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Last month, we started installing the retro game Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures from the SSI Gold Box series of computerized Dungeons and Dragons games. This month, we examine completion of the installation and how in answer the copy protection challenge while running the game. Next month, we’ll take a look at downloading and setting up modules, then running the game, in order to wrap things up.
Background of the Gold Box Adventure Series
As recounted last month, SSI (Strategic Simulations Inc), under license from Dungeons and Dragons publisher TSR, produced a series of D&D games for DOS called the Gold Box series. They used a common game engine, and allowed you to play D&D on your computer, even with no other players around. Gold Box titles included Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Gateway to the Savage Frontier, and others. The final game to use the Gold Box engine was Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures.
Rather than being an actual game, FRUA was a game-creation toolkit. A still active online community grew up around this, and there are hundreds of modules free to download and play for anyone who owns Unlimited Adventures. Most of the modules for the original paper D&D game are available, with many original adventures being available, as well.
Fortunately for us Linux users, GOG.COM has a version of FRUA remastered for Ubuntu, as part of their Forgotten Realms Collection 2 (which includes several other Gold Box games) for the price of $9.99. Last month it was on sale for $2.49, so I hope at least some of my beloved readers got a copy. It’s still a great value at the current price, considering it amounts to getting hundreds, of games when you factor in how many free modules are available for download. And that’s without even accounting for the other terrific Gold Box games in the package. Highly recommended.
Installing the Game: Bash Shell Scripts
Last month, we covered how to download the Bash Shell Script for FRUA from GOG.COM, and how to change the properties of the file in File Explorer to make it an executable script (shown below).
Then we double-clicked the .sh file to run the installer:
Now that the installer is running, click Next to bring up the End User License Agreement (or EULA), read through to decide if it’s acceptable (it’s pretty standard boilerplate), and click Next.
In the dialog box that pops up, click Yes. In the Destination box that pops up, you can browse to change location, or just accept the default. Do at least make a note o where it is, as we’ll need to know later. There’s probably no reason for most users to change the install location, so let’s just click Next:
On the Options screen, we probably want a Desktop Shortcut, and we definitely want a Menu item. Accept the defaults again and click Next:
Now the installer script will complete the installation. Click Finish on the last screen of the installer.
There are now two desktop configuration files, the first is to launch the game, the second is to configure it:
Right click the first one, select Properties, go to the Permissions tab, and select Allow Launching. This will also change the desktop icon from a generic Linux gear pictogram to the custom Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures icon:
Do the same for the second icon. Now we can double-click to launch FRUA. It runs, but the copy protection screen comes up and wants to know what the text is on a particular page of the printed rule book (a common type of copy protection back in the day). We’ll need to go back to the GOG.COM account page and download the Reference Card for FRUA. Find the ZIP file in File Manager, wherever you downloaded it to, and double-click.
Click the Extract button in the upper right and navigate to where you want the extracted file saved. This will give you a PDF file of the reference card. Double-click it in File Manager to read it. Repeat the process for the game manual (‘Designer’s Journal’), so you can access the information required by the copy protection scheme.
Unfortunately, we now have a really annoying ongoing complication. You will need to start the game (which actually runs in a DOSBox session), then get out of DOSBox’s full screen mode, by using the control key combination ALT-Enter, to answer the challenge by looking up the necessary information in the PDF file. Unfortunately, the challenge will change from one game session to another, so you can’t just do this once and memorize it.
Once you’re out of full screen mode, open the Designer’s Journal PDF file by double-clicking it in the File Explorer. Look up the required information, then go back into the DOSBox session, on the control strip to the left side of the screen. Once you’ve answered the challenge, the game will proceed. You can now hit ALT-Enter again within the game to return to full-screen mode.
Sadly, this constitutes a significantly annoying pain in the posterior, I really wish GOG had removed the copy protection. It would have made a big difference. On the other hand, for a mere $9.99, you can now run FRUA and take advantage of the hundreds of modules available for free download. That’s probably worth the minor nuisance.
Next month: Downloading free modules for Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures