Rings on the Magnovox Odyssey? It's a similar sort of game, though incorporated a physical board game.
I've read about it, but I've never had access to it. It seems like the kind of weird I dig. If I ever find an Odyssey² at a yard sale...
As it stands though, not likely to be covered in this series. I'm probably going to be working my way through my list chronologically anyway, unless I stumble upon and acquire something older that surprises me. Plans are not set in stone.
Love your videos
Dude come back
Almacov, Almacov, one two three, Covid surely didn't get thee?
I'm okay, but current events have certainly complicated some things. I may put together an update video soon. I'm not in a position to do anything too elaborate at the moment, so a couple of projects stalled. Sorry for the long silence, I can't blame it all on the big news item - lots of little things have contributed to the quiet.
I appreciate your concern, in any case, and hope you're safe as well. I feel very fortunate to be able to maintain a degree of isolation right now, and I worry for any that don't have that luxury.
@@Almacov No problem, great to hear from you. Stay safe!
I’m convinced he died. No sign of life on Twitter or anything lol RIP almocov
I'm convinced God is using you to convey messages that even you yourself are unaware of.