Oh yeah, this game's oldschool. No tutorials HERE, no sir. You'll definitely want some kind of manual.
Except that there is a tutorial.
It's a separate option from the menu, and has Xan in it.
That tells you how the game is played, stuff like "left click to attack," but in the BG series what you want to do is go online and find a tutorial which will teach you how the rules of the game actually work, Thac0, attack bonuses etc.
Man, is Temple of Elemental Evil ever so buggy. I found a hilarious glitch to give any character an ungodly score for any one ability, but the game getting so crash prone now refuses to even load.
Would you guys say that the Icewind Dale series be worth getting? I have been holding off on that one for a while. It seems light on story.
It's light on story but it's not devoid of story. You'll play through it once, enjoy it, and never touch the series again.
It's a fun combat focused version of the Infinity Engine. If you hate AD&D 2nd ED and/or the whole IE gameplay paradigm, steer clear. Otherwise it's fun and complex.
I've replayed Icewind Dale three times. I've lost count of how many times I've played half of Icewind Dale II and never getting around to finishing it. The series is more than worth getting, but not for the story.
I most vividly remember the rape snakes from IWD. Some snake men kidnapped some human travelers and forced them to breed with their snake women. The humans were all too happy when you rescued them.
emnmnme on
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
I most vividly remember the rape snakes from IWD. Some snake men kidnapped some human travelers and forced them to breed with their snake women. The humans were all too happy when you rescued them.
Yuan-ti.
They were probably trying to breed humans with other Yuan-ti to make something more like their "God" in the game. Rape snakes would be about right though. It has been ages since I've played Icewind Dale of course.
A marilith, who has the upper body of a Russian supermodel and everything else is snake. Oh and six arms.
Managed to finish up ascension with a 3 person party. berserker, fighter/thief, cleric/mage. The end fight is too bias towards good though, sucks as evil where you can't time stop cheese everything.
Would you guys say that the Icewind Dale series be worth getting? I have been holding off on that one for a while. It seems light on story.
It's light on story but it's not devoid of story. You'll play through it once, enjoy it, and never touch the series again.
It's a fun combat focused version of the Infinity Engine. If you hate AD&D 2nd ED and/or the whole IE gameplay paradigm, steer clear. Otherwise it's fun and complex.
I'm almost positive IWD is 3rd ED. Or is that IWD2? Or... am I just totally wrong?
Would you guys say that the Icewind Dale series be worth getting? I have been holding off on that one for a while. It seems light on story.
It's light on story but it's not devoid of story. You'll play through it once, enjoy it, and never touch the series again.
It's a fun combat focused version of the Infinity Engine. If you hate AD&D 2nd ED and/or the whole IE gameplay paradigm, steer clear. Otherwise it's fun and complex.
I'm almost positive IWD is 3rd ED. Or is that IWD2? Or... am I just totally wrong?
IWD2 was 3rd edition. It's also the only IE game where you can't roll your stats.
Stupid point buy system is no fun.
PaPa on
0
HedgethornAssociate Professor of Historical Hobby HorsesIn the Lions' DenRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
You don't roll your stats in Planescape either. You just have a set amount of points at character creation to assign as you desire.
Hedgethorn on
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OrcaAlso known as EspressosaurusWrexRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
Point buy system is better, because you're going to click reroll until you get a good set of stats anyway. And in person you end up with the guy that rolls all 18's next to the guy that rolls 3s, and that kind of sucks.
Orca on
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DunxcoShould get a suitNever skips breakfastRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
I've reached my brick wall in BG1, again. Fucking Cloakwood and the mines. It is so long, so drab, so boring, and so goddamn likely that you won't rest without being molested by wolves/bears/spiders/talsoi. Top it off with being unremarkable (unlike the Nashkel Mines) and I'm struggling to find the willpower to push on through to get to the sweet, sweet gooey centre that is the city of Baldur's Gate.
It also doesn't help that I've gone and dicked around in every side-area, bar Ulgoth's Beard and Durlag's Tower, and am therefore hideously overpowered. When the "boss" of the sub-quest involving spiders in Cloakwood came into view, it took three Skull Traps and a Fireball to clear the room. Minsc then swept up a nice +2 two-handed sword, and called it a day. Not even Ankheg's frighten me, and my levels still keep going up.
Dunxco on
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
I am playing IWD2 with a party of six wizards.
This was hard.. at first.
Now? It's absolutely hilarious. I don't think anything has moved before dying in several hours now.
I've reached my brick wall in BG1, again. Fucking Cloakwood and the mines. It is so long, so drab, so boring, and so goddamn likely that you won't rest without being molested by wolves/bears/spiders/talsoi. Top it off with being unremarkable (unlike the Nashkel Mines) and I'm struggling to find the willpower to push on through to get to the sweet, sweet gooey centre that is the city of Baldur's Gate.
It also doesn't help that I've gone and dicked around in every side-area, bar Ulgoth's Beard and Durlag's Tower, and am therefore hideously overpowered. When the "boss" of the sub-quest involving spiders in Cloakwood came into view, it took three Skull Traps and a Fireball to clear the room. Minsc then swept up a nice +2 two-handed sword, and called it a day. Not even Ankheg's frighten me, and my levels still keep going up.
Power through!
Always remember!
Minsc will inspire you by charging blindly on!
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
0
DunxcoShould get a suitNever skips breakfastRegistered Userregular
I've reached my brick wall in BG1, again. Fucking Cloakwood and the mines. It is so long, so drab, so boring, and so goddamn likely that you won't rest without being molested by wolves/bears/spiders/talsoi. Top it off with being unremarkable (unlike the Nashkel Mines) and I'm struggling to find the willpower to push on through to get to the sweet, sweet gooey centre that is the city of Baldur's Gate.
It also doesn't help that I've gone and dicked around in every side-area, bar Ulgoth's Beard and Durlag's Tower, and am therefore hideously overpowered. When the "boss" of the sub-quest involving spiders in Cloakwood came into view, it took three Skull Traps and a Fireball to clear the room. Minsc then swept up a nice +2 two-handed sword, and called it a day. Not even Ankheg's frighten me, and my levels still keep going up.
Power through!
Always remember!
Minsc will inspire you by charging blindly on!
Heh, that's how I usually beat up Sirens.
I guess what made it less fun was not taking advantage of being a Wild Mage. That is, using Reckless Dweomer and fucking everything up. I got to the assassination attempt before the start of the mines proper, and my first surge was double hitpoints on Imoen (who ended up having more than Minsc). Afterwards I discovered Wild Surges can affect your special dream powers, when I got a surge using Cure Light Wounds on Khalid, and it cast Gate.
Would you guys say that the Icewind Dale series be worth getting? I have been holding off on that one for a while. It seems light on story.
It's light on story but it's not devoid of story. You'll play through it once, enjoy it, and never touch the series again.
It's a fun combat focused version of the Infinity Engine. If you hate AD&D 2nd ED and/or the whole IE gameplay paradigm, steer clear. Otherwise it's fun and complex.
I'm almost positive IWD is 3rd ED. Or is that IWD2? Or... am I just totally wrong?
IWD2 was 3rd edition. It's also the only IE game where you can't roll your stats.
Stupid point buy system is no fun.
Yeah, that's right. Still, the point stands. Don't get if you hate the systems, an donly play IE for the story/interactions/writing.
I ordered a "like new" copy of the "Ultimate Collection" version of IWD. It has the strategy guides and the soundtrack. It seemed like the later collections don't have that.
They're (thankfully) nothing like the Gold Box games.
They're pure hack'n'slash dungeon crawlers using the same engine as Baldur's Gate and Torment.
IWD1 is AD&D 2nd Ed rules, IWD2 is 3rd Ed.
Would you guys say that the Icewind Dale series be worth getting? I have been holding off on that one for a while. It seems light on story.
The atmosphere and art direction in IWD put the BG series to shame.
Nothing in BG compares to walking into Kulduhar for the first time and having that music swoop in.
Raynaga on
0
MorninglordI'm tired of being Batman,so today I'll be Owl.Registered Userregular
edited June 2010
I'd probably like iwd. I was always happiest smacking heads with my party and getting new gear than talking to some chap about how totally awesome i am and how much money he wants to give me.
I'll probably never have the time to go back and play them though.
Morninglord on
(PSN: Morninglord) (Steam: Morninglord) (WiiU: Morninglord22) I like to record and toss up a lot of random gaming videos here.
So I decided to run through all the way through BG and BG2 including add-on packs with a straight up wizard. Anyway, the earlier bits of BG are not as hard as everyone says they are. Sure you're fragile and have fuck all spells but there's a little wand you can find early on which helps out in the Magic Missle area and party members like Jaheria and Khalid are enough to keep the baddies off your back.
I've learnt that with so few spells per day the trick is to equip your wizard with a ranged weapon like a sling and contribute in that way against weaker enemies, and save up your spell for when the bad guys are tougher. Still, it makes you appreciate the narrowing of the gap between casters and non-casters in Pathfinder DnD, it's still there but not as bad as in the older editions where level 1-6 fighters were far superior, level 7-9 things equalled out, and then when you got into double figures the casters just soar up in power.
Even with all the tricks mages have I always found fighters have enough abilities in tob to make up the gap. Like a fighter/thief wielding spectral brand and scarlet ninja-to with the gauntlets of extraordinary specialization. Haste them and hit assassination, watch things get chunked.
They're (thankfully) nothing like the Gold Box games.
They're pure hack'n'slash dungeon crawlers using the same engine as Baldur's Gate and Torment.
IWD1 is AD&D 2nd Ed rules, IWD2 is 3rd Ed.
I know you just didn't talk smack about the Gold Box games.
'Cause if you did, it's go time.
korodullin on
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
They're (thankfully) nothing like the Gold Box games.
They're pure hack'n'slash dungeon crawlers using the same engine as Baldur's Gate and Torment.
IWD1 is AD&D 2nd Ed rules, IWD2 is 3rd Ed.
I know you just didn't talk smack about the Gold Box games.
'Cause if you did, it's go time.
They were beyond amazing back then, but I just can't get into them anymore. Waaaaay too rough. The IE family is about my sweet spot between neckbeardness, oldschoolness, prettiness and accessibility.
so i installed TOB and now my SOA discs go unrecognized when i toss 'em in the computar, is this common?
yeah you need to play the game with the tob disc
The ToB install basically installs all the SoA stuff that was on the CDs onto your hard drive, then keeps ToB stuff on the CD. But with some registry editing and some file copying, you can run everything off your hard drive; just wasn't feasible back then in an age of smaller hard drives.
so i installed TOB and now my SOA discs go unrecognized when i toss 'em in the computar, is this common?
yeah you need to play the game with the tob disc
The ToB install basically installs all the SoA stuff that was on the CDs onto your hard drive, then keeps ToB stuff on the CD. But with some registry editing and some file copying, you can run everything off your hard drive; just wasn't feasible back then in an age of smaller hard drives.
Tell me about it, i played bg1 on a 3gig hdd with a min install.. boy was that painful, had to insert a new cd almost everytime i changed areas around chapter 2-4.
so i installed TOB and now my SOA discs go unrecognized when i toss 'em in the computar, is this common?
yeah you need to play the game with the tob disc
The ToB install basically installs all the SoA stuff that was on the CDs onto your hard drive, then keeps ToB stuff on the CD. But with some registry editing and some file copying, you can run everything off your hard drive; just wasn't feasible back then in an age of smaller hard drives.
Tell me about it, i played bg1 on a 3gig hdd with a min install.. boy was that painful, had to insert a new cd almost everytime i changed areas around chapter 2-4.
I did a full install, but it was the only thing I could fit on my PC besides the OS. It was completely worth it, though.
Man, I can go through this game a dozen times and it still manages to catch me napping. You think you're doing just fine, that you're going to steamroll the shadow dragon like you did in the last six playthroughs and move on, and then bam; it starts the fight by level-draining your mage by about eight levels, killing the Breach she was about to cast. The rest of your party is now pounding uselessly on the dragon, well within reach of its nasty area-of-effect attacks.
We lasted juuuuuuust long enough to knock it down to Near Death status but got blown away, giving it time to put protection from magical weapons back up. Party was mostly dead, and then I realized the level-drained mage was still alive, and had a couple casts of magic missile at the ready; pretty much all she had left. First cast hits twice for, like, four damage and down he goes.
I think this was the game reminding me that I'm still not very good at this.
man is there any game out there that beats baldur's gate II for co-op? Being able to shop and talk to most everyone in expansive towns independently and even accomplish different quests at the same time really spread around the feeling of freedom and worth, not to mention increased roleplaying potential. Every single other game I can think of, even the modern ones, has the "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE" feel to it, and even though it happened a few times with Baldur's gate, it was the least intrusive of any RPG or even other genre I've played.
