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Torment Beamdog's Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition

Jarmaro

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Messages
1,466
Location
Lair of Despair
So nothing's changed.
I am out, gotta back on another great RPG release cuz I don't want to miss the shitstorm.
:backawayslowly:
 

HeatEXTEND

Prophet
Patron
Joined
Feb 12, 2017
Messages
3,919
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Nedderlent
I will have spent $60 over my entire life on Planescape: Torment, which seems fair.

If it went to the the creators/publisher, yup; hell, they deserve more.

If not, modders have done what these EE versions have done. For free.

except of course the highlighting....


A band of assholes are raping my wife and children,
but I guess it makes sense from their perspective.

:lol:
 
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Sykar

Arcane
Joined
Dec 2, 2014
Messages
11,297
Location
Turn right after Alpha Centauri
Like I said a dozen pages ago, if they fixed the horrendous combat, redesigned the encounters and used Avellone to make new content post-Curst then it would've been worth it, a lot even. And that's what they should have done. As it stands now, I don't think it's worth 20 bucks for improved pathfinding, everything else, besides mass loot, but eeeh, is easily available through mods.
Yeah I can understand this reasoning but I also think that it's important to note that it's not 20 bucks for the enhancements - it's 20 bucks for an updated version of PS:T. So you'd have to deduct the original price of PST to really see how much they're charging for the stuff they've added. After that, whether it's worth it or not is really dependent on things like what we value and our financial status. Value adding is an integral part of businesses/ the economy and is not parasitic, despite what some may claim.

I also happen to think that PST's core content is already good enough without any changes and realistically I definitely don't trust Beamdog after the previous fiasco or even the current MCA to be able to fix the existing issues in terms of game play/ content. Hypothetically though, perhaps a "perfected" version of PST could've been made but the chances are slim. I guess we'll never know.

By the way, Sykar does rating all my posts as 'retarded' really make up for your own lack of proper response?

I rate your posts retarded because that is exactly what they are. Considering that my evaluation of Beamdog being nothing but parasites feeding of actual hard work of companies like Black Isle is quite accurate, making your pathetic attempt of argumentation outright laughable and to top it all off you to spout mindboggeling shit like "U HAET KAPITALIZMS DUDEE?!!?!!!111". Throw out more red herrings, dipshit.
You would not know what an argument is if someone would use a sledghammer to crush it into your dense skull.
 

Vicar

Cipher
Patron
Joined
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Messages
283
Like I said a dozen pages ago, if they fixed the horrendous combat, redesigned the encounters and used Avellone to make new content post-Curst then it would've been worth it, a lot even. And that's what they should have done. As it stands now, I don't think it's worth 20 bucks for improved pathfinding, everything else, besides mass loot, but eeeh, is easily available through mods.
Yeah I can understand this reasoning but I also think that it's important to note that it's not 20 bucks for the enhancements - it's 20 bucks for an updated version of PS:T. So you'd have to deduct the original price of PST to really see how much they're charging for the stuff they've added. After that, whether it's worth it or not is really dependent on things like what we value and our financial status. Value adding is an integral part of businesses/ the economy and is not parasitic, despite what some may claim.

I also happen to think that PST's core content is already good enough without any changes and realistically I definitely don't trust Beamdog after the previous fiasco or even the current MCA to be able to fix the existing issues in terms of game play/ content. Hypothetically though, perhaps a "perfected" version of PST could've been made but the chances are slim. I guess we'll never know.

By the way, Sykar does rating all my posts as 'retarded' really make up for your own lack of proper response?

I rate your posts retarded because that is exactly what they are. Considering that my evaluation of Beamdog being nothing but parasites feeding of actual hard work of companies like Black Isle is quite accurate, making your pathetic attempt of argumentation outright laughable and to top it all off you to spout mindboggeling shit like "U HAET KAPITALIZMS DUDEE?!!?!!!111". Throw out more red herrings, dipshit.
You would not know what an argument is if someone would use a sledghammer to crush it into your dense skull.
The irony...

Anyway, talking to a retard was fun when I was drunk and at 1am. Now it doesn't seem like a good idea anymore so this will probably be my last post addressed to you. You can laugh all you want at my arguments, just know that I'm also laughing at your lack of one.

