Any original Moria players still around?

[Folk Star]

I am playing Moria (UMoria 5.5) again after a 10 year break. Was looking around online for others who may be playing it still. This is the best site i could find for camaraderie and advice and information.
So thats my deal. True story. Cheers folks!

[HallucinationMushroom]

I played Moria maybe 20 odd years ago. I still have Moria loaded on my computer, does that count?! I finally finished Moria 6, or 7 years ago, and haven't played since. When I did, I used this webpage for pointers, which still seems to be working. http://beej.us/moria/

Anyway, yeah, I love Moria but jeez, it's harsh after playing Angband and variants. For me, it was one of those, I just want to say I won it games since I played it so much back when.

[Folk Star]

Thats great you beat it. I had a level 35 character a long time ago. That was the highest i ever got.
My current character is a level 30.
I swear it is the hardest game ever made haha.
Ill check out that site thanks!

[Mondkalb]

I have played Moria on my Amiga, more than 20 years ago. I found it hard, but very interesting. I never got very far, there were no spoilers available back in those days, no internet, just a public domain floppy disk with the game and some hints. ^^
At least the game had a graphical menu which made it more accessible for new players.
I remember stumbeling without any light source through the dungeon, groveling to the gods. The Salamander, I believe (or Leprechaun?), was one of those thievery bastards who stole stuff from my inventory. I had no ideas of any tactics or of the dangers of the dungeon.
A really cool feature, that I missed in Angband, was the possibility to get items identified by the shop keepers.
I also remember that too much haggling made the shop keepers angry and they wouldn't trade with you anymore.

Since there was no graphical version of Moria for PC I changed later to Angband. I then also could read the angband newsgroup, which was a lot of help to finally make some progress.

[debo]

Whoa I think that's the same beej who made the guide on sockets! I read that guide like 30 times when I was an undergrad

[HallucinationMushroom]

Because the game was so rough around the edges, I just assumed that they hadn't invented save files yet, so the game makers didn't know to do it. I save-scummed like insane since they forgot to add the feature. I was only 12 or so, and to me, Legend of Zelda was about the only game that had save files. It never occured to me that permadeath was purposeful, or to read the manual.

I still couldn't win back then. It didn't help that I had a version that had no working see invisible. The objects that granted SI didn't work, but staves of see invisible did. Game-breaker with, what, the invisible lich, invisible balrog... and is Iggy invisible... probably?

[debo]

The Balrog is invisible? How the shit is something that is ON FIRE become invisible? lol

[Derakon]

IIRC Tolkein mostly described the Balrog as being cloaked in wings of shadow, that kind of thing. The association with fire was added by other people.

[bron]

Originally Posted by Folk Star

Moria (UMoria 5.5)

Well, I haven't actually *played* Moria in a good many years. Although, if you look in the ERRORS file of 5.5.2 source distribution, you should see my name,
way back when I did a small amount of beta testing for Jim Wilson. So I probably ought to be able to answer questions.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Derakon

IIRC Tolkein mostly described the Balrog as being cloaked in wings of shadow, that kind of thing. The association with fire was added by other people.

From the source:

Something was coming up behind them. What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and go before it

The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. Its streaming mane kindled and blazed behind it. In its right hand was a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs

It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils.

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew.