CoffeeCan 3 Share Posted August 17 I've search this website for any way to read the content of all the books and scrolls (I love lore and just wanted a complete read of it all) and came up empty. Most of the links are to websites long gone and the wayback machine didn't have the pages I needed archived. The wiki on the other hand was incomplete and search other pages revealed some, but a few on pages that wasn't the Books and Scrolls one looked as if they had been run through a translator and as a result some of the word choices (and in one case an entire line) was weird/missing. I really just want to finish reading the entire lore and I did the Vampiress run trick for an entire two days now and am still missing: Enemies - Bolting Terror, Dwarf: Ghost, Hornet, Insect Larva, Shadow Guard, Skull Ripper History - Book of History I : Origins of Ancaria Recipes - II : Fried Bread of Alkazaba noc Draco, III : DeMordreyan Mutton, IV : Bravesbury Steamed Spinach, VIII : Moorbrook Pepper Sauce for Calf or Game Animals Religion - Introduction to (Fire, Water, Earth) Magic ( which is Books of Religion VII, IX, X), (XII) Persuasion for Professionals, (XIII) Persuasion: Forbidden Sources I've assembled what I have here if anyone want to see it themselves (and please tell me if I have something wrong) : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sv_7BXVdY7qRQ7a1cADqj_Wlr_6Ps8mStnwzfxKXyaI/edit?usp=sharing If anyone knows of anywhere is can find these, mainly the religion and history, I'd appreciated it. 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Popular Post Share Posted August 17 Here are the missing books, part one. Btw, getting them all together, like the npc's in Mascarell strongly suggest, gives you a fantastic bonus from the goods indeed: My weapon slot nr.1 becomes a bit unstable and the weapon icon disappears, when I hover with the cursor over certain combat arts. Cool, huh? I am absolutely convinced that I caught some monsters off guard with my new trick, leaving them behind, frustrated and confused. Bolting Terror The intelligent Bolting Terrors live in small groups. Their bodies are half-humanoid and they have strong legs, making them perfect fighters. However, their asset is speed, not strength. They evade attacks with little effort and will strike back swiftly and purposefully. Bolting Terrors are half-demons and they can also muster magic during fights. Dwarf: Ghost Dwarves are virtually extinct in Menelgond. Some Dwarf ghosts still roam near ancient tombs or below the earth. It is said they seek eternal peace; however, solace has been difficult to find. The ghosts are disoriented and aggressively hostile. Hornet The Hornets are especially dangerous when they attack as a swarm. These insects exist in three types: queen, hunter and drone. The drones are somewhat mindless and easy to defeat, the hunters are a little more dangerous and one should consider carefully whether to attack a queen. Insect Larva The insect larva appears to be an oversized worm at first glance. It moves in strange undulations and is not very fast. However, as soon as it opens its mouth it becomes apparent that this is not a harmless worm. Insect larvae are usually found in groups. Shadow Guard The Nagaya are the personal guards of the Demon Lords. Just like their masters they are slaves to Anducar and willingly fulfill any order they are given. Their origin is unknown but rumor says that the Demon Lords used their magic on several insect species in order to create these creatures. Skull Ripper The small, malicious Skull Rippers prefer to ambush their prey from dark niches, where they wait silently before they attack with a piercing shriek. Skull Rippers feature long extremities with sharp claws and pointed teeth that pierce through skin with ease. Their ability to see perfectly in the dark is a great advantage over their victims. Book of History I : Origins of Ancaria Sophia, Royal High Priestess and Guardian of the monastery fortresses of the Seraphim has bequeathed to her son, Aarnum I., the monastery at Icecreek Dale. Aarnum, who is wild and impetuous, has grown up in a world where the Orcs and the Dark Elves roam far and wide, bringing death and fear and oppressing the inhabitants of a region desperate for peace. The Seraphim, being few in number and having little strength, refused to help Aarnum, who then fled to the forest stronghold of Tyr-Fasul in the elf lands. With the passage of time, he managed to amass an army of mercenaries and itinerant knights. He then deprived the Royal High Priestess of her power and, with the aid of his forces and the dwarves of Gnarlstat, brought together a great army with which he attacked the Dark Elf castle of Mhurag-Nar on the plain of Ancaria, driving out the elves and naming it Braverock Castle. He proclaimed himself king and took away all the power that the Seraphim had previously enjoyed within the borders of his new kingdom. And now the sons of Aarnum I are continuing the expansion of his empire, ruling the lands with an iron fist. Knights, brigands and bands of thugs comb the landscape, hunting down and killing any Orc or Dark Elf they come upon. Fried Bread of Alkazaba noc Draco Take young gourds. Pare them and carve them into pieces. Cast them into good broth, adding a good portion of minced onions. Take cooked pork, grind it, and mix it with egg yolks. Add saffron and salt and serve it forth with sweet powder. DeMordreyan Mutton Take bread and fry it in grease or in oil. Take it and lay it in red wine. Grind it with raisins, take honey and place it in a pot, then cast thin egg whites with a little water and beat it well together with a slice. Set it over the fire and boil it. When the heat rises to boil over, take it off and let it cool. When it is ready, mingle with sugar and spices. Salt it and let it stand, flourish it with white coriander in confection. 1 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Popular Post Share Posted August 17 Recipes - IV : Bravesbury Steamed Spinach A dish, in which each part has a different color, is made like so: Roast chickens on a spit, but do not put them too close together. And when they are roasted, make six colors, the white is made like so: Take an egg white, put a little flour into it, make a thin batter. Brown is made like so: Take sour cherry jam, make a brown batter with eggs and flour. The yellow make like so: Take egg yolks, some wheat flour, saffron and three or four eggs, out of which make a batter. Green is made as follows: Take parsley, and strain it together with eggs through a cloth, put flour with it and make a batter. Black, take flour and eggs, make a paste out of it, put powdered cloves therein which have steeped overnight in beaten eggs, put enough into it, so that it becomes truly black. When you have made the five colors after this fashion, then baste each chicken with its color and take care that it is no longer too hot. And when the color is dry and adheres, then draw the chickens off the spit and lay them next to the other roasted meats on a dish. Recipes - VIII : Moorbrook Pepper Sauce for Calf or Game Animals Take wine and honey. Set that on the fire and let it boil. And add thereto pounded ginger more than pepper. Pound garlic, but not too much, and make it strong and give it impetus with egg whites. Let it boil until it becomes brown. One should eat this in cold weather. Religion - Fire Fire magic makes use of the element of fire, which is directly opposed to the element water. Fire magic eats into and devours things; it is also fast-moving. The fire form conjured up always has the purpose of weakening other elements and consuming them. From this come fireballs (in conjunction with air) and circles of fire (in conjunction with earth), as well as a protection spell in which the magician himself becomes a fiery form. In conjunction with air and earth, it is even possible to call down burning meteorites from the sky. Religion - Water Water magic makes use of the element of water, which is directly opposed to the element of fire. The element of water is flowing, resilient and penetrable. Once combined with other elements, frost spells can be created, which can cause acidic burns, engulf someone in fire and ice, or cause the mage himself to take the elemental form of water. This ability can also be passed on to other mages. It has been reported that once in a watery form, agility can be substantially increased. Religion - Earth Earth magic makes use of the element of earth, which is directly opposed to the element of air. Earth magic is static and heavy; using the mass of the element in its resonating form. These resonances can be channeled to create phenomenons such as cracks in the earth or even to harden the skin. Combined with water, frosted surfaces can be created on the ground. This type of casting does cause some disagreement about whether the result is a water spell, earth spell, or in fact an obscure hybrid of the two. Some researchers are also unclear on how to categorize the spells of healing, protection and aura. Persuasion for Professionals Among the different religious groups, cults and sects have spread panic and fear across the lands with their own rituals and sacrifices. Snake cults, where virgins are thrown into pools of poisonous snakes, blood cults, where men have their beating hearts pulled out of them or even birth rituals where the newborn child is thrown to a willing beast, have always existed in many regions of Ancaria. These cults became almost extinct though when Valorian I resurrected the Seraphim. A more open craft is the use of virgins in dragon cults. The use of virgin meat leads to psychological stresses. Others say, it is a human mistake to think dragons would make a difference. A study is currently underway in Mystdale Castle to determine if virgins taste different from non-virgins. Persuasion: Forbidden Sources It is argued whether or not a case system exists in Ancaria. Conspiracy theorists claim the family of DeMordrey is in league with the forces of evil and on the new moon of the new year they will take control of the kingdom. There is enough evidence to suggest that the noble houses are on the move, trying to ban minority groups. However, the Seraphim are looking into this backstabbing claim. New research suggests a massive increase of interest in the occult. Though it is not the fanatical religions who are being investigated but the 'gray ones' whose hunger for power is being fed with illegal deeds. Claims that these groups endeavor to gain demonic powers are seemingly unfounded rumors. You're welcome! 