Paladin on
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Posts
That tells you how the game is played, stuff like "left click to attack," but in the BG series what you want to do is go online and find a tutorial which will teach you how the rules of the game actually work, Thac0, attack bonuses etc.
Man, is Temple of Elemental Evil ever so buggy. I found a hilarious glitch to give any character an ungodly score for any one ability, but the game getting so crash prone now refuses to even load.
It's light on story but it's not devoid of story. You'll play through it once, enjoy it, and never touch the series again.
It's a fun combat focused version of the Infinity Engine. If you hate AD&D 2nd ED and/or the whole IE gameplay paradigm, steer clear. Otherwise it's fun and complex.
Yuan-ti.
They were probably trying to breed humans with other Yuan-ti to make something more like their "God" in the game. Rape snakes would be about right though. It has been ages since I've played Icewind Dale of course.
I'm almost positive IWD is 3rd ED. Or is that IWD2? Or... am I just totally wrong?
Stupid point buy system is no fun.
It also doesn't help that I've gone and dicked around in every side-area, bar Ulgoth's Beard and Durlag's Tower, and am therefore hideously overpowered. When the "boss" of the sub-quest involving spiders in Cloakwood came into view, it took three Skull Traps and a Fireball to clear the room. Minsc then swept up a nice +2 two-handed sword, and called it a day. Not even Ankheg's frighten me, and my levels still keep going up.
This was hard.. at first.
Now? It's absolutely hilarious. I don't think anything has moved before dying in several hours now.
Power through!
Always remember!
Minsc will inspire you by charging blindly on!
Heh, that's how I usually beat up Sirens.
I guess what made it less fun was not taking advantage of being a Wild Mage. That is, using Reckless Dweomer and fucking everything up. I got to the assassination attempt before the start of the mines proper, and my first surge was double hitpoints on Imoen (who ended up having more than Minsc). Afterwards I discovered Wild Surges can affect your special dream powers, when I got a surge using Cure Light Wounds on Khalid, and it cast Gate.
But yes, powered through, on to the big city!
Yeah, that's right. Still, the point stands. Don't get if you hate the systems, an donly play IE for the story/interactions/writing.
They're both great, IMO, though.
By "Old TSR games", do you mean Gold box or eye of the beholder or...?
They're (thankfully) nothing like the Gold Box games.
They're pure hack'n'slash dungeon crawlers using the same engine as Baldur's Gate and Torment.
IWD1 is AD&D 2nd Ed rules, IWD2 is 3rd Ed.
The atmosphere and art direction in IWD put the BG series to shame.
Nothing in BG compares to walking into Kulduhar for the first time and having that music swoop in.
I'll probably never have the time to go back and play them though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-AjT3G322U
And yeah it pretty much is just about the combat.
I've learnt that with so few spells per day the trick is to equip your wizard with a ranged weapon like a sling and contribute in that way against weaker enemies, and save up your spell for when the bad guys are tougher. Still, it makes you appreciate the narrowing of the gap between casters and non-casters in Pathfinder DnD, it's still there but not as bad as in the older editions where level 1-6 fighters were far superior, level 7-9 things equalled out, and then when you got into double figures the casters just soar up in power.
I know you just didn't talk smack about the Gold Box games.
'Cause if you did, it's go time.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
They were beyond amazing back then, but I just can't get into them anymore. Waaaaay too rough. The IE family is about my sweet spot between neckbeardness, oldschoolness, prettiness and accessibility.
yeah you need to play the game with the tob disc
The ToB install basically installs all the SoA stuff that was on the CDs onto your hard drive, then keeps ToB stuff on the CD. But with some registry editing and some file copying, you can run everything off your hard drive; just wasn't feasible back then in an age of smaller hard drives.
Tell me about it, i played bg1 on a 3gig hdd with a min install.. boy was that painful, had to insert a new cd almost everytime i changed areas around chapter 2-4.
I did a full install, but it was the only thing I could fit on my PC besides the OS. It was completely worth it, though.
We lasted juuuuuuust long enough to knock it down to Near Death status but got blown away, giving it time to put protection from magical weapons back up. Party was mostly dead, and then I realized the level-drained mage was still alive, and had a couple casts of magic missile at the ready; pretty much all she had left. First cast hits twice for, like, four damage and down he goes.
I think this was the game reminding me that I'm still not very good at this.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Any suggestions?