DragonRealms vs. GemStone IV

Kuzzle

Cadet
Ok, well, I figured I'd try one of these games, since everyone seems to love them so much. Problem is, I can't decide which. That's where you guys come in. I liked the GSIV website more, but... I don't know, I took a look through an old thread here and people made DR seems pretty cool, so... I decided I'd ask which you guys prefer.
 
Aw, I'm too biased. (Dragonrealms!!)

From what I understand is: in GS you can level up by practicing any skills and getting experience points from them. (I never really played GS, so I don't know exactly how it works)

In DR you actually level your skills and once you get enough in certain ones, you can level up.

I guess since leveling is a big part of the game, that's probably a good way to choose.
 
Biased also. DragonRealms! I just reopened my olde DR account, actually.
DR also has a much higher regular population, I believe.

DR... 'cause it's more funner. duh.
Actually... I have no experience with GS, either.
 
I chose GS. Why? The site made it look so much better than DR. Also, I was in a rush. But still... The DR site made it look, uh... Well, less attuned to my style of play than GS seemed to be.
 
You rebel! :smiley: Simutronics makes great games... Either game is bound to be a lot of fun for you, if you can get into text based games.

Maybe you can give us a review of your GS experiences after you've gotten the hang of the world.


*Smites the WatchMaker*

310706_smite.jpg
 
Aw, I want a smite button... But yeah, once I understand what I'm doing, I'll... Try to make a non-gibbershauce(tm) post about it.
 
Enjoy GS, in my opinion it is the better game, I tried DR, I really did. I think I just couldn't get past how not GS it was, so to speak. What I love about GS is the freedom to do what you want. I was a rogue, but all I really did was sit around picking lockboxes for people and occasionally hunt (grind) and I leveled up just fine, it was really a social environment, heavily RP oriented.
 
How casual-gamer friendly are the two games? I wouldn't mind playing something on the side on weekends or at the end of the day after class, wouldn't want to devote too much time to it but the idea of heavy RP intrigues me a great deal.
 
Leo said:
How casual-gamer friendly are the two games?

Very... There are players who have devoted years to their characters while leveling them little, if at all. You can do what you wish at any pace you like. There is no grouping or raiding in the current mmorpg sense. Hunt or don't hunt... alone or with friends... or practice any skill that interests you, whenever you please... Be it part of your guild's (class) requirements for leveling or not.
 
blur said:
Apparantly we can trial it free? But the site seems to unintuitive... like what user interface do I need, etc?

Once you start the process to create a trial account, you are given the option to choose from a couple of different clients to download for playing.
 
I'll have to try the trial when the next weekend comes, gotta do school stuff this week. Should be interesting, so I think I'll go with Dragonrealms since it just sounds cooler :smiley:
 
Personally, I like Gemstone a lot better. You still get a kick-ass lot of character customization, and in your first 30 days with a character you can re-spec in a matter of minutes if you want to try out something new without having to go back to basics (if you want to learn a new type of weapon or armor in DR, it's back to ship's rats or other low level monsters). Numbers for combat and some secondary skills are displayed openly so you can see the effects of your skills upon your effectiveness. DR requires a lot of repetition and for some classes sitting around being lectured or lecturing others to level up. Granted, levels aren't completely game-breaking in DR, but it's possible to have the weapon and armor skills to kill most anything and still be low level because you never bothered with working secondary skill sets.

Now, in DR's favor, combat is more descriptive than number-oriented, being able to work up just about any skill can shock the heck out of somebody who thought based on your class and relative wealth (via look) you were something else entirely, and skills you actually use are indeed the ones you're best at. Levels are nice for the stat points, but you can get those from working up skills as well. It's fun to be able to pick your own boxes despite your class; and what's really fun (and I've been wanting to do for the longest time) is to have a low-level trader walking along the trade routes with a yak who sees the master thief dipping into their pockets, robs said thief blind while he's still recovering from the failure, and then walks right along. Of course, a trader can't learn those skills very quickly, which is what would make such an event so much more entertaining.

Being a number cruncher myself, I prefer GS, but I can't say I haven't found DR entertaining as well. I've gone back to both every so often over the years.
 
DR is my favorite. I tried GS, but it just didn't feel right.

To play, I personally like StormFront (it holds all of your macros/scripts/etc, so if you use someone else's computer they're still there).

I just can't use it (it being stormfront) on a mac, which sucks. I've got to resort back to typing everything if I want to play on this computer. I really don't like Avalon much either, so I just use the old Wizard.
 
HJ-Diviana said:
To play, I personally like StormFront (it holds all of your macros/scripts/etc, so if you use someone else's computer they're still there).

And I use the 'Wizard' as it was the only client back in 97' and I have it set up 'just the way I like it' :smiley: ... Plus, after trying StormFront, years ago, I think the Wizard had a bit of a quicker response time. I think there was a java client, too, for awhile... *ponders*

I believe you can even use a 3rd party client, like ZMUD, if you so choose.
 
I like StormFront better. I mean, Wizard's got the music, which is nice, but you can click on stuff in StormFront. You can drag it, and it's just so much nicer looking... I don't understand what all the numbers in GS's combat mean, or what factors contribute to them, but I'm really enjoying it so far. Even though I can never hit anything...

I'm a bard, all the way! I've come up with so many little songs and diddies so far. Also, loresinging kicks ass... I just wish I were a little better at it, is all.
 
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