1 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 18 20 hours ago, Dax said: Here are the missing books, part one. Btw, getting them all together, like the npc's in Mascarell strongly suggest, gives you a fantastic bonus from the goods indeed: My weapon slot nr.1 becomes a bit unstable and the weapon icon disappears, when I hover with the cursor over certain combat arts. Cool, huh? I am absolutely convinced that I caught some monsters off guard with my new trick, leaving them behind, frustrated and confused. Bolting Terror The intelligent Bolting Terrors live in small groups. Their bodies are half-humanoid and they have strong legs, making them perfect fighters. However, their asset is speed, not strength. They evade attacks with little effort and will strike back swiftly and purposefully. Bolting Terrors are half-demons and they can also muster magic during fights. Dwarf: Ghost Dwarves are virtually extinct in Menelgond. Some Dwarf ghosts still roam near ancient tombs or below the earth. It is said they seek eternal peace; however, solace has been difficult to find. The ghosts are disoriented and aggressively hostile. Hornet The Hornets are especially dangerous when they attack as a swarm. These insects exist in three types: queen, hunter and drone. The drones are somewhat mindless and easy to defeat, the hunters are a little more dangerous and one should consider carefully whether to attack a queen. Insect Larva The insect larva appears to be an oversized worm at first glance. It moves in strange undulations and is not very fast. However, as soon as it opens its mouth it becomes apparent that this is not a harmless worm. Insect larvae are usually found in groups. Shadow Guard The Nagaya are the personal guards of the Demon Lords. Just like their masters they are slaves to Anducar and willingly fulfill any order they are given. Their origin is unknown but rumor says that the Demon Lords used their magic on several insect species in order to create these creatures. Skull Ripper The small, malicious Skull Rippers prefer to ambush their prey from dark niches, where they wait silently before they attack with a piercing shriek. Skull Rippers feature long extremities with sharp claws and pointed teeth that pierce through skin with ease. Their ability to see perfectly in the dark is a great advantage over their victims. Book of History I : Origins of Ancaria Sophia, Royal High Priestess and Guardian of the monastery fortresses of the Seraphim has bequeathed to her son, Aarnum I., the monastery at Icecreek Dale. Aarnum, who is wild and impetuous, has grown up in a world where the Orcs and the Dark Elves roam far and wide, bringing death and fear and oppressing the inhabitants of a region desperate for peace. The Seraphim, being few in number and having little strength, refused to help Aarnum, who then fled to the forest stronghold of Tyr-Fasul in the elf lands. With the passage of time, he managed to amass an army of mercenaries and itinerant knights. He then deprived the Royal High Priestess of her power and, with the aid of his forces and the dwarves of Gnarlstat, brought together a great army with which he attacked the Dark Elf castle of Mhurag-Nar on the plain of Ancaria, driving out the elves and naming it Braverock Castle. He proclaimed himself king and took away all the power that the Seraphim had previously enjoyed within the borders of his new kingdom. And now the sons of Aarnum I are continuing the expansion of his empire, ruling the lands with an iron fist. Knights, brigands and bands of thugs comb the landscape, hunting down and killing any Orc or Dark Elf they come upon. Fried Bread of Alkazaba noc Draco Take young gourds. Pare them and carve them into pieces. Cast them into good broth, adding a good portion of minced onions. Take cooked pork, grind it, and mix it with egg yolks. Add saffron and salt and serve it forth with sweet powder. DeMordreyan Mutton Take bread and fry it in grease or in oil. Take it and lay it in red wine. Grind it with raisins, take honey and place it in a pot, then cast thin egg whites with a little water and beat it well together with a slice. Set it over the fire and boil it. When the heat rises to boil over, take it off and let it cool. When it is ready, mingle with sugar and spices. Salt it and let it stand, flourish it with white coriander in confection. 20 hours ago, Dax said: Recipes - IV : Bravesbury Steamed Spinach A dish, in which each part has a different color, is made like so: Roast chickens on a spit, but do not put them too close together. And when they are roasted, make six colors, the white is made like so: Take an egg white, put a little flour into it, make a thin batter. Brown is made like so: Take sour cherry jam, make a brown batter with eggs and flour. The yellow make like so: Take egg yolks, some wheat flour, saffron and three or four eggs, out of which make a batter. Green is made as follows: Take parsley, and strain it together with eggs through a cloth, put flour with it and make a batter. Black, take flour and eggs, make a paste out of it, put powdered cloves therein which have steeped overnight in beaten eggs, put enough into it, so that it becomes truly black. When you have made the five colors after this fashion, then baste each chicken with its color and take care that it is no longer too hot. And when the color is dry and adheres, then draw the chickens off the spit and lay them next to the other roasted meats on a dish. Recipes - VIII : Moorbrook Pepper Sauce for Calf or Game Animals Take wine and honey. Set that on the fire and let it boil. And add thereto pounded ginger more than pepper. Pound garlic, but not too much, and make it strong and give it impetus with egg whites. Let it boil until it becomes brown. One should eat this in cold weather. Religion - Fire Fire magic makes use of the element of fire, which is directly opposed to the element water. Fire magic eats into and devours things; it is also fast-moving. The fire form conjured