Wanted: Complete Apple II system and Wizardry

[leaknoil]

I'm not sure why but, I have got it stuck in my mind to play Wizardry again. I've tried the emulators and it's just not the same without the floppy drives and Apple keyboard. I want the whole experience again.

Wizardry really blew me away when I was in high school. We had one Apple II in the school and we had to sign up hours in advance to get a 30 min slot to play. I never even really got to play it much. Maybe two hours total before they banned all the games and the computer was for school work only. When my family finally bought a computer it was an Atari 800 and I moved on. Still I never forgot Wizardry.

So, I'm looking for a fairly clean Apple II/IIe/whatever. With two drives and a mono monitor. We only had a mono monitor. I guess the computer can do color but, I don't want to see it playing the game. Guess I could just turn all the color off.

I want to display it in my living room so, nothing too ratty. If you know of one somewhere reasonably priced that might fit the ticket please drop me a line. Seem like the original Wizardry disks might be the harder thing to find. Hopefully I'd like to get the whole series but, the first one is the important one to this craziness. I guess its because I'm getting older I start thinking about this junk.

[tezza]

...the first one is the important one to this craziness. I guess its because I'm getting older I start thinking about this junk.

Yes, nostaligia is as good a reason as any for this hobby. :)

Tez

[leaknoil]

Yes, nostaligia is as good a reason as any for this hobby. :)

Tez


And I've got it bad. I usually just stick to my old Sun hardware but, for some reason I got Wizardy on the brain these last few days. It's probably because I never had a chance to finish it. Not sure I can live with that ;)

[Bill_Loguidice]

I understand as well. I have the following Wizardry computer games boxed, not counting the NES version and loose PC collection:

* Wizardry I (1) - Proving Grounds Apple II
* Wizardry I (1) - Proving Grounds MSX2
* Wizardry II (2) - Knight of Diamonds - Wizardry The Second Scenario Apple II Zip Loc version
* Wizardry III (3) - Legacy of Llylgamyn Apple II
* Wizardry III (3) - Legacy of Llylgamyn (and loose others in series) Apple II

I love having the original games, boxes and documentation whenever possible, all played on the original systems. Though honestly, I vastly prefer playing in color over monochrome, "authentic" or not. If the system is natively capable of it and the game supports it, I always want to take advantage of the optimal setup, which is what a modern-day collection/setup can allow for. For instance, I can setup an Apple IIe Platinum with dual Mockingboards, something that never would have been possible back when the system was actively on the market.

Good luck in your search. They turn up on eBay quite frequently. I actually have a decent amount of spare Apple II-related stuff as part of my collection, but I'm not ready - mostly from an organization standpoint - to get rid of duplicates.

I know you don't want to play in emulation, but in case you weren't aware of it, be sure to check out http://www.virtualapple.org/ , which nicely allows you to play directly in your browser.

[vbriel]

Wizardry was the game that I got Computerland to throw in for free when I got my Apple II+. I spent many hours in those tunnels building charater stats. I never got into D&D, but this game is just fun.

You can convert disk images that you use with the emulator into real disks if you search for ADT. Nothing like playing it on the real thing! Don't forget to write protect the boot disk!

Vince

[leaknoil]

I did try it on that browser emulator but, I had to stop myself from playing the emulated versions until I can get the real thing going. I need the floppy drive and keypress sounds going for the full retro effect.

I've searched "Wizardy" for the last week or so, on Ebay but, nothing has come up yet. Even the giant collections of Apple II games being sold seem noticeably absent of Wizardy. I find it hard to believe they bought just about every game for the Apple II and somehow missed the whole Wizardry series. They probably got passed along or sold earlier. I'm going to keep looking. Having the boxes would be nice.

[Trixter]

I've searched "Wizardy" for the last week or so, on Ebay but, nothing has come up yet. Even the giant collections of Apple II games being sold seem noticeably absent of Wizardy. I find it hard to believe they bought just about every game for the Apple II and somehow missed the whole Wizardry series. They probably got passed along or sold earlier. I'm going to keep looking. Having the boxes would be nice.

Getting a vintage Apple II is relatively easy. Getting an original Wizardry is not. I would make the suggestion that you settle for a copy of Wizardry (search aminet or any other apple repository to get the game) and copy it to your apple using adtpro. You'll be able to have the retro experience without shelling out $150 for the original diskette.

[leaknoil]

Getting a vintage Apple II is relatively easy. Getting an original Wizardry is not. I would make the suggestion that you settle for a copy of Wizardry (search aminet or any other apple repository to get the game) and copy it to your apple using adtpro. You'll be able to have the retro experience without shelling out $150 for the original diskette.

I will of course. The images for the entire series are up at a couple of places. I would like to get it eventually though. Do they really sell for $150 ? That's amazing.

[vbriel]

Getting a vintage Apple II is relatively easy. Getting an original Wizardry is not. I would make the suggestion that you settle for a copy of Wizardry (search aminet or any other apple repository to get the game) and copy it to your apple using adtpro. You'll be able to have the retro experience without shelling out $150 for the original diskette.

I've often thought about an original Wizardry disk, but I've seen them go for about $20-$30 not $150.

Vince

[Trixter]

Welcome to the world of software collecting. :rolleyes:

I run a software collector's mailing list; if you'd like to join, read the bottom of http://www.mobygames.com/info/MobyScale for instructions (itself a grading scale used by collectors) or visit http://list.oldskool.org/listinfo/swcollect . See if anyone on the list would be willing to sell or trade it to you for less.

Wizardry on ebay for $150 I can see; from a private collector sale, I would imagine you would pay less.

[Bill_Loguidice]

I have to agree with the lower figure myself. If you're talking the zip loc version, maybe you'll push a higher figure, but for the standard and in some ways preferable later boxed version, $20 - $40 is more like it. I know I paid in that range for mine and it wasn't all that long ago.