Page 1 of 1

Rune translation

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:32 pm
by Zork
On a couple of occasions in posted videos I have seen rune inscriptions on the walls. When clicked with the mouse they're translated to English (or localized language). I was wondering if that is in the spirit of tutorial instruction or simply being the first inscription encountered. Will all rune inscriptions be automatically translated with a click? Perhaps Old School Mode will require some user decoding? As someone who will play without auto-mapping, I'd also welcome having to decode messages on my own. I suggest this as a future option if it's not already implemented... Petri?

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:54 pm
by DJK
Zork wrote:On a couple of occasions in posted videos I have seen rune inscriptions on the walls. When clicked with the mouse they're translated to English (or localized language). I was wondering if that is in the spirit of tutorial instruction or simply being the first inscription encountered. Will all rune inscriptions be automatically translated with a click? Perhaps Old School Mode will require some user decoding? As someone who will play without auto-mapping, I'd also welcome having to decode messages on my own. I suggest this as a future option if it's not already implemented... Petri?
Hmm in Eye of the Beholder, you could only read some runes if you had the corresponding race in the party (for example, a gnome to read the first level, a dwarf to read the 4th/5th etc) although even whithin those levels and beyond runes were readable no matter your party makeup so it was more of an exception to the rule ...

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:54 pm
by DJK
DJK wrote:
Zork wrote:On a couple of occasions in posted videos I have seen rune inscriptions on the walls. When clicked with the mouse they're translated to English (or localized language). I was wondering if that is in the spirit of tutorial instruction or simply being the first inscription encountered. Will all rune inscriptions be automatically translated with a click? Perhaps Old School Mode will require some user decoding? As someone who will play without auto-mapping, I'd also welcome having to decode messages on my own. I suggest this as a future option if it's not already implemented... Petri?
Hmm in Eye of the Beholder, you could only read some runes if you had the corresponding race in the party (for example, a gnome to read the first level, a dwarf to read the 4th/5th etc) although even whithin those levels and beyond most runes were readable no matter your party makeup so it was more of an exception to the rule ...

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:58 pm
by petri
It's a nice idea and we'll consider it in the future. One thing to remember is that we don't want to make it too tedious to read them because the engravings often contain important clues to solving puzzles.

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:21 pm
by steff74
petri wrote:... because the engravings often contain important clues to solving puzzles.
I remember when playing Bard's Tale 3 on my C64 that I wrote every single word down beside the self made dungeon map in order not to miss something which I could have needed to solve a puzzle. Hell this was work... :)

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:37 am
by Michael_ZZ
I remember the good old days when I played Ambermoon on my Amiga. There the package had a printed rune table included which you were allowed to use once you've bought a virtual one at a merchant ... :D

Then there was Riven: A Sequel to Myst where you learned the runic numbers by playing some sort of hangman game.

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:15 am
by Joe
Michael_ZZ wrote:Then there was Riven: A Sequel to Myst where you learned the runic numbers by playing some sort of hangman game.
I loved Riven soooo much. Discovered it in my college days when I used to smoke pot (don't do drugs kids). Me and a friend would stare at each screen for ages before clicking on anything just to take in any of the subtle animations like the wharks.

Re: Rune translation

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 12:58 pm
by Karkarov
Uh please don't do this. It is nice for old school flavor but adding a time sink by making us use the internet to research translations for viking runes or some included pamphlet is just a bit much. Manual mapping can be cool and make you feel like you are doing something/exploring etc, and you get a cool hand drawn map out of it. Manual rune translation for a trap hint is just a meaningless time sink.