up always has the purpose of weakening other elements and consuming them. From this come fireballs (in conjunction with air) and circles of fire (in conjunction with earth), as well as a protection spell in which the magician himself becomes a fiery form. In conjunction with air and earth, it is even possible to call down burning meteorites from the sky. Religion - Water Water magic makes use of the element of water, which is directly opposed to the element of fire. The element of water is flowing, resilient and penetrable. Once combined with other elements, frost spells can be created, which can cause acidic burns, engulf someone in fire and ice, or cause the mage himself to take the elemental form of water. This ability can also be passed on to other mages. It has been reported that once in a watery form, agility can be substantially increased. Religion - Earth Earth magic makes use of the element of earth, which is directly opposed to the element of air. Earth magic is static and heavy; using the mass of the element in its resonating form. These resonances can be channeled to create phenomenons such as cracks in the earth or even to harden the skin. Combined with water, frosted surfaces can be created on the ground. This type of casting does cause some disagreement about whether the result is a water spell, earth spell, or in fact an obscure hybrid of the two. Some researchers are also unclear on how to categorize the spells of healing, protection and aura. Persuasion for Professionals Among the different religious groups, cults and sects have spread panic and fear across the lands with their own rituals and sacrifices. Snake cults, where virgins are thrown into pools of poisonous snakes, blood cults, where men have their beating hearts pulled out of them or even birth rituals where the newborn child is thrown to a willing beast, have always existed in many regions of Ancaria. These cults became almost extinct though when Valorian I resurrected the Seraphim. A more open craft is the use of virgins in dragon cults. The use of virgin meat leads to psychological stresses. Others say, it is a human mistake to think dragons would make a difference. A study is currently underway in Mystdale Castle to determine if virgins taste different from non-virgins. Persuasion: Forbidden Sources It is argued whether or not a case system exists in Ancaria. Conspiracy theorists claim the family of DeMordrey is in league with the forces of evil and on the new moon of the new year they will take control of the kingdom. There is enough evidence to suggest that the noble houses are on the move, trying to ban minority groups. However, the Seraphim are looking into this backstabbing claim. New research suggests a massive increase of interest in the occult. Though it is not the fanatical religions who are being investigated but the 'gray ones' whose hunger for power is being fed with illegal deeds. Claims that these groups endeavor to gain demonic powers are seemingly unfounded rumors. You're welcome! Always great seeing you back here Dax...thanks for helping out our newest member with his questions for Sacred's delicious Lore gogo Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 18 23 hours ago, CoffeeCan said: I've search this website for any way to read the content of all the books and scrolls (I love lore and just wanted a complete read of it all) and came up empty. Most of the links are to websites long gone and the wayback machine didn't have the pages I needed archived. The wiki on the other hand was incomplete and search other pages revealed some, but a few on pages that wasn't the Books and Scrolls one looked as if they had been run through a translator and as a result some of the word choices (and in one case an entire line) was weird/missing. I really just want to finish reading the entire lore and I did the Vampiress run trick for an entire two days now and am still missing: Enemies - Bolting Terror, Dwarf: Ghost, Hornet, Insect Larva, Shadow Guard, Skull Ripper History - Book of History I : Origins of Ancaria Recipes - II : Fried Bread of Alkazaba noc Draco, III : DeMordreyan Mutton, IV : Bravesbury Steamed Spinach, VIII : Moorbrook Pepper Sauce for Calf or Game Animals Religion - Introduction to (Fire, Water, Earth) Magic ( which is Books of Religion VII, IX, X), (XII) Persuasion for Professionals, (XIII) Persuasion: Forbidden Sources I've assembled what I have here if anyone want to see it themselves (and please tell me if I have something wrong) : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sv_7BXVdY7qRQ7a1cADqj_Wlr_6Ps8mStnwzfxKXyaI/edit?usp=sharing If anyone knows of anywhere is can find these, mainly the religion and history, I'd appreciated it. A sumptuous first post. SChot and I had only read access to reading your post while we were watching villainous creatures feasting upon humans last night with the almost pre-opening of Alien Romulus last night, deeeelightful When you said that you were looking for all the books and that Wiki didnt have them all ... was it because they werent on this list here, or that pages were not properly linked to the index? I saw your pdf, its wonderful work to get all the info together, can this mean with Dax's info the Wiki can be updated so that Sacred Underworld book list is complete there as well? I'm looking at the Sacred Undeworld page here: https://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred:Books @alfchaval had actually started another topic re books and has been working on that page, perhaps he will have some info on how we can gather or collect and/or complete the collection? While we were going through your post, we were trying to get through the Wiki Underworld list of the books, and of course could not help but to find amusement again in the titles, and very well-thought out and well-expressed canon which was Sacred's first outing in public...I found the recipes books themselves, a particularly good read with what scant time I had, as Aliens awaited. Is there a portion of the collection that you have found to be your favourite, a title or ... perhaps, a trend or insight that you can share with us? We're delighted you have have found our little corner of the Sacred Universe my friend Welcome to DarkMatters Coffee Can! gogo Link to comment
alfchaval 121 Share Posted August 18 I know a web with a pdf with the text of all books, but Spanish. On 8/17/2024 at 5:41 PM, CoffeeCan said: If anyone knows of anywhere is can find these, mainly the religion and history, I'd appreciated it. The scrolls spawn at random, there is probably some seed, but you are not going to find any of them in a specific location (except the Book if the Seraphim, and also some scrolls that are quest items and don't add books when you read them). 1 hour ago, gogoblender said: https://www.sacredwiki.org/index.php/Sacred:Books @alfchaval had actually started another topic re books and has been working on that page, perhaps he will have some info on how we can gather or collect and/or complete the collection? Indeed I edited that page adding the titles of all books so anyone can fill the holes. There is really no secret to get all books, but since you can get duplicates, there is a point where it becomes frustrating, so you need a bit dose of luck. Or you can just download my char with all the scrolls and read them: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuLuKMEPtwGt0DkhxR9oGtY-yFXC?e=7MhCNt 1 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 18 23 hours ago, Dax said: Btw, getting them all together, like the npc's in Mascarell strongly suggest, gives you a fantastic bonus from the goods indeed: My weapon slot nr.1 becomes a bit unstable and the weapon icon disappears, when I hover with the cursor over certain combat arts. Cool, huh? I am absolutely convinced that I caught some monsters off guard with my new trick, leaving them behind, frustrated and confused. Is this just a joke or is there actually a connection with the reading of all books and what seems to be some kind of weapon slot bug? 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 18 5 hours ago, SLD said: Is this just a joke or is there actually a connection with the reading of all books and what seems to be some kind of weapon slot bug? SLD, this is Dax ... so a lovely treat of surreal juxtapositionalism gogo Link to comment
Dax 510 Popular Post Share Posted August 19 No it is not a joke. Either the shield disappears from the first quickslot, or the weapon. Depends. Is the weapon one handed or not. Seems to be active for all my builds now. Even if I start from scratch. Aside from that, nothing else happened. Also, beeing a long time player, I never noticed it before. The bug did not occur before I actively started collecting books. But I will reinstall Sacred today, so let's see. 2 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 19 10 hours ago, Dax said: No it is not a joke. Either the shield disappears from the first quickslot, or the weapon. Depends. Is the weapon one handed or not. Seems to be active for all my builds now. Even if I start from scratch. Aside from that, nothing else happened. Also, beeing a long time player, I never noticed it before. The bug did not occur before I actively started collecting books. But I will reinstall Sacred today, so let's see. with "all my builds" you mean all characters that ate a full book collection? And with start from scratch you don't mean a new character? I just still want to make sure we have a connection between "eating all books" and "something happens", as even if the "something" seems odd and bugged it might still be a part of the actually intended "something" that was supposed to happen, for which noone could confirm so far that it was ever actually implemented. 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 19 1 minute ago, SLD said: , as even if the "something" seems odd and bugged it might still be a part of the actually intended "something" that was supposed to happen, for which noone could confirm so far that it was ever actually implemented. Ahhhhhh! gogo !!! 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 19 I got one max level hero which I used go get all books together, for some reason. I also transferred the sera-book in multi-player to him. The other heros of the same class, but not max level and not all books, suffer from the same bug I mentioned above, after I have found all books. The bug also applies to fresh level 1 heros of the same class. Did not check other classes, though. There was maybe something in the making, because the small talk of the npc's in chapter one, before Wilbur bites the dust, always points toward an existing mini-secret. There is a hint for Thorwyns Club, the Vampire-Queen in the sewers of the capital and so on and so on. On the other hand, it might be also possible, that the only intention of getting all books together was to bind the player to the product as long as possible. By envoking false hopes. And that's not unlikely. Leveling up to the max in vanilla takes a very, very long time, game