No, not THAT one. Not the Gold Box game from 1990 that revolutionized
the PC role-playing game genre. That game has been around for a while.
No, I'm talking about its forgotten 2001 'sequel' (in quotes because
there actually were other games that were more proper sequels to the
original, but they weren't called "Pool of Radiance"): "Pool of
Radiance: The Ruins of Myth Drannor".

Honestly, I'm surprised that this game wasn't already available as a
digital download. Almost all the other D&D games from that era already
are. In fact, when I read the news* I had to double-check my library;
I would have sworn I'd already gotten a copy from GOG some time in the
past. But nope, the only version I have is the original CD-ROM
edition.

Then again, considering how badly the game flopped, I guess I really /shouldn't/ be surprised that it's taken this long to make it back to
the market. It suffered (as I remember it) from a poor interface,
uninspired gameplay, dated visuals (even for 2001!) and tedious
gameplay. There was little to do but fight, and the combat wasn't even
very good.

And then there were the bugs. The most infamous, of course, was that
if you tried to uninstall the game, it would delete core Win95 files,
rendering your PC unusable (at least, until you reinstalled Windows).
But the rest of the game wasn't much better, with numerous crashes and scripting errors. The re-release promises to fix these, of course.

Still, I can't help but be interested in the game... if only for the
same reason as people look at a car wreck. Was it /really/ as bad as I remember? Maybe if I give it another try, and earnestly work to enjoy
it, I might actually have fun? Or will I uninstall it (making sure to
back-up the PC first... just in case ;-) as quickly as I did back in
2001? I guess I'll find out when the re-release comes out.

Do you have any memories of "Ruins of Myth Drannor", positive or
negative? Are you interested in the remake, if only to see how bad it
is? Or are you going to sensibly let this one slip on by and save your
time and money for a GOOD game? ;-)







* the news https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/a-forgotten-dungeon-crawler-from-the-baldurs-gate-era-is-coming-to-steam-and-gog-for-the-first-time-ever/




--- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:20:17 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Do you have any memories of "Ruins of Myth Drannor", positive or
negative? Are you interested in the remake, if only to see how bad it
is? Or are you going to sensibly let this one slip on by and save your
time and money for a GOOD game? ;-)

My only memory of this is how poorly it was received so I completely
dismissed it at the time. I doubt I will bother with it now.

From the same link you provided... a Baldur's Gate 2 remake may be
coming.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:52:13 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> said
this thing:

On Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:20:17 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson ><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Do you have any memories of "Ruins of Myth Drannor", positive or
negative? Are you interested in the remake, if only to see how bad it
is? Or are you going to sensibly let this one slip on by and save your
time and money for a GOOD game? ;-)

My only memory of this is how poorly it was received so I completely >dismissed it at the time. I doubt I will bother with it now.

From the same link you provided... a Baldur's Gate 2 remake may be
coming.

Hasbro is flailing about with their D&D license. "Baldur's Gate 3" was
an unexpected success, and they aren't sure how to capitalize on that.
The developers of BG3 have openly stated they aren't interested in
making a sequel, and Hasbro's other D&D video games have been almost universally panned... plus new AAA games take years to develop anyway.
It's no surprise they are turning to remakes (and milking their
back-catalog with re-releases). They have no idea how profit of the
D&D license otherwise.



--- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:43:28 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Hasbro is flailing about with their D&D license. "Baldur's Gate 3" was
an unexpected success, and they aren't sure how to capitalize on that.
The developers of BG3 have openly stated they aren't interested in
making a sequel, and Hasbro's other D&D video games have been almost >universally panned... plus new AAA games take years to develop anyway.
It's no surprise they are turning to remakes (and milking their
back-catalog with re-releases). They have no idea how profit of the
D&D license otherwise.

Despite Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 being two of my favorite games of all
time, I don't think they need remakes. They look and play fine. They
certainly are not what I would choose to remake. There are older
titles that need it more.

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On Fri, 17 Jul 2026 09:13:23 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> said
this thing:

On Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:43:28 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson ><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

Hasbro is flailing about with their D&D license. "Baldur's Gate 3" was
an unexpected success, and they aren't sure how to capitalize on that.
The developers of BG3 have openly stated they aren't interested in
making a sequel, and Hasbro's other D&D video games have been almost >>universally panned... plus new AAA games take years to develop anyway.
It's no surprise they are turning to remakes (and milking their >>back-catalog with re-releases). They have no idea how profit of the
D&D license otherwise.

Despite Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 being two of my favorite games of all
time, I don't think they need remakes. They look and play fine. They >certainly are not what I would choose to remake. There are older
titles that need it more.

You won't get argument from me, but I think my (negative) opinion on
the industry's reliance on remakes and reboots is well known already.
But it's even stronger with regards to the Baldur's Gate franchise,
since they /already/ received an 'enhanced edition' update a few years
back. And even more so since the 'moving sprites on painted
background' look is part of what made the originals so endearing.
Replacing that with a 3D-rendered world not only doesn't interest me,
it seems a violation of what made those older games great in the first
place.

But Hasbro's gotta make money, and Baldurs Gate has incredible cachet
now. Sure you could pour effort into making a new game that's as good
as the older ones... but it's just easier to sell everybody what they
already owned anyway.





--- PyGate Linux v1.5.18
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)