In this case, the question of whether you hate capitalism is actually quite valid since you seemed self-righteous and trying to apply, I repeat, your judgement of whether a product is worth it universally. It would have been enough to answer 'no' and say something like you're just giving your opinions on why you personally dislike Beamdog.

Another thing you also failed to understand is the concept of value adding. It might surprise you, seeing how you appear to have a rather shallow understanding of how the world works, that the products we enjoy in day to day are value added from the ground up by different companies. I see the EE as an extension of that for the video games industry.
 
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set

Cipher
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
940
It would take more than MCA to do that, though. I know this may come as a surprise to some 'Dexers, but MCA wasn't solely responsible for PS:T. Plus, it's still changing the content of the game, and I personally wouldn't want an 18-years-later bolt-on by has-beens (sorry for all those hyphens).

If Tim Cain's current state of mind is any indication, then the games we consider "masterpieces" today were really just flukes of their time and space. I'm pretty convinced there's no magic person, even if they were responsible for greats in the past, who can create a modern RPG wonder.
 

FeelTheRads

Arcane
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
13,716
You can laugh all you want at my arguments, just know that I'm also laughing at your lack of one.

You had no more an argument than he had. You also had just "durrr i think its worth it lolol and a good price". I'm not sure why that's more valid than thinking it's just expensive crap.

In this case, the question of whether you hate capitalism is actually quite valid since you seemed self-righteous and trying to apply, I repeat, your judgement of whether a product is worth it universally.

No, it's not. One obviously thinks his judgement is right, even when he's not. Hardly a "capitalism hater". Also, again, you're doing the same thing, suggesting that you're right in buying it and in accepting its price.

Also, you can eat a dick with your love of capitalism. It's this blind, unrelenting and self-righteous love of capitalism that is also destroying niche segments of the market (ie the games we liked). So, fuck off, capitalism lover.
 

Vicar

Cipher
Patron
Joined
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Messages
283
You can laugh all you want at my arguments, just know that I'm also laughing at your lack of one.

You had no more an argument than he had. You also had just "durrr i think its worth it lolol and a good price". I'm not sure why that's more valid than thinking it's just expensive crap.

In this case, the question of whether you hate capitalism is actually quite valid since you seemed self-righteous and trying to apply, I repeat, your judgement of whether a product is worth it universally.

No, it's not. One obviously thinks his judgement is right, even when he's not. Hardly a "capitalism hater". Also, again, you're doing the same thing, suggesting that you're right in buying it and in accepting its price.

Also, you can eat a dick with your love of capitalism. It's this blind, unrelenting and self-righteous love of capitalism that is also destroying niche segments of the market (ie the games we liked). So, fuck off, capitalism lover.
What the hell are you talking about?
If you think the EE is a hack job and not worth the current price, feel free to not buy it.

Well, you claimed it's entitlement to not accept whatever price developers put on it.
Please explain how did I claim that? Look back at what I said.
"some of us think that the improvements are worth it (basically the price of a nice Kebab with soda), and others like you disagree."

Edit: I also called Sykar a retard for trying to apply his judgement of whether a product is worth it universally. Obviously I am against that.

Is straw man all you are capable of? Or I guess my entire point went over your dense head.
 

FeelTheRads

Arcane
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
13,716
No, actually this is what you said:
Do you hate capitalism as well? Are you so self-righteous that you think you should be the judge of the prices of different goods and services in the market?

In reply to Sykar who basically said Beamdog are ripping off people.
As such, your point was that he's not allowed to believe he's being ripped off, otherwise he's a capitalism hater. Like it's a crime to dislike stupid blind love of capitalism like yours.

And of course you can try to judge if something is worth it "universally". A box full of shit for example can be quite easily judged so be useless to most people. I can also judge that people throwing away their money on junk entertainment are retarded capitalist lovers who don't know how to value their money and therefore their work.
Whatchu gonna do? Report me to the capitalist secret service?

Again, not much different than what you did:
I would understand the butt hurt a lot more if Beamdog had added SJW crap/ messed up in some other ways, but in PST:EE I just don't get the parasite claim. They put out a product and they charge a price for the quality of life improvements (all customisable) they had made. Some of us think that the improvements are worth it (basically the price of a nice Kebab with soda), and others like you disagree.

How can others not believe what I do, when what I believe is clearly universally right?????
 
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Vicar

Cipher
Patron
Joined
Oct 15, 2012
Messages
283
No, actually this is what you said:
Do you hate capitalism as well? Are you so self-righteous that you think you should be the judge of the prices of different goods and services in the market?

In reply to Sykar who basically said Beamdog are ripping off people.
As such, your point was that he's not allowed to believe he's being ripped off, otherwise he's a capitalism hater. Like it's a crime to dislike stupid blind love of capitalism like yours.

And of course you can try to judge if something is worth it "universally". A box full of shit for example can be quite easily judged so be useless to most people. I can also judge that people throwing away their money on junk entertainment are retarded capitalist lovers who don't know how to value their money and therefore their work.
Whatchu gonna do? Report me to the capitalist secret service?

Again, not much different than what you did:
I would understand the butt hurt a lot more if Beamdog had added SJW crap/ messed up in some other ways, but in PST:EE I just don't get the parasite claim. They put out a product and they charge a price for the quality of life improvements (all customisable) they had made. Some of us think that the improvements are worth it (basically the price of a nice Kebab with soda), and others like you disagree.

How can others not believe what I do, when what I believe is clearly universally right?????
I guess straw man IS all that you're only capable of. What's with trying to say I make B point when all my posts are pointing to me saying A?

I'll break it down a little for you.

The line "some of us think that the improvements are worth it (basically the price of a nice Kebab with soda), and others like you disagree" and "Are you so self-righteous that you think you should be the judge of the prices of different goods and services in the market?" clearly show that I acknowledge that people have different priorities and thus may value things differently (i.e. deciding whether the EE is worth it or not in this case).

What I am arguing is not that he (you) cannot dislike it, but that thinking his (your) personal standard should be universal (i.e. those that think EE is worth it are morons) seems like hating on capitalism to me. As if there should be a committee (perhaps consisting of Sykar and you?) that should get to decide how much a product is worth.

Let's go through my other posts as well:
  • "As for the last bit, I asked the questions because you're trying to apply your own judgement of whether a product is worth it universally."
  • "It would have been enough to answer 'no' and say something like you're just giving your opinions on why you personally dislike Beamdog."
  • "If you think the EE is a hack job and not worth the current price, feel free to not buy it. That doesn't mean that those who disagree with you and buy it are morons. And obviously if PST:EE doesn't sell well at the current price they will put it on discount soon. That's adjusting for demand. In fact, digital stores like steam sort of facilitates such adjustments by taking away menu cost."
  • "whether it's worth it or not is really dependent on things like what we value and our financial status. Value adding is an integral part of businesses/ the economy and is not parasitic, despite what some may claim."

And your example, a box full of shit, can actually be quite useful as fertilisers. Granted, you said for most people - which I agree (as in direct usage, indirectly due to its role as fertilisers it's probably even more far-reaching). But the important part is that the market price/ value of the box wouldn't have been determined by a single person saying it's useless. Same with PST:EE. I don't even want to address your rant against "capitalism". Your thoughts are all over the place, is that your tactics or are you just stupid?
 
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Joined
Nov 3, 2016
Messages
425
Location
Georgie's shitter
What it comes down to for me is the fact that this is the first EE title that Bumdog has released that I have actually enjoyed the experience. The rest have been trash, and I have always found myself reverting back to the original IE game, and still do in subsequent replays. I hate to say it, but this time, Bumdog needs to be commended for their work on PS:T EE.
 

set

Cipher
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
940
I'm pretty convinced there's no magic person, even if they were responsible for greats in the past, who can create a modern RPG wonder.

Self-fulfilling prophecy 101 by set.

It's not self-fulfilling in any way. Believing in fucking Brian Fargo isn't going to make him into a messiah, or not. In-fact, the sooner we stop believing in magic people, the sooner these kickstarters will stop riding on the coat tails of great names and instead on the merits of their whole teams.
 

Jaesun

Fabulous Ex-Moderator
Patron
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Messages
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Seattle, WA USA
MCA
So basically, they *finally* did not add any NEW retarded content. Actually fixed things, BUT kept it still using the same ruleset (such as NOT using the BGII engine, and all it's rules, which has ruined IWD:EE and BG:EE).

