I have never played Daggerfall...but I feel I ought to at least try it some day...even if just to know.
Has anyone here played it recently...in the last year or so...and if so, would you care to share your opinion about it; and say whether you think it's genuinely playable today in terms of graphics and mechanics and story etc...I mean really playable...not just some sort of nostalgia thing...if you know what I mean.

I got it last month. It's incredible, with lots of factions and quests.
Dungeons and most quests are generic and randomly generated, and can be quite confusing.
There are many skills that isn't featured in later games and the combat system is directional.
If you can handle graphics from 1996, give it a go.

I had great fun at least, but I'm kind of into retro games.
(Anyone know of any text based RPGs? Like a "troll on bridge in front of you, and you type what to do" kind of game.
Preferrably not online)

I still play it, but have been enjoying a heavily modded Skyrim over the last month.

I can't tell you if you'll enjoy it or not, but if you wanna give it a go, then use the download from this page, http://theelderscrolls.wiwiland.net/?title=Daggerfall_:_DaggerfallSetup_EN

It's already dos configured and patched.

P.S. The game itself is actually incomplete, however someone is working on it, http://xlengine.com/

I did play it, but then again, I *do* have that nostalgia thing, so I'm not unbiased. Anyway, outdated graphics don't bother me unless they are *too* obnoxiously outdated. What I'd *really* like to see in Daggerfall, though, would be somebody to LGNPC-ify it, bring some more individuality to characters other than those involved in the main quest, perhaps giving them some individual, non-recurring quests of their own. Of course, it would be impossible to do that for each and every NPC in game (not even a tenth of them, actually), but then again, there are plenty of characters who *do* have some sort of lore behind them or at least are supposed to have. Livening them up would be a good start.

The main question I have for you is when did you get into gaming? If you've played games from the early 90s, then DF is totally playable, and you'll feel right at home. If you cut your teeth on games post 2000, or Skyrim was your first TES game, then you might be out of luck, as this game is a bit pixelated. The game is incredibly dated to look at, but still conveys the necessary visual info to feel like you're exploring a dungeon first hand. I unfortunately am a bit blinded by nostalgia, but the graphics, story, and sound are good enough even with today's technological advances. Actually, soundwise, I think it's still ahead of most games, and the mechanics and gameplay are probably on par with today's crop of shovelware. There's a lot going on in this game that makes it still playable today. Just keep in mind, that a key element to this game is randomly generated material. If you're looking for a well scripted, linear, canned mission like today's RPG quests, then look elsewhere.

Well, as others have said, I still find it playable, but I do have the nostalgia thing, so it's hard to make an unbiased opinion. Also, I think it's easier to "fill in the blanks" if you have a really good imagination b/c the graphics aren't as nice as modern games and the towns are a little generic-feeling, but with a decent imagination, it can feel just as *real* or immersive as the newer ones...

Have you played the "Zork" series? They probably took the text based RPG thing to the max before that style of game kinda died out. Also, if you like that style of game, anything from Sierra's Kings Quest series 1-6, Space Quest, or "The Black Cauldron" all use as mix of graphic exploration and typing exactly what you want the character to do - for example "Take id card", or put "cookie in gruel..." Warning, though, because of the almost limitless possibilities and combinations of words, these games can stump you for days at a time trying to figure out how to get past some of the puzzles...

Most of those games are on GOG.

OP

Graphics: if you played games on PS 1 or even like super nintendo, these wont bother you enouh not to play.
Sound: superb, immersive. Music is the pinnacle of MIDI format, sound FX are good, probably better then what was found in morrowind actually so far as combat noises with weopons. There is no voice acting. Well, a little bit, but that serves to emphasize the effect the little bit has. Sound has been diminished through DOS emulation IMO. Not to the point you would notice, but I do because i played it back in the day too.
Mechanics: immersive to say the least, character creation really matters, skill and attributes will determine your success at a particular action. Not a game to be a tank mage in, pick a style of character and work on it. Best bet is a warrior, or warrior/magic with magic supplementing your combat skills as a first character. And by suplement i mean heal wounds and other effects, not so much shoot fireballs and then use a warhammer, unless yuo want to use the rest function after every fight.

