Siege of Avalon - Frequently Asked Questions

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See our <a href="Order.htm" target="_top">Order page</a> for information on buying the Anthology CD.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="Downloadable" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q:</font></a></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>What kind of quality can a downloaded game have?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>W</b>e believe that our total package is a <i>big</i>  innovation in the quality, value, and real enjoyment possible from games available by download. This is NOT just another cheap little download like the many thousands of games available elsewhere, this is an <b><i>extremely</i></b> unique project. We set out to offer all the <b><u>fun</u></b> and reward of a large and rich retail CD game environment in a carefully optimized form tuned for online distribution through today's faster connections . The entire 6-Chapter game anthology is also available on CD from <a href="Order.htm" target="_blank">HERE</a>. You can also see a "movie trailer" preview of the game <a href="http://www.globalstarsoftware.com/products/demos.shtml" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b>M</b>ost of the bulky size of current CD games tends to be used for large (and expensive) non-essential content, like movie (cinematic) sequences, which we found as players that we tended to watch once then automatically hit "escape" to skip over every subsequent time we ran the game. Hours of download for moments of one-time viewing curiosity seemed an obvious tradeoff for our system. This set the priority for our whole philosophy, <u><i>"focus on the actual play value, not Hollywood glitz or empty eye-candy."</i></u></font></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b>W</b>e believe that  we have achieved our goals rather well with <i>Siege of Avalon</i>. A number of reviewers have measured Siege against some of the bigger and more successful retail CD games, and said that this title stacks up quite nicely by even those comparisons. When you have spent many hours playing just the <a href="FreePage.htm" target="_top"><b><i>free</i></b></a>  Chapter 1 of Siege and you find yourself getting progressively more involved with the unique and layered story, then we hope you'll agree that we have accomplished something fairly special and worthy of playing through to the grand finale in Chapter 6. Once you complete <i>Siege of Avalon</i>  you may find yourself anxious to see the release of the sequel, <i>Pillars of Avalon</i>.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="EpisodicNovel" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q:</font></a></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>What is an Episodic Computer Game Novel?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>H</b>ere is that answer in 3 parts:</font></p> <ol> <li> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b>T</b>he best way to fully understand it is to try it. The first Chapter is available <b><i><a href="FreePage.htm" target="_top">free</a></i></b>. Grab it and give it a test drive.</font></li> <li> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b>S</b>ande has an article for the <a href="ezine2/ezine2.htm" target="_self">e-zine</a> that explores this question in some detail, and is an easier read than anything I can offer.</font></li> <li><font face="Garamond">There are 2 radio interviews with Digital Tome's founders that you can listen to here:</font></li> <blockquote> <table border="0" width="80%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2"><a href="http://www.gpfault.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="images/Logos/gpf_logoBig.gif" alt="Visit the GPF site" width="209" height="229"></a></td> <td> <p align="center"><font face="Garamond"><a href="siege.ram" target="_blank"><img border="1" src="images/Logos/gpf_logo.gif" alt="Click to hear Real Audio of interview" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="128" height="50"></a><br> <a href="siege.ram" target="_self">Interview #1, August 2000<br> Before release of Chapter 2</a></font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.gpfault.org/ijuly01.htm#digital" target="_blank"><img border="1" src="images/Logos/gpf_logo.gif" alt="Click to visit interview site" hspace="1" vspace="1" width="128" height="50"></a><br> <a href="http://www.gpfault.org/ijuly01.htm#digital" target="_blank">Interview #2, July 2001<br> The completion of Chapter 6</a></p> </td> </tr> </table> </blockquote> </ol> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="PlayAll6" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>Do I have to play all 6 Chapters of Siege?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>N</b>o. Siege has 3 "Key" chapters that tell the main story and solve the big quests. These are Chapter <b>1</b>, Chapter <b>2</b>, and the Grand Finale Chapter <b>6</b>. The other 3 chapters are <i>"Expansions"</i>  that allow you to delve even further into the lore, land, local flavors, and adventure (ran out of "L" words).</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><font size="+2"><a name="CanPlayAll" target="_self">Q</a>: </font><font size="+1"><u>What Chapters CAN I play?</u></font></b><br> <b><font size="+2">A:</font></b> <b>A</b>ll of them. You are not restricted by your Character Class, or any other selection.  The "Expansion" Chapters are enhanced for their relative class focus (Chapter 3 = Fighter, Chapter 4 = Scout, Chapter 5 = Mage), but any player can successfully complete any of these Chapters.  