My LOG experience

Talk about anything Legend of Grimrock 1 related here.
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Bonesxa
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Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 3:14 pm

My LOG experience

Post by Bonesxa »

Hello all. My first post. Recently completed LOG 1. Great game, enjoyable experience.

My background with these types of games: I came from playing all the might and magics. After playing and re-playing through might and magics 6-9, I found out that they made another one somewhat recently. Might and magic X, a grid-based game, in tribute to the older might and magics. I bought the game, played through it, enjoyed it. Then searched for other similar games.
That led me to discover and get into Wizardry 8 (which I've still not yet completed) and Legend of Grimrock.

What interested me in LOG was that it was a game inspired by old-school dungeon crawling party based rpgs, but in much better graphics. How awesome that is. I've also played Eye of the beholder on snes, but never got all the way through it. Those old dungeon crawling games were good, but what was really lacking was the graphics to really make you feel part of the game. How awesome it is that these games can be made now more like how they are supposed to be.

My party in LOG was Minotaur fighter with axes/armor, Insectoid rogue with unarmed/dodge (I picked the mantis looking char and imagined that it fought with it's hands that are like weapons), human rogue with missles/dodge and Lizardman mage with Earth magic, spellcraft, and fire as backup in case I run into poison immunes.

I put on old-school mode and easy difficulty for the first playthrough. Wanted to emphasize the game experience by going through a dungeon that will probably be a maze filled with puzzles, not so much just a game full of tough fighting. I also wanted to see if I could get through this game without a legit game over for first playthrough, putting it on easy should be doable.

I spent about 2 - 3 months to get through the game. I work full time so don't have that much time to play. But I felt like I lived in that dungeon when I did play. Having old-school mode turned on was fine. I didn't bother drawing out maps on grid paper. I pretty much just played it through memory, did a lot of backtracking and looking around.

I didn't use any online guides/walkthroughs or look for help. Wanted to imagine that I was actually in that dungeon. Some of the puzzles took some time to figure out yeah, but was eventually able to progress.

I spent quite a while in that 'trapped' level. That level became almost like a home to me. Because there were monsters that regenerated there, and also there was unlimited food from the snails that regenerate.

By the time I completed the game by chars were almost at level 17.

I pretty much made it all the way to the end without a game over screen, until I got to where I reassembled the cube. I was standing there after putting in the last piece, listening to it talk, realizing that ok so you were lying, then all of a sudden, all my chars die and I get the game over screen. At first I was like wtf? is this the end? After you fix the machine you die and the game is over?
I reloaded thinking that maybe if I get back, I can survive? Yes, I saw the machine (cube) come to life and move then I fell down one of the pits to the lower level. Never expected that the machine I assembled would come to life and start moving around. So I guess if this was real that would've been my death.
Upon defeating the cube at the end, I thought maybe a portal or something would open and what would be the ending? but no, the mountain exploded...

When I got to the Prison level, before I re-assembled the cube and completed the game, I had several questions that I wrote out. Most of them were answered later but some of them are still not completely known. Here were my questions:
- How much further does this place go?
- Who is speaking to me telepathically and through my sleep?
- As Toorum asked, why is it only possible to transverse this place from the top down, if that is even indeed true?
- Why was this whole dungeon created?
- Why is this place called the prison? to what?
- Why have they closed / disabled the portal?
- Where does the portal lead? out? or somewhere else?
- Who are 'they' and what are their motives?
- What are the tremors caused from, why and when do they repeat? What effect do they have on the dungeon, if any?
- What are the tentacles that attack sometimes, from some larger creature?
- Why are there a bunch of torches and bags of torches lying around on last level? Seems like I'm going to be needing a whole lot of them for something?

Just downloaded LOG2. What an amazing experience right off the bat. Shipwrecked on a deserted island. I just got to the 3rd level and there is a huge building/structure that awaits. Never expected to see such a building on this island...
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Isaac
Posts: 3172
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:02 pm

Re: My LOG experience

Post by Isaac »

Bonesxa wrote:I spent about 2 - 3 months to get through the game. I work full time so don't have that much time to play. But I felt like I lived in that dungeon when I did play. Having old-school mode turned on was fine. I didn't bother drawing out maps on grid paper. I pretty much just played it through memory, did a lot of backtracking and looking around.
...
Just downloaded LOG2. What an amazing experience right off the bat. Shipwrecked on a deserted island. I just got to the 3rd level and there is a huge building/structure that awaits. Never expected to see such a building on this island...
Welcome to the forums Bonesxa!
My first LoG2 game was played using Ironman mode, and single use crystals; it took me over a month to complete; perhaps nearly two.