mechanics remained hidden, until the player community dismantled them after all, which lead to many screwed up first-run characters. Also, as many mentioned it here already, there is a massive misbalance in vanilla between the characters. So picking the right hero makes things easy for you, picking the wrong class... well, looks like you have to start it all over again, huh? Remember the killer torches in the cave on the pirate island? What a wonderful idea. My personal opinion is, that Ascaron was a company, that regarded their customers/gamers not in the best way. Maybe not the coders, or the graphic guys, but the management for sure. And they were leading the pack. No one else. Nowadays it is absolutely normal to mooch off players, but for me, as some kind of old timer and player of dos-games, these are foul, dirty and malicious marketing-tricks and their generous usage does not cast a positive light on the company imo. 1 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 19 17 minutes ago, Dax said: I got one max level hero which I used go get all books together, for some reason. I also transferred the sera-book in multi-player to him. The other heros of the same class, but not max level and not all books, suffer from the same bug I mentioned above, after I have found all books. The bug also applies to fresh level 1 heros of the same class. Did not check other classes, though. So it sounds more like an unrelated problem that appeared as coincidence. Maybe the reinstall will tell us more. 17 minutes ago, Dax said: here was maybe something in the making, because the small talk of the npc's in chapter one, before Wilbur bites the dust, always points toward an existing mini-secret. There is a hint for Thorwyns Club, the Vampire-Queen in the sewers of the capital and so on and so on. On the other hand, it might be also possible, that the only intention of getting all books together was to bind the player to the product as long as possible. By envoking false hopes. I have no clue wether it was an evil joke to make players hunt down all that lore they put a lot of work into creating, or just an oversight or even a feature that had to be cut late and they just left the references in. 19 minutes ago, Dax said: Remember the killer torches in the cave on the pirate island? No, sadly I don't. Sounds dangerous 21 minutes ago, Dax said: My personal opinion is, that Ascaron was a company, that regarded their customers/gamers not in the best way. Maybe not the coders, or the graphic guys, but the management for sure. And they were leading the pack. No one else. I would have to disagree here. The ascaron guys, from my perspective and the contents of your post, did not do anything bad or wrong to the community. 24 minutes ago, Dax said: Nowadays it is absolutely normal to mooch off players, but for me, as some kind of old timer and player of dos-games, these are foul, dirty and malicious marketing-tricks and their generous usage does not cast a positive light on the company imo. They had absolutely no benefit in making players play more back in the day. And pushing players to take a look at all you created not just a part of it doesn't sound like an evil marketing tactic either. An imperfect game balance is also probably not a marketing tactic. It would rather be an accidental side effect of imperfect game designers... It could however also be a clever way of giving players of all different skill levels challenges to beat, by making some character classes harder than others. And don't start with dos-games. We had enough of those without any end or the game just ending when you finish it and nothing happens 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 19 I like your defensive stance, but I see things a little different. Ascaron sold Sacred1 in various variants four(!) times, for let's say 20 bucks each. Maybe a little more. Sacred Sacred Plus Sacred Underworld Sacred Gold Under such conditions, keeping gamers bound to the product at all costs does not make sense? Of course it does. You milk them dry. Sell them product, after product, after product. And make sure they do not dust off. -How do we do it, bother captain? -Easy. Keep them busy! Speaking of lore... What Sacred1 has to offer, would you call that "lore" for real? I mean, you got the .de version I assume. Tbh, I am sure they could have done it far better, but the old rpg-team of Mr.Stradal got sacked and when his studio became part of Ascaron, they gave him a new crew, but obviously they did not know how what to do. Sacred1 is filled up with silly stuff. With crosslinks to entertainers, scientists, comic figures, movies, tv-shows, fastfood restaurants... It's a nightmare! Ah, well. After all it is pointless. The tools are out there, mods too, everyone can play Sacred the way he likes it. 1 Link to comment