If you have played anything besides Skyrim from TES series, you should play this game. It will show you the foundation of what we have now. It is a genuinely fun game on it's own merit, massive game world(though free exploration of the world is a tad....underwhelming) Fast travel is perfectly acceptable for this game, in fact the game immersion is not broken at all by using it as it was designed to be the main form of long travel. I think I read somwhere if you were to run on foot from one end of the bay to the opposite end, it takes like 23 or 28 days of real time to do it. And unlike later games, travel means a lot here as quests have time limits(set in days) so lolly gagging around will cause a fail. (not applicable to almost all the main quest though)

The towns are much larger and much more populated then the following games, though many of the citizens are just generic. Still, compared to newer ones, the feeling you get as you travel is that indeed you are just one guy in the world makeing your way. As the series of games has progressed, this feeling has been diminished in favor of smaller and smaller populations and more and more importance placed on the player character. Cities make you feel safe, surounded by lots of people. Dungeons make your skin crawl as you are really on your own, surrounded by stuff to kill you, bumps in the night, groans and creaks, and nobody will know you are dead if some giant spider or wereboar eats you.

The game will not hold your hand. it will tell you "you are in a cave" and then you need to figure out how to play, how to survive, how to escape. I suggest reading a guide or at least searching the forums a bit to get a feel for combat tricks and how character creation can make or break your character so far as difficulty goes.

2 things: One, buy a spell or make it or enchant an item with a recall spell. When you go into a dungeon, cast the spell and set an anchor by the door. This way, when yuo get hopelessly lost in the massive puzzle box of a sunken tower or stronghold, you can go back to the entrance. This one thing will make the game more enjoyable for you. (I also recomend levitate)
The other thing: go to daggerfall, in the province of daggerfall. Save your game. wait around or visit some locals in a tavern and somewhere between midnight and say, 4 a.m. go for a stroll around town. Unforgettable.

So i started with morrowind on the Xbox so graphics wise i should be fine but most of you are saying the the gameplay is truly different. How would it compare to morrowind or oblivion? Also, the download of gamesas site was very confusing is the link you put up very straight forward.

Started it a few weeks ago, although I haven't touched it much, as I'm currently trying to finish Arena first.

It's not so different from Morrowind, except that Morrowind quests are more fleshed out and Daggerfall dungeons and cities are much bigger almost as if you are playing in a real place. It's easy to get lost inside a dungeon and it's harder to fight and stay alive. The good side of this is that you have more freedom with Daggerfall side quests. If a side quest sends you to a dungeon you don't like just let the quest timer end and ask for another quest. They are procedurally generated from a quest template and each time you will be sent to a different town or dungeon.

Since you have an unlimited number of quests to gain experience from it's easy to maintain the same play style. For example want to play a pure thief like in the Thief series who avoid fights, then join the Thieves guild and search for those quests which provide a pure thief experience. In Morrowind without any mods to add schedulles to the game it's almost impossible to play a pure thief because 1) there's not enough quests 2) gameplay is screwed up.

You can also play only to get money for the books and build your own library. There are collector quests who don't involve neither killing or thieving. I believe if Daggerfall was finished you could buy fourniture to your own house and put your collection of books and junk in there. There are a few models for furniture that were never used.

In the other games i don't even bother trying to play anything else besides a fighter. Choose to be a mage or thief is just a cosmetic choice. A wizard kills things with a funny hat and throws fireballs. A thief kills things from behind with an arrow in the head. Most quests don't even provide alternatives for not having to kill something to complete the quest.

The only bad thing about "just letting the quest timer end is faction standing, 1 because you fail a quest and 2 if you haven't done missions for a certain guild in a certain period of time, your faction standing will gradually drop. At least that was always my understanding when I played (I normally joined several different guilds, like Fighters Guild, Knights of the Dragon, a Temple, like Temple of Mara/Dibella, to get free/cheap services, etc. and just to help a Temple full of dancing naked (but pixelated) women.
A better way to me was just to be selective about what quests I accepted either by reloading *gasp* or leaving and coming back - I think it was after like 24 hours, they would offer you a different quest... but it's been a while, so I'm not sure.

There were certain quests that were easy to do just to rank up in a guild, like "protect the special artifact at the Mages Guild from thieves" a short, overnight quest. Also, the "travel to x palace and kill the imps or whatever vermin have infested it" was pretty easy, I believe. The reason I say "easy" is that you will find the first time you are sent to retrieve "mummy wrappings" from the bottom of some huge dungeon that takes you about a week of real time to search through may seem 'epic' at first, but after you are asked to do that same quest for the 20th time, it gets old. It is especially old, if you encounter the bug where you *can't find* what you are sent to get. I mean, it is no where in the dungeon. I think there was a flaw in some dungeon generations where the location of the quest item was basically impossible to reach. There are cheats around that, though, but I hate cheating by teleporting b/c it feels cheap, even if it's to get around a bug...

Otherwise, I agree with most of what you said.
This is true, If I am remembering correctly, I think sometimes you can even buy something from a pawn shop to fullfill a quest obligation - I could swear I remember doing that before just to get around the "search the depths of the crypt " for some trinket" trap.

I had no related nostalgia and enjoyed the game a hell lot, but then again I've played worse looking games. It's free, so just try it and see.

So...are you enjoying Arena?

I want to thank all who have responded...especially those who did so in depth...brilliant.
I will save a link to this thread and revisit when I am setting-up to play Daggerfall.

For all that people say about the earlier games being more 'complex', Daggerfall doesn't have as much 'fluff' as the later games i.e. a dungeon is basically a dungeon and a temple is a temple. So if you're used having lots of lore to flesh out the game, make up your own or get from elsewhere. The first place to look is later TES lore of course, but folklore and other fantasy helps. For example, before getting involved with a witch coven, read something like white wolf's 'Circle of the Crone' which explains what witches get up to and why they do it in their game.
Also, the usual guild quest givers may give you additional 'merchant' quests for their own needs instead the guild if you click 'talk' instead of 'quest'. This leads to some weird and difficult to predict situations which just don't happen after a couple of Morrowind playthroughs.

yeah Daggerfall lore isnt really a visual thing like in newer games. However, there is a ton of lore in the game, it's just kept in the books. man, there are a lot of books if you start reading all of them. lots of stuff about history, festivals, people of import, that type of thing in those books. lots of books in the mages guild halls. Free to read after you join the guild. part of the games charm I think- the more you dig into the little stuff in Daggerfall, the more you find.

I am actually. I find it to be extremely entertaining, I know that some people here will disagree, but playing Arena is probably the most fun I've had with a video game in a good few months.

Do you want to say something about what it is you like about it?

I am enjoying myself on Daggerfall as you can see in my sig though I honestly got lucky with an ebony dagger and abused a stat glitch that let me have every stat up to 75 and with the roll I can get them to 80-85. Pretty much starting with a completed character.

I was thinking about playing Arena but I think I will stick to daggerfall until I feel like that I am done with it. I may have to make a legit character on it one day also but I am still learning and without my overpowering stats I would have died in town being forced to reload back to the starting dungeon. Having fun is all that matters right?

I love old school graphics so that only a plus for me and the story is pretty much nonexisting which was the goal of the game at the time. What story it do have can be ignored for the most part while the lore is fun to read when you happen to find a random book.

Some stuff you can clearly see improved when they made Morrowind, dialog/info/action = normal mode where sneak = sneak mode. Flipping between those can get annoying fast but that something you can do while walking and I believe you could easily hit the F keys to get what you want right away.

Learning how to use the wagon and learning where to go gotta be the hardest part which is honestly something that can be self taught. The only problem would have to be the monsters being immune to weapon types. They really should make them strong against them but not completely immune. Kinda mess up with the fighter guild tell you that a shop is currently having a monster problem and you accept the quest thinking rat then the last line given is by a shouting NPC saying it is a harpy. >.>

Old thread, I am aware but felt like giving my input. The game is fun but you gotta be aware that back in the day "Nintendo-hard" was the only way they made games. Not like these games that give a 5 hour tutorial then drop you off with 50 healing items and a full set of armor. You can clearly tell how Bethesda move away from being challenging to causal.

Daggerfall = Hard starting dungeon and no help whatsoever.
Morrowind = A few rooms you can illegally loot and a nice little push to the main quest with a healing ring if you choose to keep it.
Oblivion = A starting dungeon that give everything a starting character needs and the quest being so easy and linear to the point where you can complete them as soon as possible.
Skyrim = Give everything and more and start out off getting your shouts.

So yea, I am a old school Megaman X and Link to the Past full completion without guides gamer. Daggerfall don't have anything bad as far as I can see but then again I not expecting it to be easy. I grew up in the 90's and started with the NES Dragon Warrior. I know how to grind. So my input may be meaningless if you are the type who search for cheat codes after doing that 1+ hour tutorial.

Sorry for my somewhat rant but yea, it generally go down to how much you got used to the newer games that was made for kids and not teens.

Hmm... I would have to say the dungeons. Sure only 17 are predetermined, but I find them incredibly spooky, I still don't have an enchanted item with "Light" yet, which adds to the creepy atmosphere.