Pool of Radiance Series 1988-91
Strategic Simulations Inc. released the Pool of Radiance cRPG for IBM PC MS-DOS 2.1 in June of 1988. Pool of Radiance was programmed by Keith Brors and Brad Myers.
Pool of Radiance was coded for i808x and i80286 CPUs clocked a 4.77-20 MHz. Pool of Radiance does not detect the CPU speed, but there is an in-game option to tailor game-speed. Pool of Radiance requires 384K of free conventional RAM in 4-color CGA 320x200, 512K in 16-color EGA 320x200 and 640K in 16-color TGA.
Distributed on 3x 5.25" 360kB floppy disks or 2x 3.5" 720kB DD diskettes, Pool of Radiance extracts and installs to hard disk drive via PKUNPAK archive extraction utility by PKWARE Inc. The install size of v1.0 is 1.8 megs and consists of 134 files.
Pool of Radiance is not only the first Gold Box game, it is the best Gold Box game. PoR employs flip-screen first-person exploration and turn-based tactical combat.
Set in TSR's Forgotten Realms campaign setting (FRCS), PoR is the first cRPG to faithfully replicate TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition ruleset of 1977-79. However, it does not employ all classes from AD&D.
SSI marketed PoR as having "strictly state-of-the-art graphics" for 1988, but as you can see from my infographic, that is quite a laughable claim. The "3D" perspective is garbage, the 2D battle-graphics were outdated three years before PoR came out, and the 2D images are comically crude even by 1988 standards.
- PoR lacks the icon-driven, mouse-controlled interface of Dungeon Master
- PoR's flip-screen drawspace is a pathetic 88x88px (DM's is 224x138px)
- PoR did not evolve turn-based tactical combat systems; Rebelstar of 1984 is superior
- PoR displays in 16-color 320x200 max when it could have displayed in 16-color EGA 640x350 or 32-color 320x256 (Amiga)
On a tech-graphics and mechanics level, PoR could easily have been made three years earlier. As it pertains to game-mechanics, graphics and presentation, there was never anything advanced about the Gold Box engine, which is overrated by those who wear one-inch-thick poindexter nostalgia goggles.
That said, Pool of Radiance is a good cRPG that crammed a lot of content into its diskettes. It is also a charming and classic cRPG. It is just a pity SSI decided to present PoR in a flip-screen / dimetric combo instead of isometric-only, which is King. In fact, it is a tragedy for the cRPG genre.
The poor design decisions that were made for Pool of Radiance would effect no fewer than 20 subsequent cRPGs that sold well (Gold Box and its derivatives), which resulted in cRPGs being the worst of classic genre until the advent of Fallout in 1997. And while I would not go as far as to say that that constitutes a decade down the drain, the SSI Gold Box cRPGs should have been a lot better than they were. That PoR remained the best Gold Box-era game even after seven years of spam-releases based on its engine -- that says it all.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a legendary role-playing ruleset. It deserved better.
In short, the Gold Box games should not have featured flip-screen exploration, they should not have employed dimetric perspective -- they should have been isometric cRPGs through and through.
Remember guys: isometric game-coding was mastered in 1984 by Ultimate Play the Game; its supremacy was obvious in 1984.
But since PoR faithfully replicates the AD&D 1st Edition ruleset and party-based adventuring, I give it 6½/10. And that means PoR is definitely worth playing in 2024.
- Pool of Radiance Manual aka Rule Book: 28 pages
- Pool of Radiance Clue Book: 63 pages
- Pool of Radiance Adventurer's Journal: 38 pages
- Pool of Radiance copy protection: Code Wheel aka Translation Wheel
Pool of Radiance Ruleset Feature List
- 6 Races: Human, Half-elf, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling
- 4 Classes: Fighter, Cleric, Magic-user, Thief
- Double and triple Multi-classing, no Dual-classing
- 6 Ability Scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma
- Alignment, Hit points, Experience Points (XP), Levels
- Melee & Ranged Combat, Backstabbing and Arcane & Divine spellcasting
- Initiative, Armor Class, THAC0, Damage, Saving Throws
- 31 Magic-user spells, 24 Cleric spells
- Spells have range, area and duration stats
- Over 100 different enemies
- Wands, Potions and Scrolls
- Adornments and Arms (45 type) & Armor (9 types)
Curse of the Azure Bonds IBM PC 1989
Strategic Simulations Inc. released Curse of the Azure Bonds for IBM PC MS-DOS 1989. Curse of the Azure Bonds is the second entry in the Pool of Radiance series. Curse of the Azure Bonds was programmed by Scott Bayless, Russ Brown and Michael Mancuso. Curse of the Azure Bonds displays in EGA 320x200 and requires 570K of free conventional RAM. Curse of the Azure Bonds is based on the Azure Bonds novel of 1988 by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb.
Distributed on 4x 5.25" 360kB floppy disks or 2x 3.5" 720kB DD diskettes, Curse of the Azure Bonds extracts and installs to hard disk drive via hd525 c or hd 35 c (5.25"/3.5"). The install size for v1.0 is 1.3 megs and consists of 94 files.
- Curse of the Azure Bonds Manual aka Rule Book: 29 pages
- Curse of the Azure Bonds Clue Book: 47 pages
- Curse of the Azure Bonds Adventurer's Journal: 29 pages
- Curse of the Azure Bonds copy protection: Code Wheel aka Translation Wheel
Secret of the Silver Blades IBM PC 1990
Strategic Simulations Inc. released Secret of the Silver Blades for IBM PC MS-DOS 1990. Secret of the Silver Blades is the third entry in the Pool of Radiance series. Secret of the Silver Blades was programmed by Ken Nicholson and Russ Brown. Secret of the Silver Blades displays in EGA 320x200 and requires 512K of free conventional RAM.
Distributed on 2x 5.25" 360kB floppy disks or 1x 3.5" 720kB DD diskettes, Secret of the Silver Blades extracts and installs to hard disk drive via Secret of the Silver Blades Installation. The install size for v1.0 is 1.1 megs and consists of 49 files.
- Secret of the Silver Blades Manual aka Rule Book: 12 pages
- Secret of the Silver Blades Clue Book: 60 pages
- Secret of the Silver Blades Adventurer's Journal: 58 pages
Pools of Darkness IBM PC 1991
Strategic Simulations released Pools of Darkness for IBM PC MS-DOS in 1991. Pools of Darkness is the fourth and final entry in the Pool of Radiance series. Pools of Darkness was programmed by Russ Brown, James Jennings and Kerry Bonin of SSI Special Projects Group.
Distributed on 4x 5.25" 360kB floppy disks or 2x 3.5" 720kB DD diskettes, Pools of Darkness extracts and installs to hard disk drive via PK SFX Fast Self-Extract utility by PKWARE Inc. The install size for v1.0 is 3.5 megs and consists of 64 files.
Pools of Darkness requires 560K of free conventional RAM (640K RAM) and displays in 320x200 16-color EGA 320x200 or 256-color VGA 320x200.
- Pools of Darkness Manual aka Rule Book: 12 pages
- Pools of Darkness Clue Book: 73 pages
- Pools of Darkness Adventurer's Journal: 59 pages
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