alfchaval 121 Popular Post Share Posted August 19 52 minutes ago, Dax said: Ascaron sold Sacred1 in various variants four(!) times, for let's say 20 bucks each. Maybe a little more. Sacred Sacred Plus Sacred Underworld Sacred Gold Under such conditions, keeping gamers bound to the product at all costs does not make sense? Of course it does. You milk them dry. Sell them product, after product, after product. And make sure they do not dust off. I bought Sacred. Then they released the Sacred Plus patch, which you could download for free. Then they released Sacred Underworld, which was delayed in some regions and was later released for free in these regions, you could download the Underworld patch in Spanish for free, there was also a video game magazine that included a CD with that patch. There were also some other free patches like 2.28. And Sacred Gold is just Sacred + all patches, you don't need to buy it if you already have Sacred and Underworld. So you had to buy the game at most 2 times to have the complete experience (Sacred + Underworld), but in some regions you only needed to buy it once. 1 1 Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 19 39 minutes ago, alfchaval said: I bought Sacred. Then they released the Sacred Plus patch, which you could download for free. Then they released Sacred Underworld, which was delayed in some regions and was later released for free in these regions, you could download the Underworld patch in Spanish for free, there was also a video game magazine that included a CD with that patch. There were also some other free patches like 2.28. And Sacred Gold is just Sacred + all patches, you don't need to buy it if you already have Sacred and Underworld. So you had to buy the game at most 2 times to have the complete experience (Sacred + Underworld), but in some regions you only needed to buy it once. This is an accurate recap of my own experience when this game first came out as well. For what the game gave us then, and what it produced (This community! ) and keeps producing today, I declare it exceptional value I so declare! gogo 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 19 Interesting, but here are the Amazon links. Everything for sale, not free. So it got printed, boxed and they made money by selling the addons after all. Proves my point. Sacred Plus https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0002ZO2TS/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.RM_Z9EexEPzjI0LTVo9km6bMr2rMFp8rNILC5Y-ykMuu1EOwl2yGvtqEUJU9gThIWrqukhf95Fow4l1uDcNddwylRBwVERAb1GgKkYHA_05X79wkGC9_vwmjPjzIBS8MTHcpAfEe5mG4VlcJcHY1v0fINTepW14fy05aCxEK8yEdZKovbe2WGkZ4S0Q9jZQ6FH6UwSvZqV_Kp7PapBPoMmmQmJso7NDMWMPIZik00vmpsRDM-EwK8_IM9SuBXgBhhWsgKbLhQmVkYfsIv8knoqxS6AZ1YX-U64_06JUd27I.XsuKgBypWfUNO9e3XUcQDtrhg3pgrozncV0aQVsEygc&dib_tag=se&keywords=game+sacred+plus&qid=1724087478&sr=8-3 Sacred Underworld https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B000NNGK08/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dBb1P5fJ0Gjr1oZQvSQBxAwsN6EZZfHIqFatD_GMwOen_x2Sl0S48x-nAHS1laEmm89Mc18S0TG9wG1UBheMY7nFxO95LKw4p5m15tjojV8XyVbzeW_NkBA2eWo2B283OBUxoeDNEFVC8M84xsCRUUFklicjAUPD3fQ86Pc1HSfh0zUdMOjxTM_khjZtEKOwEJtDT4jJpNHG6BVlEDpQ5CicupkHHuAqNEXlg3rDODM.GS2epc0ZILBOgzaNlBB-gFn-s2mcY9Owz6e0C1-WFDE&dib_tag=se&keywords=game+sacred+underworld&qid=1724087555&sr=8-3 Sacred Gold https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B000A3XRS4/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EUbpoQn-qyWmdon0CvXTb6FrhWQcmum-DX2rXrOAVUSGBCjBHmfJCSyXIdE1zjyflSXkEqheYbIyumlcjj6AgBl0G0KsGMAn5nUaEgKgLH6bymIMP1b_5xGGpWyojIwXqr2fMupDTdsI_zrcU4NjodQGpI1fHI0E60ZgKoETK0xuNuWXGoriT5qdHKRmDNEc4aslx3V8xLN9fTMXQCWn5cHSOK0Y27ceslUFUUFK2bK985_OuX_V19DodGNmyB7oau6pkLYuCTaEISOFCThkKJDKjx-zI9_UEXTuwnPMuIc.Og4D-DqzHG3MJHB2X2TqKe6p23Sfv1UmtLEL13lTXO0&dib_tag=se&keywords=game+sacred+gold&qid=1724087593&sr=8-3 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 19 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dax said: Ascaron sold Sacred1 in various variants well, @alfchaval already dealt with that part better than I ever could. 1 hour ago, Dax said: Speaking of lore... What Sacred1 has to offer, would you call that "lore" for real? I mean, you got the .de version I assume. Tbh, I am sure they could have done it far better, but the old rpg-team of Mr.Stradal got sacked and when his studio became part of Ascaron, they gave him a new crew, but obviously they did not know how what to do. Sacred1 is filled up with silly stuff. With crosslinks to entertainers, scientists, comic figures, movies, tv-shows, fastfood restaurants... It's a nightmare! So you're claiming their german humour got out of hand and you would have rather wanted to have a more immersive and realistic role playing game. I can understand those wishes, but that doesn't mean the game doesn't have content that took work to put together. The content they chose was their choice and if you consider it a good or bad choice is certainly an opinion you're entitled to. You talk about Franz Stradal and his "old rpg-team" which sounds like you know a lot more about the history there than I do. If a portion of the original developers of the base game would have done better or not, is something we will probably never know. Only the developers could tell us, If the original rpg design plans were significantly different. If they did do so somewhere publicly available I don't remember seeing it. If you have any non-public information on this, share away. Otherwise I guess I'd be to cautious about calling the ascaron management malicious. "Sacred1 is filled up with silly stuff. With crosslinks to entertainers, scientists, comic figures, movies, tv-shows, fastfood restaurants... It's a nightmare!" Yes, they even continued the nightmare with sacred 2. I liked both a lot and their odd mix of humour made their games stand out. "I mean, you got the .de version I assume." How did you know? Did you notice that my english wasn't the yellow from the egg? Edit: there were some posts squeezed in while I was writing sry... Edited August 19 by SLD Link to comment
