What game are you currently playing?

[Nimran]

Alright! I finished the Golden Sun duology (since the third game ends on a cliffhanger, and they never released a fourth, I consider the second game to be the end of the series. It at least ended with enough loose ends tied up to be considered the end).

Now I’m playing through DA:O again, because looking at news about the new game made me want to replay Origins.

 

[JustKneller]

Now I’m playing through DA:O again, because looking at news about the new game made me want to replay Origins.

I have this on my GoG wishlist and I'm waiting for a good sale. I kinda want to give it another shot. It looked promising but I was having no end of trouble with the gambit system working the way it should. Ok, I actually forget what they called it, but it was basically the same system for controlling NPCs that was in Final Fantasy XII and it was called the gambit system there. Anyway, I quit it pretty early on and don't have access to the game anymore so I need to re-buy it if I want to have another go.

 

[Nimran]

I have this on my GoG wishlist and I'm waiting for a good sale. I kinda want to give it another shot. It looked promising but I was having no end of trouble with the gambit system working the way it should. Ok, I actually forget what they called it, but it was basically the same system for controlling NPCs that was in Final Fantasy XII and it was called the gambit system there. Anyway, I quit it pretty early on and don't have access to the game anymore so I need to re-buy it if I want to have another go.

One thing to remember about the tactics in DA:O is that the list is also determining the AI’s priorities, so the first tactic on the list has the highest priority, last on the list is lowest, etc.

I always give my AI companions a custom tactic that lets them use a healing item when their health goes below 50%, and set it at the top of the list. That way they’ll heal whenever they get the opportunity, when they need it.

 

[JustKneller]

One thing to remember about the tactics in DA:O is that the list is also determining the AI’s priorities, so the first tactic on the list has the highest priority, last on the list is lowest, etc.

I did pick up on that, but my issue was that they would sometimes not follow the priority order and do something else random. Or, they would just stand around when they should have been doing something. It was weird.

 

[Nimran]

Hmm, I do know that the AI pathing isn’t very good. If a target is pushed into a corner or enclosed space, party members don’t want to push in and crowd them, for fear of merging into the same space as their allies. They also kinda wonder around, taking a roundabout route to the enemy instead of just going straight at them occasionally, and I don’t know why. The AI also feels pretty clunky and unresponsive, even compared to Baldur’s Gate 1+2’s AI. I never had any real problems with it, but I’m weird, so…

 

[Antimatter]

I never ever used AI in DA games to determine what my companions do, I always preferred to micro-manage them all the time. I even did that in Inquisition on the hardest setting (yeah...., totally useless there as the difficulty is just more HP to enemies). Nice that you're replaying Origins. That is a good game.

 

[JustKneller]

Does DA:O have real time with pause like BG? I can't remember.

 

[Nimran]

Does DA:O have real time with pause like BG? I can't remember.

Yep!

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I never ever used AI in DA games to determine what my companions do, I always preferred to micro-manage them all the time. I even did that in Inquisition on the hardest setting (yeah...., totally useless there as the difficulty is just more HP to enemies). Nice that you're replaying Origins. That is a good game.

There is a lot still on my to-do list for Origins, even after a decade of playing, and a couple completed runs.

One of them is witnessing, for myself, the "hardened" personality changes of Alistair and Leliana. And committing to those "evil" choices in the sequels.

I always appreciated greatly when you can influence the arc of your companions like that.

Baldurs Gate 2 deserves praise to this day for having so many companions that grow, or even decay, over time. I can think of 4 off of the top of my head.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Right now i'm going through Temple of Elemental Evil, and getting close to finishing it for the first time.

There's something really special about the atmosphere of this game. Hommlet feels as sleepy as you can get. Nulb feels like you can be knifed around any corner. Every area is densely packed with lore and hidden quests or NPCs, and there are a million ways to go about tackling ToEE's relatively linear story. Some background information or character lore you won't ever encounter until you start a new game with a different party alignment. There are companions around every corner, and you never stop meeting new ones, even until the end of the game. Some of them will betray you, others reward you. It's an incredibly addicting experience if you go into it from a role-playing mindset. The fact that it is set in Greyhawk, the unloved older brother of the Forgotten Realms that was invented by Gygax himself, only enhances things.

In fact, I could go on about how Hommlet might be one of the most believable villages in any fantasy game. Almost nobody in the village, already large by video game standards, has some generic name, unless they are a kid. They all have some sort of employment, like a wainwright or a beer maker. You see their farms and they are willing to talk to you about their businesses. Nobody asks you to slay 5 goblins and bring some proof back. They have more realistic concerns, like the girl they want to marry belonging to a different church. Or not having a proper barn for their work. You have to put in a little effort to seek out the excitement, and that's not a bad thing at all.

 

[JustKneller]

Right now i'm going through Temple of Elemental Evil, and getting close to finishing it for the first time

I had this game back in the day, but never finished due to D&D burnout (I was doing both video games and tabletop at the time). ToEE is like one of the ultimate dungeon crawls from D&D, at least from what I hear. I was never quite able to get it to the table with a gaming group. I have it on my GoG wishlist now, though. I hope the Circle of Eight patch is still available when I do get around to playing it.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I had this game back in the day, but never finished due to D&D burnout (I was doing both video games and tabletop at the time). ToEE is like one of the ultimate dungeon crawls from D&D, at least from what I hear. I was never quite able to get it to the table with a gaming group. I have it on my GoG wishlist now, though. I hope the Circle of Eight patch is still available when I do get around to playing it.

The Co8 patch is still available, along with other mods. Temple+ is always fun because it allows things like prestige classes.

In fact, I regret not using the Co8 on this current run because i've already hit the level cap and i've only just began delving into the elemental nodes. Even my companions have hit the level cap.

And without Co8 there are the occasional glitches. For example, I rescued Paida from the deepest reaches of the Temple, only for her to be right back in the basement of the Temple after I dropped her off in Hommlet! At that point I just recruited her as a special 3rd companion. She is level 7 now, and almost useful at times.

 

[JustKneller]

I just picked Freedom Fighters (tactical shooter, but pretty simple) up for $1.50 on a GoG sale. I put a fair amount of mileage on this game back in the day with my PS2. This probably makes my 4/5 list. It's not the deepest game (basically Red Dawn in NYC), but it delivers on its premise.

 

[OrlonKronsteen]

I'm still playing BG3 - been playing since August, first 'playthrough' (with 2 restarts). Shit hit the fan with work this year, so I haven't had much time to play or be on here, unfortunately.

I'm not sure I will ever finish BG3 - so much to unpack. Part of it is I'm getting tired of gaming in general - what used to be fun, now more often than not feels like a slog. The game seems to go on and on forever... I want to get to the story, but you're punished for missing content by being under-leveled in big fights (I had to restart once due to this). Also, it's a great game in many ways - but it has big flaws - flaws which would render lesser games unplayable to me (e.g. the camera, disjointed story progression, party/camp system, difficulty scaling in spots, some terrible puzzle design...). On the other hand, I'm attached to my core team in a big way. We'll see...

I hope everyone is doing well.

 

[Antimatter]

That's fine, @OrlonKronsteen, good to hear from you. What you say reminds me of the video @O_Bruce shared here: https://tavernrpg.com/threads/cool-videos-thread.399/ I agree BG3 is a huge game, but you don't need to force yourself through any of its parts. It's ok to finish it in 10 years or so

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I always had a lot of trouble making progress in Arcanum, but this time I've become practically unstoppable. With a mere 12 Charisma (and expert persuasion) I have amassed a rather large fighting force, two of which have max strength, and two of which I can buff to max strength with one of my earth spells. At this point, Magnus is a drag and if I needed to, I could replace him with Sogg and have a third Ogre. With time magic to slow enemies down, I am able to destroy things significantly above my party level.

I just arrived at the island of despair, and I'm sure at this point I will complete my first run.

Now I must gather my party and venture forth.

 

[Skatan]

I always had a lot of trouble making progress in Arcanum, but this time I've become practically unstoppable. With a mere 12 Charisma (and expert persuasion) I have amassed a rather large fighting force, two of which have max strength, and two of which I can buff to max strength with one of my earth spells. At this point, Magnus is a drag and if I needed to, I could replace him with Sogg and have a third Ogre. With time magic to slow enemies down, I am able to destroy things significantly above my party level.

I just arrived at the island of despair, and I'm sure at this point I will complete my first run.

Now I must gather my party and venture forth.

Sweeeeeet! I love Arcanum and I too prefer the charisma route with max party. I prefer realtime combat when you have companions, they make short work of everyone. I finished a run last year with Sogg from the start, then the butler guy, the "orc" human from the museum, Virgil, magnus, Dog, the elf lady, the superevil undead guy etc. I switched them out a bit as I found new ones, but the Ogres with their max STR and primarily fast blades crafted by Magnus are invincible.

I read there is some way to be able to have the dog on top of the max number of companions, but never got it to work for myself. But it's more than enough. I used Harm for the first half of the game, but then I just stood around and did some buffing the latter half when battles tend to be over in seconds. It was my first time finishing the game after trying it out at least 5 or so times over 20 years, hah. Good luck! You're well on your way but there's still quite a lot left after isle of Despair.

 

[m7600]

Arcanum is amazing. The lore is some of the best I've ever seen. Granted, the graphics are dated, the mechanics are a bit clunky, etc. But the lore is unusually good for a game of that budget. For example:

Spoiler: Half-Ogre island

The story about the gnomes running a forced eugenics program on Half-Ogre Island to create a race of domestic slaves is some of the most disturbing, fucked up storytelling I have ever seen.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Arcanum is amazing. The lore is some of the best I've ever seen. Granted, the graphics are dated, the mechanics are a bit clunky, etc. But the lore is unusually good for a game of that budget. For example:

Spoiler: Half-Ogre island

The story about the gnomes running a forced eugenics program on Half-Ogre Island to create a race of domestic slaves is some of the most disturbing, fucked up storytelling I have ever seen.

My character is so shocked and horrified by that quest he actually seeks out and eliminates all the gnomes he can find on the industrial council or who he suspects might be related. I always play good characters. But my character is a traditionalist, and the thought of what they did to the King and Queen is so horrifying that he basically loses his composure. Doubly so because you get the evidence *stolen* from you if you try to do the right thing and expose it. The game does not let you complete the quest without the worst sorts of evil going unpunished. So he takes matters into his own hands. Hey, it's what the gnomes did.

 

[m7600]

Doubly so because you get the evidence *stolen* from you if you try to do the right thing and expose it. The game does not let you complete the quest without the worst sorts of evil going unpunished.

This is the part that gets me. It's so in-your-face that I couldn't believe what the actual fuck I was reading when I first saw it. Insane storytelling skills right there. There's nothing like that in Planescape: Torment, and that's saying a lot.