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[AWizardDidIt]

How is this EE release in regards to bugs etc? Previous enhanced editions from beamdog haven't been the most technically well functioning releases until it received a fair bit of patching.

I've only played a few hours myself but zero issues that I found. A quick look around on the forums seems to indicate that there are few if any bugs that people have found.

As an aside, Beamdog's release of IWD was pretty much bug free as well. Seems like since BG:EE they've gotten a much better grasp of the engine.

 

[Eusis]

Well thanks for your time then.

Ignore him. Plane Escape Tournament fans are the worst.

 

[poodaddy]

Ignore him. Plane Escape Tournament fans are the worst.

Indeed.

 

[Varna]

This was always the weakest of the classic cRPGs for me.

Weakest combat, weakest dungeon design, weakest character building. People hardly mention a damn thing about the gameplay when they praise the shit out it.

Always felt like you are missing out if you don't go Mage.

 

[WonderCheese]

Anyone have thoughts on whether the Steam Controller would work well for this game? I have my PC hooked up to my TV and don't have a situation where keyboard and mouse feels very viable.

 

[Sinatar]

Anyone have thoughts on whether the Steam Controller would work well for this game? I have my PC hooked up to my TV and don't have a situation where keyboard and mouse feels very viable.

If people can play it on an iphone I can't see why not.

 

[Baalzebup]

This was always the weakest of the classic cRPGs for me.

Weakest combat, weakest dungeon design, weakest character building. People hardly mention a damn thing about the gameplay when they praise the shit out it.

Always felt like you are missing out if you don't go Mage.

I mean, sure, if you want to list everything the game is weakest at and ignore everything where it shines like the sun, that is certainly a valid point of view.

 

[Taruranto]

Man, I do love the Hive so much. I think the

Spoiler

Lower wards

have stronger NPCs and quests, but the Hive's atmosphere is unsurpassed. The whole part until you reach

Spoiler

Pharod

is just sooo good.


Also I noticed a small hole in the story-flow, you can

Spoiler

ask a Dustman in the bar about Hamrys, but I don't think my TNO had heard the name yet. It felt weird too because he's a character so far away.

Worst game of all time

Better than Planet Escape: Tournament for sure, at least.

 

[Purkake4]

This was always the weakest of the classic cRPGs for me.

Weakest combat, weakest dungeon design, weakest character building. People hardly mention a damn thing about the gameplay when they praise the shit out it.

Always felt like you are missing out if you don't go Mage.

The trick is to see the dialogue as gameplay and the combat as a non-skippable minigame.

 

[FrontalMonk]

Picked this up yesterday for my pixel XL and still can't figure out what I'm missing to get out of the first area. Guess I need to talk to more folks and not piss off the dusties.

I originally wanted to pick up IWD for my phone but it crashed on startup and wouldn't actually play so I refunded and here I am, trying for the 500th time to get into PS:T. Maybe the portability will help me actually play it enough to get through it.

 

[RadialBlur]

Mentioned before but bears repeating.

To experience this game in all its glory, max out INT, WIS, and CHR (in that order). The story is what put this in the "greatest of all time" conversation and those stats will allow you to experience it the most.

 

[Taruranto]

Spoiler

Spoiler

You know Morte, we really are the Torment.

Woah, I didn't remember how hidden

Spoiler

Xachariah was. I had to google him 'cause I totally didn't understand why the quest didn't progress.

Kinda weird that TNO doesn't piece things together on his own, to be honest.

 

[JoeyJungle]

What are the text settings like for high res displays? I tried playing the GoG version + HD mods, couldn't find a text setting I was satisfied with. iirc the larger font didn't expand the textbox, so lines were only a couple words long, and the in-world text (like overheard convos) were still tiny fonts.

Mentioned before but bears repeating.

To experience this game in all its glory, max out INT, WIS, and CHR (in that order). The story is what put this in the "greatest of all time" conversation and those stats will allow you to experience it the most.

If I don't care about difficulty, is there any reason not to cheat and max out all stats to 18? Or is that cheat gone in the EE version?

 

[nynt9]

I said this in another thread, but I have a problem. I can play it totally fine with the touchscreen of my Surface Book, but it just does not work in the inventory. Anyone know of a fix?

 

[Purkake4]

Spoiler

You know Morte, we really are the Torment.

Woah, I didn't remember how hidden

Spoiler

Xachariah was. I had to google him 'cause I totally didn't understand why the quest didn't progress.

Kinda weird that TNO doesn't piece things together on his own, to be honest.

Best hidden quest,

Spoiler

dude really deserves a rest

.

 

[Purkake4]

If I don't care about difficulty, is there any reason not to cheat and max out all stats to 18? Or is that cheat gone in the EE version?

They actually max out at 25. Many people will tell you to do that, but I feel that it distracts from the developer's original vision for the game. The combat gameplay part isn't hard and leveling up, getting stat bonuses/penalties through the game is supposed to be a big meaningful thing.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

If I don't care about difficulty, is there any reason not to cheat and max out all stats to 18? Or is that cheat gone in the EE version?

It diminishes the feeling of progression. The Nameless one should be becoming wiser, etc as he remembers more and more of his past.

I don't even agree one should start the game with 18 charisma and intelligence and super low everything else. it just feels like min maxing to me, and min maxing and role playing have a hard time coexisting.

 

[Purkake4]

It diminishes the feeling of progression. The Nameless one should be becoming wiser, etc as he remembers more and more of his past.

I don't even agree one should start the game with 18 charisma and intelligence and super low everything else. it just feels like min maxing to me, and min maxing and role playing have a hard time coexisting.

Yup, you get some fun dialogue stuff for having physical stats as well.

 

[Gilzor]

How long is this game generally? I've been playing it on and off all day and I'm just about to encounter Pharod I believe.

Also, somewhat tangentially, how are Obsidian's modern day CRPGs? I've been very interested in Tyranny.

 

[JeTmAn81]

Bought this for Android but it's unplayable tiny on my regular Pixel. No refunds available .

 

[Purkake4]

How long is this game generally? I've been playing it on and off all day and I'm just about to encounter Pharod I believe.

Also, somewhat tangentially, how are Obsidian's modern day CRPGs? I've been very interested in Tyranny.

The internet says 34h for the main story.

Pillars is ok, no idea about Tyranny.

 

[Eusis]

Tyranny certainly is off to a good start from what I played. People seem to be cold on the battle system though.

 

[Arkkoran]

How long is this game generally? I've been playing it on and off all day and I'm just about to encounter Pharod I believe.

Also, somewhat tangentially, how are Obsidian's modern day CRPGs? I've been very interested in Tyranny.

If you just go through the main story, you can probably beat it in the 20hr range. Probably around 45-50hrs for completionist.

I enjoyed Pillars, especially after all the updates and expansions.

I personally thought Tyranny was a slog, promising first half of the story that pulled me along but ultimately falls apart. The combat was mind-numbingly dreadful.

 

[Sinatar]

People seem to be cold on the battle system though.

It's pretty bad. Only 3 enemy types in the whole game, no resource management for abilities and spells.

 

[Taruranto]

Torment is pretty short, probably around 30 hours for the first playthrough. Sigil isn't even that big, when you look at it.


Tyranny got boring after the intro for me, as Sinatar said:

It's pretty bad. Only 3 enemy types in the whole game, no resource management for abilities and spells.

I wasn't also a fan of the plot, that basically turns into "seek the MacGuffins".

What are the text settings like for high res displays?

Highest font:

 

[Taruranto]

Spoiler

I forgot how bad this scene was.


The Lower Ward and the Clerk Ward have the best NPCs in the game, a shame they are so small. They Hive gives you a lot of breathing room, but here you can't walk 5 steps without an NPC, it's feels very cluttered at times.

 

[Gilzor]

I've reached the Dead Nations now. I'm also a Mage as I saw folk in this thread recommending it for the best experience. Struggling with some of the combat to be honest, lots of running away!

Twenty years on, I'm merely adding to the choir, but the writing in this game is just superb. Has Obsidian ever come close to this in any way since? I've yet to play KOTOR II but am aware it's meant to be well-written also.

 

[Purkake4]

I've reached the Dead Nations now. I'm also a Mage as I saw folk in this thread recommending it for the best experience. Struggling with some of the combat to be honest, lots of running away!

You can always switch back to fighter, talk to Dak'kon.

Twenty years on, I'm merely adding to the choir, but the writing in this game is just superb. Has Obsidian ever come close to this in any way since? I've yet to play KOTOR II but am aware it's meant to be well-written also.

Well, there's Mask of the Betrayer and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Fallout: New Vegas has its moments too.

 

[Gilzor]

You can always switch back to fighter, talk to Dak'kon.


Well, there's Mask of the Betrayer and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Fallout: New Vegas has its moments too.

Lovely, I'll definitely give Betrayer a look too. Other than Tides of Numenera is there anything else out there even remotely similar to Planescape in terms of tone, story, characters, etc?