gogoblender 3,283 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, Dax said: Ah, well. After all it is pointless. The tools are out there, mods too, everyone can play Sacred the way he likes it. It's perhaps not as disparaging as posted, Dax... we all get to chat years later about what coulda and what shoulda... those are often the best convos... I am however grinning at how you worded your post, ... everyone can play Sacred how they like it... yeeks That's at the same time both tragic and delightful gogo Link to comment
alfchaval 121 Share Posted August 19 13 minutes ago, Dax said: Interesting, but here are the Amazon links. Everything for sale, not free. So it got printed, boxed and they made money by selling the addons after all. Proves my point. When they released more copies of the game, they decided to include the free patches inside the disk, so you don't need to download them. There was enough space in the disk, why don't include the free patches? there was no reason to not do it, the price of the game didn't change after including the patches, there was no extra charge for the patches, they were free. How does that proves your point? 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, SLD said: .. I claim, that there is nothing humorus in vanilla Sacred. Did not laugh a single time. I claim, that the team filled stuff in hastily just to get it done. For example, there is a very old post at a german tabletop-forum called "orkenspalter" where a user complains, that Ascaron called the fans for help. They shall start naming items for them. The funny thing is, that an insane amount of well named items exists in the global.res, which can be decompressed. That's why I got the missing books handy so fast. Why did they not take the already existing item-names? Maybe they are the rememnants of Armalion, locked away. You know, from the guys who got sacked. Speaking of putting content together after all... Aahhm no. Following games got mentioned and a bit used in Sacred: -Planescape Torment, which plays in one league with Ultima7. The game is regarded as a big, fat rpg. Even today. -Freelancer: A space shooter, with an extremly well written environment. Great game. -Divine Divinity, supersexycool, from the makers of Baldurs Gate 3. I can hear the sounds, so they have played it. -Gothic 1: As above -Icewind Dale 2: As above Despite such a fantastic amount of inspiration, all they came up with is: "Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Lala and Poo, go to hell!" Really? The interview with Mr.Stradal can be found on wikipedia, it's in German. He explains many things. Could the old team of Mr.Stradal do it better? I think so. You may watch the Armalion game trailer on youtube and compare it with nowadays Sacred. It is quite a difference. Speaking of the management, I still call their marketing tricks, I have explained above, malicious and sneaky. 1 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 19 48 minutes ago, Dax said: You may watch the Armalion game trailer on youtube and compare it with nowadays Sacred. It is quite a difference. I did take a look at that and it felt... dated. I mean if you like the gameplay of divine divinity or neverwinter nights etc armalion may be to your liking. But if you are more on the diablo/d2 side you would probably rather play sacred. It's just a question of where on the spectrum between a- and -rpg you want to end up on. And I just like the way Sacred turned out to be. For the more rpg side I'd rather go straight to gothic than stay in the arpg limitations... 48 minutes ago, Dax said: Speaking of the management, I still call their marketing tricks, I have explained above, malicious and sneaky. I'm glad those marketing tricks worked, made you stay with the game and got you stuck in a Sacred community 1 Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 19 32 minutes ago, SLD said: .. I call vanilla Sacred empty. Just like an empty room. Diablo2 had no roleplay elements at all, and it was never meant to have any. Sacred has those elements ready, but Ascaron did not use them. Instead, they filled everything up with cheap stuff. How is the smith of Hedgenton called? Boboid? Oh, man. I could find a better name even after undergoing a lobotomy in the flat-earth-lab! Despite our little dispute, your opinion is valuable to me. Can I convince you to take a look at the reborn mod? If the answer is "YES!" I'd like to prove you wrong. Well? PS: Chrom laughs at Ascarons marketing tricks! He laughs from his mountain! 1 Link to comment
SLD 489 Share Posted August 20 12 hours ago, Dax said: Chrom laughs at Ascarons marketing tricks! He laughs from his mountain! Had to look that one up... found out it's "Crom" 12 hours ago, Dax said: Can I convince you to take a look at the reborn mod? If the answer is "YES!" I'd like to prove you wrong. Well? So if my answer were "YES!" you want to prove it's "NO!"? ... that can't be it... Do you mean you want to prove that reborn has these roleplaying elements that Ascaron didn't use? For now I'm not up to testing that mod, but I'd love to hear from you what they changed for the better. A quick look at their Site sadly doesn't reveal that. Link to comment
Dax 510 Share Posted August 20 (edited) Pfft. I was sitting already drunk in the tavern, so Crom will look it over and laugh from his mountain. So, no damage. I'd like to show you, that Ascarons ingame-writings can be replaced properly. You let me know, when you are ready. Until then, watch that screen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_wYoy1p1BY Edited August 21 by Dax Link to comment
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