Wizardry 8

What is it?: The last Wizardry game, Windows, 2001.
What computer or emulator will it run on?: For 640×480 Pentium II might do. Direct3D, OpenGL, and Glide are supported.
Tags: 3D, 3Dfx Voodoo.

There are a couple of parallels between Ultima IX and Wizardry 8: Both games ended a famous RPG series that was at the time about twenty years old. Both were released five years after the last game in the series, which in both cases meant a huge technological jump. Especially, both were the first in their respective series to use a 3D engine.

A curiosity is that with this game, the Wizardry series changed from Roman to Arabian numerals. This occasionally happens, for example with Space Quest 6 (it, too, a last in line, though it wasn't planned this way), but here it was especially pronounced since the number eight is the logo and icon of the game. Maybe that's because eight is the holiest number. As Martin Gardner once observed, there are other holy numbers, like six and nine and sometimes four, but eight is the only one with two holes in it.

Furthermore it is the only Wizardry game that does not have a subtitle. Especially the previous two games, with which it shares a storyline, did not even officially carry numbers (except in the Ultimate Wizardry Collection), but were simply known as Bane of the Cosmic Forge and Crusaders of the Dark Savant.

Somewhat Rushed

Wizardry 8 took a very long time to make. The oldest screenshots I have seen are dated 1997. Release was originally scheduled for fall 1998. The Ultimate Wizardry Archives, a 1998 CD-ROM with all the games of the main series including Wizardry Gold, contained a video preview announcing release in 1999. In October of the same year, Sir-Tech went bankrupt. Development was deferred to Sir-tech Canada, a seperate company.

From now on, development was rather hasty, and it shows. There is a huge difference between the Monastery, probably created early in development, where the modelling is on par with Quake II, and the Old Mine Tunnels, which are just huge polygons with some textures and bumpmapping slipped on and look like a very bad model railroad layout.

A side effect of the bankruptcy is the advertisement you get when you quit the game. Personally, I find it quite funny and wouldn't want to miss it.

Amusing Stuff

Cultural References

Pop-culture references in RPGs are not uncommon, the Fallout series was especially famous for them. But Wizardry 8 contains lots of references to mainstream or classic culture, from Aesop over Shakespeare to Kafka.

The symbol for water magic is Hokusai's Great Wave.
The symbol for slowed characters is a tortoise, the symbol for hastened characters a hare.
The first boss is a giant bug named Gregor. Gregor is also the name of the (anti-)hero in Kafka's Metamorphosis, a young man turned into a giant cockroach.
There is a set of items either exclusive to, or at least especially fit for the Bard character class, all named after Shakespeare characters: Ariel's Slippers, Caliban's Cuirass, Mercucio's Blade, Oberon's Greaves, Prospero's Cloak, Puck's Cap. Shakespeare is often referred to simply as The Bard.

Enemies Turn Friends

In Wizardry 8, the Thief character class was renamed Rogue. Rogues were among the enemies of Wizardry I, as were Bushwackers, now a level title of the Ranger.

Gameplay Stuff

Class Changes

Changing classes had always been an important aspect of Wizardry gameplay. Up to Crusaders of the Dark Savant, the choice of classes at character creation had been limited, and the stronger classes could only be had after some levelling up. With Wizardry 8, this changed. All the classes are available right from the start (you can even get a stat loan if the extra points are not sufficient), class changes are possible only at level-up and somewhat discouraged by the game designers. In certain cases, they can still be beneficial.

Low-Level Changes

It can sometimes be interesting to start a character in another class to get better starting equipment or starting skills.

Start a Bishop as an Alchemist: Chances are you want Alchemy to be the main spellbook anyway. Alchemists can combine potions right from the beginning, Bishops can't. Rest a lot for the free potions, combine. Elves, Gnomes, Fairies, Humans, Hobbits, and Rawulfs have enough points to qualify for both professions at character creation.
Start as a Valkyrie for Polearm: Fighters, Lords, Rangers, Ninjas, and Monks can use Polearms as well, but only the Valkyrie starts with a spear and a bonus in this skill. Not recommended for a Ninja who really needs her starting gear. Actually, not really recommended at all, except for fans of weirder builds.

High-Level Changes

For casting and stealth characters it can be interesting to change into something else once that skill is maxed out.

Change a Rogue into a Ranger: Best with a Hobbit, since they excel in both professions. You can either go for a Dual Daggers/Modern Arms build, in this case max out Dexterity and Speed first. Stealth will advance a bit slower, but you'll get an excellent pickpocket this way. Or go for a more conventional (for a Ranger) Sword/Shield/Bow build and max out Intelligence and Dexterity first. Stealth and Locks & Traps will advance faster this way. In any case hang on to the Poseur's Cap. The Ranger will be able to wear it, with that and a Thieve's Buckler you can have 130% Locks & Traps!
Change a Rogue into a Bard: Again, best with a Hobbit. Sword, Shield, Bow, max out Dexterity and Intelligence first, then switch to Senses and Vitality. As soon as Stealth is maxed out, change classes. Chances are by now you have more instruments than one bard can carry.
Change a Bard into Something Else: Once a Bard is level 18 and has maxed out Music skill (85% is required for the strongest instruments, but 100% is of course better), there is no real reason to remain a Bard any more. Depending on the skills of the Bard and the needs of your party, Ranger (better bows, Ranged Combat bonus), Samurai (better swords, Critical Strike, Sword bonus), or Fighter (better armor and weapons, Close Combat bonus) might be good choices.
Change a Ninja into a Samurai: Dual Swords, Bow or Throwing according to your preferences, max out Dexterity and Intelligence first. You get a Samurai with Stealth and two spellbooks, and you only lose the Thrown Criticals in the process. By the time you are ready for the class change you have probably collected the complete Samurai gear. Good races for this change are Hobbits and Humans, to a lesser extent Mooks and Felpurrs.
Change a Bishop into a Lord: Bishops can use maces. Maces are considered the best weapons for a Lord. An Elven Bishop would only have to put 20 points into Strength to qualify for a Lord.
Change a Faerie Bishop into a Monk or Ninja: For Faeries, becoming a Lord is pointless. Instead an accomplished Faerie Bishop might want to change to a class that gives Critical Strike, and has good staves.

Weird Parties

Changing Classes: You could combine all of the class changing suggestions above into a single party. An Alchemist (soon to be turned Bishop, later to be turned Lord), two Rogues (one a future Ranger, one a future Bard), a Ninja (future Samurai). I'd give the remaining two places to a Bard and a Ranger, since both are very useful early on. Late in the game, they could summon as many as four elementals.
Hobbits only: For extra weirdness, all six members of the above party could be Hobbits. Unfortunately there are only four Hobbit portraits.
Mooks Only: Mooks are good at a variety of professions. This party could, for example, have a Fighter, a Bard, a Psionic, a Ranger, a Gadgeteer, and an Alchemist. I wonder if they'd be admitted to the UMA Building immediately. Pity there are only five Mook portraits.

Technical Stuff

Wizardry 8 supports both Direct3D (DirectX 7, though DirectX 6 is supported as well) and OpenGL. The setup utility seems to default to Direct3D. Given the nature of OpenGL, I should have thought that it would give the better results, but this is not the case. There is also a software renderer that looks surprisingly good, but is far too slow for decent gameplay even at the lowest resolution, 640×480 16-bit. The engine supports up to 1600×1200, 32-bit.

Wizardry 8 uses SafeDisc v2, which no longer had the (in)famous CLOKSPL.EXE, but still employs the system of a loader with the real content of the executable encrypted in a data file. Cracks and no-CD patches are abundant on the net, and work without problems.

To capture a screenshot, just press PrintScreen, it will be stored in the game folder in JPG format. Back them up after each game session, the game will overwrite them in the next.