 

[Llyranor]

Mask of the Betrayer (the real spiritual successor IMO) and KOTOR2 are the closest games to approach PST.

Tides of Numenera apes after the PST formula, but it is nowhere near as good as the original. I couldn't even be bothered to finish it.

 

[d00d3n]

Should I talk to all harlots, dabuses and other unnamed characters?

 

[Taruranto]

Lovely, I'll definitely give Betrayer a look too. Other than Tides of Numenera is there anything else out there even remotely similar to Planescape in terms of tone, story, characters, etc?

Mask is the only example I can think of. It's actually a better spiritual sequel to Torment than Numenera, which honestly mostly failed to recapture the original and feels like a bland copy, imo.

Writing-wise? Anachronox and Bloodlines are pretty good, on the top of my head, but quite different in terms of tone, story, etc.

Should I talk to all harlots, dabuses and other unnamed characters?

Rule of thumb in these games is that you can avoid non-named NPCs. This said, "special" NPCs like the dabus and the harlots are often worth talking at least once. Press CTRL to highlight all NPCs.

 

[Sinatar]

Should I talk to all harlots, dabuses and other unnamed characters?

Talk to one of each, but no reason to talk to all of them.

 

[xeroborn55]

MotB and KOTOR2 are two of the best rpgs ive ever played. highly recommended. I played them both recently (last 2-3 years), they hold up.

 

[commish]

Anyone playing this on a phone? Thinking about getting it for my 7+ iphone but not sure how it'd play on so small a screen.

 

[d00d3n]

Rule of thumb in these games is that you can avoid non-named NPCs. This said, "special" NPCs like the dabus and the harlots are often worth talking at least once. Press CTRL to highlight all NPCs.

Talk to one of each, but no reason to talk to all of them.

Thanks

 

[Varna]

Anyone playing this on a phone? Thinking about getting it for my 7+ iphone but not sure how it'd play on so small a screen.

It's possible, technically. I tried Icewind Dale on my Android phone and it was a terrible experience.

 

[Gilzor]

I've finished the Nameless Tomb and Anna has now joined me crew. Is it worth keeping the four keys from the tomb as they're still in my inventory. Or can they be sold somewhere?

 

[AndersK]

This is rather shallow, but i've always been immensely put of by the originals interface and overall visual 1999-ness, as it were. I grew up on BG 1 and 2 but somehow went oblivious to Planescape until 2015 or so. Had a hard time getting into it, sadly.

I gave it a shot on my Ipad Air 2, and i'm so happy i did. Really updated the inferface enough for me to be content with it. Makes so much sense to me to play it when the TV is occupied.

About the writing, its remarkable to play this just after Tides. I liked it, but I feel like the zombies from the Mortuary would have 2 paragraphs describing that they are greyish in colour and wearing simple clothes. Its great Torment restrains itself to describe what part of the individual zombies faces are fucked, if any.

 

[Sliver]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

 

[Gilzor]

About the writing, its remarkable to play this just after Tides. I liked it, but I feel like the zombies from the Mortuary would have 2 paragraphs describing that they are greyish in colour and wearing simple clothes. Its great Torment restrains itself to describe what part of the individual zombies faces are fucked, if any.

I started playing Torment without knowing the kind of game Planescape really was, so the former was a struggle for me and I had to check out two or three hours into it after feeling like I'd read a novella. I always planned on going back to it. But having put so much time into Planescape now, in large part due to how much I'm enjoying the experience on iPad, I'm actually even more excited to play Torment at some point. I feel like I'm more prepared for it now.

 

[Eusis]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

NWN1? Hell no.

NWN2? I THINK MotB is a direct continuation but someone who played through can answer that. NWN2 sounds like it has at least some moments worth experiencing.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

If you want my (probably unpopular) opinion just play Pillars of Eternity instead of Mask. Mask is pretty overrated, the missions are terrible and bland, the souls mechanic is just tacked on tedious bullshit, the combat is a convoluted mess, and the only somewhat satisfying ending is locked behind an obscure fetch quest. It doesn't even hold a candle to Planescape too despite popular opinion.

Pillars feels like a spiritual successor to Mask that that pretty much did everything better to me.

 

[Sinatar]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

NWN1? Hell mo.

NWN2? I THINK MotB is a direct continuation but someone who played through can answer that. NWN2 sounds like it has at least some moments worth experiencing.

NWN 1 and 2 have absolutely no connection to one another. NWN 1 is also a trash game, let's take a ruleset balanced around party based gameplay and make a game where you play a single character. Brilliant.

