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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:24:26 GMT
From TUFFF... CoH is my personal favourite of the range, having obtained it back in the December of 1988 (Gee, I'm old. When did that happen?) and the poor thing got so dog-eared and read that the cover fell off and had to reattached with sticky tape. I just loved that it was 460 references long - too good a story to be held back by a measly 400 references! The art was atmospheric and the dungeon crawl at the start twisted and inventive. It took me forever to get out of there though due to the infamous incorrect trigger line. (See here for details.) I don't rightly recall, but I think in the end I worked out which paragraph I was supposed to get to with the amulet and worked back from there to find the trigger paragraph. (328) Despite your best efforts, you find yourself decaying in front of a computer screen. Your adventure ends here.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:25:12 GMT
From TUFFF... It is definitely one of the best. I'll never forget trying it for the first time, mapping the dungeon until I felt like I was going to bleed out the ears! I think I finally got out of there using the same method as you, and it was hardly plain sailing after that. I think the best thing about it is the complete involvement of the author in the world and the sheer inventiveness of it all. The Background sections are just fab. And yet it remains quintessentially Allansian too. Pity we never got any more out of Steve.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:27:04 GMT
From TUFFF... I always found this book frustrating in the same way I couldn't cope with Black Vein Prophecy when I was younger. I didn't used to like the overdose of instant death paths before. I still don't but somehow, BVP has become a favourite (if not THE favourite) of mine for it's kick-ass storyline (though it still sucks gameplay wise), whereas CoH still ranks as average. And that's only for appreciation of its difficulty, genius as it is, though frustratingly so. Steve's Sorcery! series is without a doubt his best contribution, closely followed by HoH. Two Words
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:28:05 GMT
From TUFFF... Yes, this is my favourite too, and the only one I have in both Puffin and Wizard editions. Sadly my Puffin edition, is in several pieces that were held together by sticky tape - 20 years ago! I've made a stand re. the map, and use it as a bookmark whenever I read the Wizard Edition "Your progress has been watched, foul creature of destruction!"
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:29:13 GMT
From TUFFF... This was the first FF book I read, and I enjoyed it immensely. It's still my favourite as my preference with any CYOA book lies with finding the right set of choices rather than the combat. Between the dungeon, deciphering language, and everything but the one true way resulting in death or similarly unpleasant fates not necessarily immediately makes it great. Although I still find it funny that Zharradan Marr creates a spell just to change his name.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:29:51 GMT
From TUFFF... I'm yet to hear one person say they don't care for this book... Fighting Fantasy has many, many titles that draw completely opposite opinions from people (Night Dragon immediately springs to mind. A true 'Marmite' FF book if ever there was one) but Creature of Havoc, along with Deathtrap Dungeon and House of Hell, seems to draw universal acclaim. And yes, I too love this book and find it one of the finest examples of FF work out there. ~ Vae Victis! ~
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:30:40 GMT
From TUFFF... Hey, I said I don't really care for it. I used other words, like Two Words
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:31:49 GMT
From TUFFF... *feels idiot for not reading properly* ~ Vae Victis! ~
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:33:12 GMT
From TUFFF (Feb 2010)... On the official FF site they say the new edition of Creature of Havoc coming out soon will have some cosmetic changes that solves continuity errors and clarification toward the death blow rule. That should clear some of the mistakes and ambiguity that I've read on Titannica.
Mind you, I've read that book only once when I was young, and in French, so all of those went over my head.
But looks like I'm going to have to read that version just for those improvements. Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:33:50 GMT
From TUFFF... I think it's already out in the UK (along with City of Thieves), but didn't see it in Foyle's, London yesterday. "Your progress has been watched, foul creature of destruction!"
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:34:56 GMT
From TUFFF... I think it's already out in the UK (along with City of Thieves) I have seen no evidence of this. But then again, I have seen no evidence that Deathtrap Dungeon is out yet, either.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:37:44 GMT
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:39:16 GMT
From TUFFF... I saw the evidence of Spellbreaker once...
Better to order online though. If I'd relied on bookstores all around me, I'd have about 5 books of 67 right now. Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:39:52 GMT
From TUFFF... It must be nice to have access to every one of the books. I wish my collection was complete alas it is not, I'm too cheap to stalk up on the newer releases let alone go on ebay to get the missing books. I'm 30 books out, but 30 books in *sighs*. The more beautiful and pure FF is – the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:42:41 GMT
From TUFFF... I only have copies of all the gamebooks because a) I scoured all the charity shops in the south of England for six months b) I got in touch with some second-hand booksellers on the Internet and c) I filled the gaps thanks to eBay, which involved paying a large amount of money for Revenge and Curse even though they are both in horrible condition.
They're all out there somewhere, but it's going to take time and effort if you want them all. And probably a few bob for some of the later ones.
Perhaps we should set up a thread on this forum where we post whichever books we might spot in our local charity shops...
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:43:23 GMT
From TUFFF... I actually spotted copies of the new releases of City and Creature in a bookshop yesterday!
Had a flick through Creature. Noted that reference 213 still begins with "You reach..." and that the combat rules state that you take 2 Stamina points damage for every hit, not one.
It's as if they got all the mistakes from all the previous versions and put them altogether.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:44:36 GMT
From TUFFF... Damn! Can't they put their act together? I guess not. Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:45:50 GMT
From TUFFF... Hey Wilf! Hi Hynreck!
Are you kidding? The errors are still there? Bloody Hell Wizard! I'm sorry to say in my honest opinion that this shows they have learned NOTHING AT ALL and are still a bunch of useless tw@s.
~ Vae Victis! ~
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:46:28 GMT
From TUFFF... I haven't bought the new copy, so I can't confirm anything, but it's very sad indeed. It shows that they don't really care. Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 22, 2013 0:50:22 GMT
From TUFFF... I bought a French copy of this book, La créature venue du chaos, not when I was young but later in my life, around the end of the 90's I believe, though my memory is akin to a fuzzy beast on the subject. So I bought it late in the game, when I was struck by nostalgia while browsing in a bookshop. I was so surprise there was still some that I bought this, plus Forest of Doom and Caverns of the Snow Witch I believe... oh and perhaps Legend of Zagor. They all had new shiny spines and new cover designs but with the old art. Anyway, I went home and read my books, not played, and got stuck big time in CoH. I reread my notes from back then, and I had most of the clues, and deciphered large chunks of text. Yet I didn't make it past the dungeon and I abandoned after awhile, but I strongly suspect that that missing bit of vital information in the Puffin edition also translated to the same problem in French, and without knowledge about it (no internet!) I fell victim to it like many before me. But this time, knowing about the mistakes and with my new determination, abandon was unacceptable! And with many tries I made it. So that's a relief. And a happy one too, as this book is indeed really good, as many fans have pointed out through the years. The background section is surprisingly thick, especially for what we are used to have in a FF book, at least, up to that point. The atmosphere is also brilliantly thick and complex, and always constant. Attention to details is top notch, with even death sections getting the royal treatment. It's pretty rare to get to read a page or more of descriptions for something that will lead to your doom, but it's a welcome change, and makes deaths, which are plenty in this book, more bearable, even sometimes enjoyable, though some are definitely less enjoyable for the protagonist... Is it supposed to be the big Z on the cover of the original? In any case, Ian Miller always does maddeningly intricate piece of amazing art, and this is no exception. I also love (blasphemy!) the new cover art of the Devourer for the Wizard edition. I think it's suitably atmospheric, even though there are some liberties taken with the beast and it's location. I've got mixed feelings about Alan Langford's inside illos, though. Most of them are well done and pleasing, but I feel like somehow, they are not as original as Sword of the Samurai or as meticulous as those find in Island of the Lizard King... Some feels as if he lacked the time to properly drawn them. A great experience overall, even if sometimes you feel like going mad at all the tricks Steve Jackson throw at you to get you lost or dead. I really do feel that Jackson, like for his Sorcery! series, gave it all in this book. All he could muster. And if this is to be his last FF book, as it looks to be, well, this is an awesome way to go. Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 16:58:19 GMT
Salvaged from the 'Books in Order' thread:
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Dec 29, 2013 13:02:24 GMT
Just wanted to point out something.In the Titannica entry for CoH,in the error section,one error states that "if you reduce Thugruff to four stamina,he will blow his whistle etc.But what if you Insta-Kill him?How can he blow a whistle when he's dead?"I don't think that's an error at all.The rules for Insta-Killing says that you automatically reduce the enemy to either zero stamina OR THE STAMINA LEVEL THE BOOK TELLS YOU TO TURN TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.I don't know if what I said was clear enough,so apologies to those who don't understand.
Also,I wanted to ask something.Some of the errors state that a certain part of a code is wrong,and should be changed to something else.For example,"'hfej sanpt' should be 'hfej sinpt'"But I thought(SPOILER)vowels didn't matter,and they only serve as spacings?
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Post by a moderator on Dec 31, 2013 18:58:32 GMT
The vowels don't really matter, but the rules for encoding do indicate which vowel should be used whenever one is put in, so it is technically a mistake when a vowel that doesn't obey the rules is used.
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Post by slloyd14 on Nov 15, 2014 22:30:32 GMT
I think the background to Creature of Havoc was magically implanted into your brain by Marr himself. This is because it tells you a lot about his past life, including a spell he cast in order to make everyone else forget he was called Dree (which means only he would know this now, if it were true). The reasons for this could be 1) It's deliberate misinformation to mislead you and make you think he's super powerful. 2) It's true and you picked it up by mistake.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jul 23, 2015 15:28:40 GMT
A fantastic book from Steve Jackson. Not so magikal as House of Hell however.
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Post by mlvoss on Jul 26, 2015 3:42:17 GMT
Can anybody tell me what the best edition of this book would be? I remember playing it when I was younger but could never finish it because of the main error (Which I just found out about) Would like to start it again but dont want to unless I know there is a chance I can make it through.
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Jul 26, 2015 4:19:34 GMT
Wizard edition 1. Puffin and Wizard edition 2 both have the error.
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Post by mlvoss on Jul 26, 2015 4:51:55 GMT
Thank you for the reply, it's good to know.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2015 21:36:48 GMT
Still skim through this book regularly, haven't actually "played" it thoroughly yet. I'll have no choice if I plan on making a quiz. Try to keep in my head the language spoken there and those who tried to teach me. I don't know when I'll get around to it but I will eventually. There CANNOT be a FF book left unread in one's collection! That would be F'n preposterous!
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Post by a moderator on Aug 14, 2015 20:10:32 GMT
Pn cfey pvug fte thfeh bn gap foth felbn gvb gfe, yp v'l lunf vfreb febb lfet post ppor fbdj ngijt.
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