Finally, something I will actually buy for the first time from Beamdog...
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/05/developing-planescape-torment-enhanced.html

Developing Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition - Found Artifacts and Oddities


The original Planescape: Torment is filled with hidden gems.

During the development of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition the Beamdog team dug deeply into the code of original Planescape: Torment and uncovered a treasure trove of secrets hidden within. Here are a few of the oddities we stumbled across while working with the original Planescape: Torment source code.



Not your ordinary test NPC.

Meet the infamous test character, Testocles. Like many cRPGs of its time Planescape: Torment was filled with text, however the conversation mechanics of PST take speech option outcomes to the next level. In Planescape: Torment, the Nameless One can not only gain XP during conversation, but also be granted extra stat points, new abilities, or have his class change between fighter, thief, and mage.


Updated journal to “check shops with Robert Holloway."

Testocles’ dialog text tree is full of choices ranging from the aforementioned ability to make the Nameless One change class to a simple demand that the test character fidget. Here, Testocles fields a demand to view merchant stores for Robert Holloway, a programmer on the original game.


All hail Holloway! Merchant king!


These stakes are real! A successful test cancels plans for world destruction.


A secret message uncovered 18 years later.

As you can see in the above image, Technical Designer and Voice-over Coordinator on the original Planescape: Torment, David Hendee, left his mark on Curst’s Automap Screen. In the original Planescape: Torment this message was hidden and we found it only by adding the zoomed out map and uncovering the walkable path for the area. Learn about this discovery in the Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition launch livestream.


Run away from me, if you can. Like you’re scared. “RunAwayFrom ((PC), 2000)"


If we didn’t eat cheesy poofs, we’d be lame!

A sign of the times. The C language programmers on Planescape: Torment encrypted the data type void as a reference to the brand new hit show, South Park.


Japanese popular culture not only influenced Planescape: Torment, but also some of the test dialog.

Here, we’re introduced to Dak’kon in a test dialogue with some Hive thugs. According to the original team (watch our livestream with Chris Avellone!), the Planescape: Torment developers played a lot of Final Fantasy VII which may have influenced many of the higher level spells and the preference of each of the Nameless One’s companions to favor a single type of weapon based on their personality.


The original team had some fun with test text.


During our journey back in time, we found this bit of early UI and discovered the two most popular spells in development.

Creating Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition has been an unforgettable experience for the whole Beamdog team. Watch out for more on the making of PST:EE in the weeks ahead!

New to the planes? Find out more about Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition at planescape.com.
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
Finally finished PS:T again for the first time since 2004. I'd started it multiple times over the years, got frustrated with the combat being shit, with it running jankily, with having computers die and having to start over. I got so sick of doing the first couple Acts for the Nth time I didn't think Id make it past Sigil ever again.

I enjoyed this playthrough thoroughly. Skipped a lot of dialogue that Ive seen a million times in the first half of the game, then really paid attention to the stuff i hadnt seen in over ten years or never encountered on that first walkthroughless/internet-free run. It was as good as my 20yr old self remembered, and if anything combat seemed a little easier. I almost never died unintentionally, which may be due to the improved pathfinding and framerate, or just that I cleared every single quest from my logbook and was an overpowered mage with 25int/25wis/18Con by the time I got to Curst. But this run took a good two weeks, and found more hours of new things id never seen before and enjoyment than I got from TT:Numenara (which was more like a 1.5 day adventure game)
 

skyst

Augur
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
294
Location
Philadelphia, PA
http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/05/developing-planescape-torment-enhanced.html

Developing Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition - Found Artifacts and Oddities


The original Planescape: Torment is filled with hidden gems.

During the development of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition the Beamdog team dug deeply into the code of original Planescape: Torment and uncovered a treasure trove of secrets hidden within. Here are a few of the oddities we stumbled across while working with the original Planescape: Torment source code.



Not your ordinary test NPC.

Meet the infamous test character, Testocles. Like many cRPGs of its time Planescape: Torment was filled with text, however the conversation mechanics of PST take speech option outcomes to the next level. In Planescape: Torment, the Nameless One can not only gain XP during conversation, but also be granted extra stat points, new abilities, or have his class change between fighter, thief, and mage.


Updated journal to “check shops with Robert Holloway."

