Strong words there, Bethesda. Alright. First things first:
Installation
Well, as luck may have it, and through the benevolence of Bethesda, you can download Daggerfall right from their website! I still have a copy of the game around here… somewhere… but this link worked much faster.
Note: I’m not going to lie, the installation and altering of config files may be outside the comfort zone of some, but as long as you follow directions, you’ll also learn more about your PC and there is nothing wrong with that.
The next piece of software we’re going to need is DOSBox, an uber handy Dos emulator that singlehandedly allows sites like GoG.com to stay in business.
After installing DOSBox, the next step comes down to tweaking it’s settings, and installing the game itself. Thankfully, there’s a handy pdf doc inside the Daggerfall zip that details step by step instructions. I found that following the instructions worked flawlessly. After booting up DOSBox, the next steps involve mounting the hard drive, mounting a faux-CD drive, and installing the game itself.
I mean, who *doesn’t* love DOS?
After the game is installed (I suggest creating a basic folder direct on your C: drive, like above), then comes the tweaking of DOSBox’s config file. In a nutshell, keep following the pdf’s instructions, but then throw in a few alterations of your own. I suggest changing the screen size to something that is more comfortable on today’s monitors. For example, here is a Daggerfall screenshot at full-size resolution:
320×200. I imagine kids today wondering how we played games on such *tiny* screens.
The monitor I’m using now has a native resolution of 1600×900. Not exactly 1080 (1920×1080), but not too shabby, still in the high definition range. However, playing Daggerfall at a full screen resolution stops you from doing basic things like alt-tabbing out. I suggest playing in a window at setting 1125×900, which seems to work best for my screen size.
In fact, here’s a link to a copy of the entire DOSBox config file that I have found optimal to use. By all means, if you are installing the game, too, feel free to use it.
Character Creation
Now with installation complete, the next major step involves creating a character that isn’t completely messed up. Like many other Elder Scrolls games, character creation is so deep in it’s customization that you can seriously create a borked character right off the bat. I won’t lie, I’m on my fourth attempt trying to create one that I think I would really enjoy, and that will relatively get me through the game.
The first character I created, I based off of characters I have enjoyed in every Elder Scrolls game in recent memory: A leather wearing, shield and mace wielding powerhouse, slinging illusion magic and backing it all up with restoration magic when the odds turn.
Since there really isn’t a class like this of the group, I created a custom class, picked a whole bunch of stuff that sounded nice, Blunt Weapon, Restoration, Dodging, Illusion, Streetwise, Etiquette, Backstabbing, etc, picked an Argonian, and started it up. The game handed me a longsword as a starting weapon… I couldn’t make it past the first giant bat.
Alright, so… instead of creating something by hand, maybe the game’s question system would work? Similar to those Buzzfeed quizzes we see everywhere. Why not?
I’m all about the sweetrolls.
It said I would be a good Monk. A Monk is a pretty badass character… in theory. A monk uses their mental discipline, so your primary weapons are your fists and your only armor is your skin. Oh, and no magic, either. Sounds like a great challenge, getting through the game punching bears in the face and using only your fists as bad guys wearing plate and slinging magic come charging at you… but it’s not really my style. Thank you, but I like to actually USE the loot and magic I might pick up. Still awesome that it’s there, though.
Looking at the list of 18 classes, the closest thing that looks like it could work would be a modified Healer. I’d make Blunt Weapons a Primary, drop Medical to a Major, add Backstabbing and Stealth to the list of Minors, Boost Illusion as well, and then through the use of secondary character traits, force the game to start me off with a blunt weapon.
Onward and upward.
// Ocho
Casual Aggro 