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Arcanum - worth a punt?

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Vendigroth was fucking eery, a dead civilisation frozen in time on the brink of its destruction, buried deep under the sands which bear its name. Newspapers and intricate technologies lay everywhere, telling the tale of this Tarant that was. One tells of the submarine that we found on the Isle of Despair, and how its inventor disappeared to never be heard from again. Others speak of Arronax and his threats against the developing technocracy, and the weapon that I seek being developed to stop him.

Here I think that the constant trivial combat lets the place down, i'd rather have only had the ocassional dead hard fights with the automata still roaming the place, and elsewhere just have echoing emptiness that would seem to be far more appropriate to the design. Still I found two things here, the altar of the allfather that left me ascended, with a massive boost in statistics and skills, and the Vendigroth device lying there for the taking.

With a muttered spell I whisked me and my party away to Roseborough, and went to the Ring of Brodgar where Nasrudin stood waiting, tomorrow I follow Arronax into the Void and finish this. Looking at my team however I fear they may not survive, Virgil knows, Zan seeks the truth and Geoffrey is a rat bastard, only Dog and Torian Kel do I trust. And my beautiful Bangellian Scourge.
 

Rostere

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
2,504
Location
Stockholm
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 RPG Wokedex Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
With a muttered spell I whisked me and my party away to Roseborough, and went to the Ring of Brodgar where Nasrudin stood waiting, tomorrow I follow Arronax into the Void and finish this. Looking at my team however I fear they may not survive, Virgil knows, Zan seeks the truth and Geoffrey is a rat bastard, only Dog and Torian Kel do I trust. And my beautiful Bangellian Scourge.

Oh man, you're in for a great ending.
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
Just installed on windows 10. cant get it to work through compatibility settings...character creation is fine but freezes to black screen every time starting a new game. tried gog version with mods (widescreen etc) and with no mods, windowed and compatibility from xpsp3 to win7 with no luck so far.
 

gestalt11

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 4, 2015
Messages
629
Hah I forgot about the Dog follower. All dog followers in all games take on the name "Worthless Mutt" in my mind because of arcanum.
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
Ugh. been several hours now on getting this game to run smooth.
so far i can get it to start by using compatibility settings, alt-tabbing out and when i come back the screen functions, though mouse is still broken and game is unplayable. so far tried vanilla and with mods (installed to separate hard drives) tried various options and resolutions but not that i got it playable it still lags so much as to be broken in win10. changing the variables via desktopshortcut>target doesnt seem to work on win 10 either. maybe it doesnt care for dos commands?.....not that i do, either
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
i tried that trick but i dont see a ddraw dll in the main install folder or data, but ill check that out. adding parameters to shortcuts either doesnt work in win10 or im just doing it wrong
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
....and got it going all right. I dont know why adding the shortcut parameters gave me an error yesterday, but rebooted pc and tried again in the morning and took just fine. It's still a little janky with the mouse and scrolling, but it seems playable so far. run in Reduced color mode to 16 bit to get rid of strange colors, and set cpu affinity to one core, and forced vsync via nvidia control panel.
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
FUCK ME FUCKING SIDEWAYS! Kerghan the Terrible fucked me, he fucked me in me brain and didn't even ask permission. Arronax has been imprisoned for two millenia in the Void, and Kerghan the Terrible rules uncontested, he used the Dark Elves, he reached across the planes and whispered lies to them. He manipulated everybody, hiding behind Arronax' villainy and preparing Arcanum for his return.

The Void was black, empty and barely formed, small islands of reality forming in the infinite darkness. I arrived at a mirror image of the Ring of Brodgar, but swarming with odd demonic creatures that fell to my spells and sword. I found a small metal dias, and stepping upon it was moved to another island and so on until I found the ruins of some strange organic structure, and descended into it. There behind a door guarded by undead knights and a strange serpent I found Arronax, trapped inside a sphere of energy, a sphere not of his own making. He explained it all, he was just a spoiled brat with daddy issues who wanted to be stopped, blaming Nasrudin for his genocide and rebellion. He did nothing else however, Kerghan was waiting for him in the Void, and overpowered him without breaking a sweat.

I freed him for Zan Alurin's sake and they spoke of the Dark Elves, the schism and his role in their fall. He was suprisingly weak.

I ventured on and found Kerghans glowing fortress, but avoided it for awhile, as I wanted to find the others. Kraka Tur I killed, a boasting weakling whom I taunted with his journal, killer of the last Dragon, he deserved worse. Gorgoth initially followed me when I gave him the carcass of a small demonic creature, but his hunger would not stop and eventually he turned on me, he too died. The Bane of Kree held Torian Kel's ancestral sword and so I helped the Grey Legionnaire slay him, and gave him back his sword, it may possibly be better than the Bangellian Scourge.

That did not matter however, I found a stairway down into the heart of an island and entered ancient tunnels, fighting past beasts to find a treasure. A sword, an enchanted sword called Kryggird's Falchion, that throbbed with power and dwarfed everything else. So armed I explored the rest of the Void until only Kerghan's stronghold remained.

I carved my way through Kerghan's minions, they were as nothing to me. I found the few remaining Dwarves of the black Mountain clan stranded here, so very few left, I listened to their tale and explained everything. Their machine waited to rip a hole in reality through to Arcanum. I ventured on a found Kerghan the Terrible.

He was a hypocrite, all this time, all the spirits I have raised from the dead to speak with, they have all been wracked with pain. Returning them to the world is unnatural, and yet all across Arcanum the undead arise and walk because of Kerghan's dread influence touching the world. The game has hinted at me for weeks now that the undead are the true threat, and I have constantly had to battle them, and stumbled through the remains of Kerghan's discoveries and his legacy. The Derian Ka, The Molochean Hand, the Schuyler's, Geoffrey, Torian Kel, Stringy Pete, they were all clues pointing to this and I saw nothing until I found Arronax and learned the truth. Kerghan wants to end all life on Arcanum, he wants to make it as silent and peacefuil as the Void so that his legacy can be used no more and there is no suffering.

No fucking chance, people will suffer at my whim and they will remain alive to worship me. I pretended to side with him for a moment just to see if that was possible (of course it was,) and slew most of my companions there who objected, I had the power to do so now and had meant to be rid of them anyway. Dog and Torian Kel remained at my side as is only right, and he commanded me to go forth and slay the other exiles in the Void. I laughed and told him it was already done and then informed him that there could only be one god returning to Arcanum. He asked what kind of deity I thought myself and I told him that I would be just, which is so open to interpretation as to allow almost any action.

In the end he died, struck down by my Falchion, I did not even have to use the Vendigroth device, which an old Elven man might be surprised by when I return. With his death I fled back to Arcanum with the Black Mountain clan. The narration began over ending slides classic Fallout style and I watched with a big stupid smile on my face, as all my deeds came to fruition.

Arcanum is simply one of the best games I have ever played, it has tons of issues, it is in some ways fundamentally broken but for all that it is so fucking deep, complex, full of choice and real consequences, and so bloody unremittingly ambitious in some of the things it does that I consider it a classic. I've not enjoyed myself this much since last time I were in a knocking shop, and this game was so much fuck cheaper than a horizontal hokey cokey.

Tl/dr: Thanks for the recommendations, hints and encouragement everybody, this is one of the best games ever made undoubtedly. I now wish to see Obsidian make Tim Cain a lead designer on something. I'm still left with a shit ton of ideas about the game in my head, but i'm going to try and resist an immediate second playthrough, I want to approach it when i'm not so obsessed as I currently am.
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
still having bugs in windows 10 : combat always starts as real time regardless of the settings and half the time spacebar does nothing. i have to right click/spacebar like 12 times and hope i dont get wasted before the fucking turn based kicks in. i swear this game was smoother and less buggy when it first came out, at least then i could actually get THROUGH the game. but geneforges combat is still worse, bugs and all,
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
I'm more sure than ever now after listening to Kerghan's speech that the Void is a metaphysical realm, linked to Arcanum but spirit based instead of physical. I think that connecting these two planes is what caused the supernatural selection in Arcanum, made Elves and monsters appear as the magical and spiritual flooded into the reality of Arcanum. It's the Warp of this setting, a place that shouldn't have been reached except through death, and this makes me wonder how it was first discovered...a technological operation like we have seen the exiled Black Mountain clan perform, but in reverse?

Thanks for Windows 10 pioneering AetherVagrant, much appreciated.
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
arcanum has always run smooth for me with no mods though its been a few years. i was surprised and outraged to not just be able to install it and play like good old days (aka 4 years ago) i dont remember the weird bugs im getting, which may guaruntee that i can only play a persuasive magic user this time, as trying to lay a trap or snipe someone isnt going to work well if it keeps switching to real-time.
 

Ladonna

Arcane
Joined
Aug 27, 2006
Messages
10,636
I am happy you enjoyed the game Neanderthal. You sound like I felt after my first playthrough.

As I said before, it is truly a singular masterpiece of the CRPG genre. It certainly does have its issues, but once you get past those, the game is just unbeatable in so many ways.

As for your questions on the lore, perhaps you should try emailing the Troika guys these questions. Do you have/have you read the very good Arcanum manual? There is plenty of backstory and history in it.
 

MilesBeyond

Cipher
Joined
May 15, 2015
Messages
716
Okay, question on editing followers:

According to the forums on terra-arcanum, it seems to be that the AI for most followers is dynamic and is based off whatever points they happen to have. As a result, they should, hypothetically, cast spells from a variety of different schools if you dump points into them (e.g. if you give Gar some points in Earth magic). However, I have never seen this actually happen. Can anyone here confirm?
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
I am happy you enjoyed the game Neanderthal. You sound like I felt after my first playthrough.

As I said before, it is truly a singular masterpiece of the CRPG genre. It certainly does have its issues, but once you get past those, the game is just unbeatable in so many ways.

As for your questions on the lore, perhaps you should try emailing the Troika guys these questions. Do you have/have you read the very good Arcanum manual? There is plenty of backstory and history in it.

Cheers. I wouldn't want to bother Cain and co. though, i'm happy having the lore remain a mystery. The manual was great, read and reread it.

Okay, question on editing followers:

According to the forums on terra-arcanum, it seems to be that the AI for most followers is dynamic and is based off whatever points they happen to have. As a result, they should, hypothetically, cast spells from a variety of different schools if you dump points into them (e.g. if you give Gar some points in Earth magic). However, I have never seen this actually happen. Can anyone here confirm?

Don't know, but damn i'd like to dabble with this.
 

Old One

Arcane
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
3,679
Location
The Great Underground Empire
According to the forums on terra-arcanum, it seems to be that the AI for most followers is dynamic and is based off whatever points they happen to have. As a result, they should, hypothetically, cast spells from a variety of different schools if you dump points into them (e.g. if you give Gar some points in Earth magic). However, I have never seen this actually happen. Can anyone here confirm?
I've very rarely ever seen any AI people or monsters cast spells in combat. Mages typically rush ahead into melee using their staves.
 

visions

Arcane
Joined
Jun 10, 2007
Messages
1,801
Location
here
As for your questions on the lore, perhaps you should try emailing the Troika guys these questions. Do you have/have you read the very good Arcanum manual? There is plenty of backstory and history in it.

There's lore on the old Arcanum homepage too (under The World), some of which doesn't appear in the manual. It's accessible on Terra Arcanum.

http://terra-arcanum.com/sierra/
 

AetherVagrant

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Messages
519
tried to go with a tech character, couldnt stick with it, so have been flipping back and forth between my techhuman and magicelf trying not to let one get too far ahead of the other as every map and conversation makes me anxious im missing something amazing i never saw before.
ill either be sick of steampunk and violins for the next ten years...or wind up at cons trying to sport 5 types of goggles at the same time.
definitely worth a cunt
 

Sjukob

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
2,052
You know , after I finished the game for the first time , I was in ecstasy like Neanderthal was . But when I decided to complete it again , I was unable to tolerate it's flaws anymore . Still appreciate it for excellent experience I had , especially the option to engage anyone through dialogue and still being able to progress through story . This is what every other RPG lack for me and I constantly curse them for it .
 

Old One

Arcane
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
3,679
Location
The Great Underground Empire
Things to try if you haven't:

1) Solo the game with a thief. Grab just enough magick to balance out your lockpicking and other tech skills, but stay roughly neutral between magick and tech.
2) Play a tech character and take only Firearms NPCs. Give them all tranquilizer guns.
3) Agree to help Cedric Appleby disgrace Gates, but then betray Appleby's plan to Gates. Or follow through with the plan.
4) Become Pickpocket Master.
 

likaq

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Messages
1,198
Cheers i'll look for that, Virgil's lockpick skill is fairly fucking useless and i'd rather see him get a few more useful spells or a bit more melee oomph. Isn't it funny, these are same blokes who made the bloody tight mechanics and crappy story of ToEE, seems like a 180" turn there. Fuck imagine Arcanum in Silent Storm engine.

Fix.
 

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