It will be easier to complete an expansion Chapter if you play it in a style consistent with its focus; for example, if a Fighter player enters the Mage Chapter then you really should teach your fighter at least some defensive magic to make combat more balanced.  Since the Character Class is not a strict limitation in Siege, you can create any hybrid of skills and capabilities you desire; thus allowing you to face all the environments and challenges of Avalon successfully with a highly unique and customized player character.  Character Class will mostly limit certain quests and advancements.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="PlayOrder" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>Do I have to play the Chapters in a certain order?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>Y</b>es, and no. You need to complete Chapter 1 to start Chapter 2. You need to complete Chapter 2 before playing any other chapters. You do not need to buy any or all of the Expansion Chapters, but the ones you do buy you need to play in order. You do need to complete all Expansion Chapters you have, if any, before you start playing Chapter 6, so that the game can come to a finish normally.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="Buy5" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>Do you expect me to pay 5 times to play all of Siege?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>W</b>ell, that would be nice. With the new Anthology CD you get all 6 Chapters for one <a href="Order.htm" target="_top">bargain price</a>.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="LateStart" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>What if I didn't get the first Chapters of Siege right away?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>N</b>ot a problem. Just grab the <a href="Order.htm" target="_top">Anthology CD</a> with all 6 Chapters and the whole saga awaits you.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="ReleaseSchedule" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>When is each Chapter of Siege available?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>A</b>ll 6 Chapters of <i>Siege of Avalon</i>  have been released and are available NOW in a single Anthology CD from <a href="Order.htm" target="_top">HERE</a>.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="ChapterSizes" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>How big are the Chapters of Siege?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>T</b>he <b><a href="FreePage.htm" target="_top">free</a></b> initial Chapter 1 is about 120 Megabyte. All the subsequent Chapters are usually about half that size (final sizes vary with each Chapter). All 6 Chapters fit on a single CD in the <a href="Order.htm" target="_top">Anthology</a> package.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="MultiPlayer" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <u><b>Is Siege Multi-Player?</b></u></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>N</b>o. We've focused on giving the best individual play value ever found in a downloadable graphic RPG, and saved a few major technical hurdles for the <i>Pillars of Avalon</i>  game now in development. Our Episodic Novels will support special "peer-to-peer" gaming in the future, and are expected to handle up to 4 players in a game through internet connections.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="Genre" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>Are all Digital Tome games going to be like Siege?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  <b>N</b>o. <i>Siege of Avalon</i>  and <i>Pillars of Avalon</i>  are intentional works within the same grand story. They are "labors of first love" as one of our founder's is a CRPG aficionado of many years standing.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"><font face="Garamond"><b><a name="SiegeDesc" target="_self"><font size="+2">Q</font></a><font size="+2">:</font></b><font size="+1">   <b><u>What KIND of RPG is Siege?</u></b></font><br> <font size="+2"><b>A:</b></font>  "Traditional" medieval fantasy RPG with real-time combat. The player is a young human male (Gender selection will be provided in <i>Pillars</i>) who just arrived on the scene at the culmination of a 12-year-long war. His skills and specialized capabilities will evolve throughout the game as the player decides, instead of being fixed by a "class" or "race" selection at the start of the game. Siege is a single-player game, with various Party members who can be added and dropped from the Party throughout the game. The Player can "assume full control" of any Party member at will.</font></p> <p align="right"><a href="#Top" target="_self"><font face="Garamond">back to top</font></a></p> <p align="left"> </p> <b><font face="Garamond"><img src="images/Heds/transpot.gif" width="430" height="1" border="0"></font></b><center> <p><a href="FreePage.htm" target="_top"><font face="Garamond"><img border="0" src="images/Get_Chap1.gif" width="247" height="38"></font></a></p> <a href="Supportframe.htm#ContactUs" onmouseover="window.status='How to contact us' ; return true" onmouseout="window.status='Siege of Avalon' ; return true" target="_self"><font size="1" face="Garamond">Contact us</font></a><font size="1" face="Garamond">, or see <a href="javascript:open_window('http://soaos.sourceforge.net/legal.htm')" onmouseover="window.status='Copyright and Legal notices' ; return true" onmouseout="window.status='Siege of Avalon' ; return true" target="_self">Copyright</a> and <a href="javascript:open_window('http://soaos.sourceforge.net/privacy.htm')" onmouseover="window.status='Privacy Policy' ; return true" onmouseout="window.status='Siege of Avalon' ; return true" target="_self">Privacy</a> notices</font></center></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body>