Did you play any mods for LoG1? I'd like to recommend the One Room Round Robin 2 mod for LoG1. It was made by twenty two of us, and took over a year to design and test. As someone who finished the base game, you would be able to notice [and perhaps appreciate] some of the changes and improvements done to it for the ORRR2. 8-)

As to some of your your questions:
SpoilerShow
*I think the earthquakes are just atmospheric
*I think the voice was the cube
*I think The prison was [almost certainly] to hold the cube
*The Tentacles seem to be separate sewer monsters.

**Toorum has a secret ;)
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Komag
Posts: 3654
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2012 4:55 pm
Location: Boston, USA

Re: My LOG experience

Post by Komag »

Nice read on the whole immersive experience you went through, that's the right way to play Grimrock! Might I humbly suggest you try Master Quest - you can import your final party from a save game, and experience a new harder take on the Grimrock dungeon, with further texts delving a bit deeper into the lore at the end as well. There are a couple new boss fights, new features such as armor sets and quick action bar, a more complete ending, and much more.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5195
Finished Dungeons - complete mods to play
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Sir Tawmis
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Re: My LOG experience

Post by Sir Tawmis »

As the others said - welcome to the forum - and cool read. Do you plan on playing LOG2? It's more "open"... and would love to read your thoughts on that.
Define ... 'Lost.' Neverending Nights - The Neverwinter Machinima that WILL make you laugh!
Also read: Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance here on the forum! Check out the site I made for Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance.
Bonesxa
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 3:14 pm

Re: My LOG experience

Post by Bonesxa »

I'm playing LOG2 now. Progress is going quite slow because I work full time and also get busy sometimes, and I'm also playing 3 parties at once. So I'm basically doing everything 3 times. The reason for 3 parties is because there are so many cool looking characters and also I want to try several different builds. Playing them on easy at first. I've also started a few new parties on normal and hard but did not go very far.

LOG2 being more open world, I'm used to that as I've played all the recent might and magic games.

I'd say the best experience so far was right at the start of the game, starting off shipwrecked on a deserted island and going through the first few levels was an amazing experience.
Now I'm at a point where there are a few things I have not yet figured out, so I'm just circling around the island looking for things I have not done yet and killing respawns. Each of the 3 parties I sent them in different directions so they are all kind of all over the place.

Still have not collected all of the power gems, and most recently I was exploring the crystal mines. I have no idea what awaits after that.
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Sir Tawmis
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Re: My LOG experience

Post by Sir Tawmis »

Bonesxa wrote:I'm playing LOG2 now. Progress is going quite slow because I work full time and also get busy sometimes, and I'm also playing 3 parties at once. So I'm basically doing everything 3 times. The reason for 3 parties is because there are so many cool looking characters and also I want to try several different builds. Playing them on easy at first. I've also started a few new parties on normal and hard but did not go very far.

LOG2 being more open world, I'm used to that as I've played all the recent might and magic games.

I'd say the best experience so far was right at the start of the game, starting off shipwrecked on a deserted island and going through the first few levels was an amazing experience.
Now I'm at a point where there are a few things I have not yet figured out, so I'm just circling around the island looking for things I have not done yet and killing respawns. Each of the 3 parties I sent them in different directions so they are all kind of all over the place.

Still have not collected all of the power gems, and most recently I was exploring the crystal mines. I have no idea what awaits after that.
The fact you can multi-task playing three parties is amazing... My sole problem with LOG1/2 is ... if I walk away for an extended time, I will have completely forgotten what I have or haven't done, and have to basically almost retrace my steps to the very beginning to see what needs to be done. :(
Define ... 'Lost.' Neverending Nights - The Neverwinter Machinima that WILL make you laugh!
Also read: Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance here on the forum! Check out the site I made for Legend of Grimrock: Destiny's Chance.
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