NWN 2 base campaign only has very minor connections to MOTB. You play the same character but that's really about it. You could play MOTB without playing NWN 2 without issue. NWN 2 base campaign is reasonably fun though so you should give it a shot.

 

[Brandon F]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

I always fizzled on NWN2 after the halfway point with the intention of pushing through it for Mask. Actually found it an alright game, but the engine, UI, and design wasn't great and put me off more than the narrative content which was pretty enjoyable.

Friends whom adored Mask had stated that it helps a bit to have played the campaign prior, but isn't essential. They also agreed that it is a massive improvement and that Mask has one of the best stories released in the genre. I cannot corroborate that sentiment though, but one day I will get to it.

 

[Eridani]

How long is this game generally? I've been playing it on and off all day and I'm just about to encounter Pharod I believe.

Also, somewhat tangentially, how are Obsidian's modern day CRPGs? I've been very interested in Tyranny.

Pretty much every game Obsidian's ever made is great. Tyranny has a really cool world filled with interesting characters and well written dialogue (not as good as Planescape, but still great). A lot of people hate the combat, but it's not that bad. It can get a bit repetitive but the hardest difficulty provides enough of a challenge that it still feels fun despite that. Well, until the last chapter where it turns into a complete cakewalk.

Aside from that, Fallout New Vegas and Alpha Protocol are both incredible games. Pillars of Eternity didn't particularly impress me since it was much too focused on the combat, which wasn't good enough to carry the game. There's also Dungeon Siege 3, which is a fun enough action RPG, but nothing particularly amazing.

Lovely, I'll definitely give Betrayer a look too. Other than Tides of Numenera is there anything else out there even remotely similar to Planescape in terms of tone, story, characters, etc?

Aside from what people already mentioned, there's also Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, which has a very interesting world coupled with some great quests, although the actual writing itself isn't all that amazing.

I also can't say enough good things about Sunless Sea. Just like Planescape it has an incredibly weird/awesome setting coupled with some of the best writing out there, although it's not as character focused as Planescape and mostly focuses on individual self contained stories instead of having one big narrative. It's an amazing game though, and felt more like a worthy Planescape successor than pretty much anything else I've played.

 

[Purkake4]

Should I play NWN1 or 2 before trying Mask of the betrayer?

NWN1? Hell no.

NWN2? I THINK MotB is a direct continuation but someone who played through can answer that. NWN2 sounds like it has at least some moments worth experiencing.

NWN1 is totally unrelated. It has one decent-ish expansion (Hordes of the Underdark), but it's not by Obsidian. Play it afterwards if you really feel like it.

Just play MotB, it's basically a full-length game and has very little to do with the original campaign. Play the NWN2 campaign if you like the gameplay, the story is ok-ish and there's a really good stronghold if you're into that.

 

[Taruranto]

If you want my (probably unpopular) opinion just play Pillars of Eternity instead of Mask. Mask is pretty overrated, the missions are terrible and bland, the souls mechanic is just tacked on tedious bullshit, the combat is a convoluted mess, and the only somewhat satisfying ending is locked behind an obscure fetch quest. It doesn't even hold a candle to Planescape too despite popular opinion.

Pillars feels like a spiritual successor to Mask that that pretty much did everything better to me.

Woah, I think that's the first time I read anything bad about MoB's story. I do recall the Sprit meter thing getting some flak back then however, and of course NWN2's engine just plain sucks.

About the writing, its remarkable to play this just after Tides. I liked it, but I feel like the zombies from the Mortuary would have 2 paragraphs describing that they are greyish in colour and wearing simple clothes. Its great Torment restrains itself to describe what part of the individual zombies faces are fucked, if any.

Eh, so true. I literally thought the same thing.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Woah, I think that's the first time I read anything bad about MoB's story. I do recall the Sprit meter thing getting some flak back then however, and of course NWN2's engine just plain sucks.

The party members are decent enough and the conversation with

Spoiler

Myrkul

is cool but I felt there was very little to make it worth comparing to other great RPGs from around the same time like Planescape, Vampire, and even some of Obsidian's other games like KOTOR 2 and AP. There's also been a bunch of recent RPGs that I feel are a lot better too, like Pillars as I said.

The ending is pretty much a wet fart as well because its like they didn't want to overturn the D&D cosmology applecart when that was the only satisfying conclusion it could have had. (Which is weird considering Baldur's Gate 3's concept was supposed to be you ascending to godhood and kicking the Forgotten Worlds deities' asses.)

 

[Gilzor]

Just reached the Alley of Lingering Sighs. Anyone know how far into the game I am at this point? I'm too scared to look at a guide in case of spooolers.