Testocles’ dialog text tree is full of choices ranging from the aforementioned ability to make the Nameless One change class to a simple demand that the test character fidget. Here, Testocles fields a demand to view merchant stores for Robert Holloway, a programmer on the original game.


All hail Holloway! Merchant king!


These stakes are real! A successful test cancels plans for world destruction.


A secret message uncovered 18 years later.

As you can see in the above image, Technical Designer and Voice-over Coordinator on the original Planescape: Torment, David Hendee, left his mark on Curst’s Automap Screen. In the original Planescape: Torment this message was hidden and we found it only by adding the zoomed out map and uncovering the walkable path for the area. Learn about this discovery in the Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition launch livestream.


Run away from me, if you can. Like you’re scared. “RunAwayFrom ((PC), 2000)"


If we didn’t eat cheesy poofs, we’d be lame!

A sign of the times. The C language programmers on Planescape: Torment encrypted the data type void as a reference to the brand new hit show, South Park.


Japanese popular culture not only influenced Planescape: Torment, but also some of the test dialog.

Here, we’re introduced to Dak’kon in a test dialogue with some Hive thugs. According to the original team (watch our livestream with Chris Avellone!), the Planescape: Torment developers played a lot of Final Fantasy VII which may have influenced many of the higher level spells and the preference of each of the Nameless One’s companions to favor a single type of weapon based on their personality.


The original team had some fun with test text.


During our journey back in time, we found this bit of early UI and discovered the two most popular spells in development.

Creating Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition has been an unforgettable experience for the whole Beamdog team. Watch out for more on the making of PST:EE in the weeks ahead!

New to the planes? Find out more about Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition at planescape.com.

Testocles? That reminds me...

KCY2L3W.png
 

Lacrymas

Arcane
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
17,948
Pathfinder: Wrath
Wasn't there some thematic reason for TNO's inability to be a priest? Like being shunned by all the gods?
 

McPlusle

Savant
Joined
May 11, 2017
Messages
319
I've owned PS:T for several years but never played more than a few hours in, despite loving what little I did play. Should I be fine with the original (with the Draw fix, fixpack, res changes)? Does this take any fanfic-tier creative liberties like BG:EE?
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
Wasn't there some thematic reason for TNO's inability to be a priest? Like being shunned by all the gods?
precisely

I've owned PS:T for several years but never played more than a few hours in, despite loving what little I did play. Should I be fine with the original (with the Draw fix, fixpack, res changes)? Does this take any fanfic-tier creative liberties like BG:EE?
If you're not like 99% of Beamdong customers and know how to install mods (by reading readmes) then yes, you should be fine.
Might as well go with this guide
 

Crolug

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
104
Location
Panamá
I've finished PSTEE.

Technically: no crushes, no glitches, no bullshit. One bug related to respawning NPCs in Curse's prison, which I already posted at Beamdog's bugtracker. Quick icons on lower GUI work very well, much better then the old wheel. Widescreen works flawlessly, fast locations transitions are fast indeed. I played with most new funtions turned on with the exception of sprite borders - I don't like them and IMO game and characters look better without them. In other words - it is VERY good enhanced edition.

But the game itself... Man, oh man... I was playing for real (some runs through Sigil don't count) for the first time since year 2000. I changed to mage ASAP, so my stats were focused on INT/WIS/CHA. I read EVERYTHING I could very carefully, I made some loadings to see some C&Cs...

I mean - this game is out of this (cRPGs) world. Is it even enough to describe it as "the game"? It was more of an audio-visual, yet philosophical, sociological, metaphysical experience. The journey inside oneself. Last time I played it I was still at university, this August I'm turning 40 - it was interesting to see how life experiences changed my perception of what's around me. The differences in questions asked myself then and now, the differences in answers made.

Now I am certain that the project titled "Torment: Tides of Numenara" just couldn't work. It is impossible to copy, repeat or reference PST. It is unique. Making a game in a strange world, with walls of text won't do. Nothing will. PST is not about strange world and tons of lines of text - it's about what those multiverses symbolize and what all those sentences try to describe and tell us. In Numenara it's just that - weird Earth billions of years in the future and much too much text that won't enrich the player's soul, heart and mind in any rememberable way.

I can't wait for the next play-through... in my fifties :).
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/05/planescape-scramble-hidden-easter-eggs.html

Planescape Scramble: The Hidden Easter Eggs of Sigil


PST:EE references the works of Franz Kafka, William Shakespeare, Li Shangyin, and more.

Planescape: Torment is a special game that goes deeper than meets the eye. One should not only look for doors to other planes, hidden dialogue lines, and secret spells that can only be taught by NPCs, but also references to the real world. Let’s have a look at a few of the easy-to-miss Easter eggs players can stumble across as the Nameless One.




Warning, Planes dwellers! These barrels are radioactive!

During your travels in Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition you may discover barrels with radioactive warning stickers on them. The images above show a couple of those barrels in the Wrecked Home and the Tenement of Thugs. These are a nod to Fallout, a game many of the original Planescape: Torment team members worked on.

There’s another Fallout Easter egg in PST:EE that wasteland wandering fans may notice - picking up or dropping the Pet Lim-Lim in the inventory screen is the same sound as in Fallout's inventory screen.

The Lord of Murder shall perish…

This one should stand out to all Baldur’s Gate players. A symbol of Bhaal marks one of the gravestones from the Coffin Maker’s Shop in the Lower Ward of Sigil.


Zombie #1041 in the Mortuary recites a poem by Li Shangyin.

Li Shangyin was a Chinese poet of the late Tang Dynasty, "rediscovered" in the 20th century and famous for his tantalizing "no title" poems. If the Nameless One talks to Zombie #1041 on the ground floor of the Mortuary and uses the Stories-Bones-Tell skill, we’re treated to part of a Li Shangyin’s poem which can be translated as:


It is difficult to meet as it is difficult to part,
The north wind has weakened; hundreds of flowers fade way,
When the Spring worms die, the silk shall never come again,
When the candle wax becomes ash, tears shall stop.


According to David Maldonado, a member of the original Planescape: Torment team, this “translation was a little soddy”. This is what David said once: “Apologies; the game deserved better. Still, it's not as bad as our "Slating" flub. Whoops! I still can't explain/understand that how that managed to happen - much like the Nameless One's true name, it's a Big Fancy Mystery".

This item in Planescape: Torment removes the basic human need for food and drink.

A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham Maslow was released in 1943. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with physiological needs as the largest, most fundamental needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization and self-transcendence at the top.



A “conqueror on a distant prime material world” is Alexander the Great. Earth is D&D. It’s Planescape canon!

The Gordian Knot, a legend associated with Alexander the Great, is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem solved easily by "thinking outside the box".



The Sensory Stone reflects upon the experience of a insect which has awoken as a human once.

The story told by the Sensory Stone is a reversal of the plot in Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis". This novella, often called one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century, centers on a story of a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed (metamorphosed) into a large, monstrous insect-like creature.




Inspiration for Annah-of-the-Shadows and Fall-From-Grace?

The original team on Planescape: Torment liked many books, comics, and games. According to Chris Avellone, Annah and Fall-From-Grace were inspired by Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge from Archie comics. In the comics Veronica enjoys a very posh lifestyle but chooses to hang out with her less affluent friends. Her best friend (and sometimes arch-rival) is Betty Cooper, and the two enjoy countless activities and interests. However, they are also at constant competition for the love interest.

It’s also interesting that Annah is derived from the Hebrew name Hannah, which in turn means "Grace." Since the Nameless One can meet Fall-From-Grace during his travels, the party can include two female members literally named "Grace" and "Fall-From-Grace”.


There is no sadder story on the Planes… than that of Montague and Juliette.

There are at least two references to works by William Shakespeare in Planescape: Torment. If Dak'kon dies, Morte will utter the words: "Alas, poor Dak'kon, I knew him well”. It’s a nod to the Act V of "Hamlet" (and funnily enough, the same statement could apply to Morte himself, considering Hamlet speaks his famous words looking at the the jester Yorick's skull).
The second reference is an alternative version of Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". Juliette is one of the many students of Fall-from-Grace working in the Brothel for Slaking Intellectual Lusts and the Nameless One can help in her relationship with Montague.
There are many more secrets and Easter eggs in Planescape: Torment. Which have you found? Let us know in the comments!
New to the planes? Find out more about Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition at planescape.com.
 

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