Icewind Dale Icewind Dale is a very boring, bad game

[IncendiaryDevice]

Expected by whom? And who does say that?

Here:

Q: Is there an experience cap, and if so, what is it?
A: We're allowing up to 1,801,000 experience points. This will let your characters get to approximately 14th-18th level. In the course of typical play, a six character party usually ends the game with about 1,000,000 experience points.

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD/iwdfaq.php

From their IWD faq.

 

[The Great ThunThun*]

IWD would be a genuinely good game if it had the combat system of ToEE.

All D&D games would be good with ToEE mechanics. After all, that is what they were made for.

 

[Brancaleone]

Here:



http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD/iwdfaq.php

From their IWD faq.

This is quite baffling, since I used to hit the cap quite before Belhifet, and I made a point never to farm enemies by resting in unsafe places.

 

[Brancaleone]

IWD would be a genuinely good game if it had the combat system of ToEE.

But not ToEE's content (hint, hint,

) ...

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

OMG, when did you hit level 10? That would be the final boss in the original game...

Sounds like you don't know shit about IWD. My fighter is level 15 now, and I haven't even finished the game nor started on the expansion. But like I said, after level 10 or so, you don't really get anything, 3hps per level, a useless half-attack at 13 (unless theres gear later that adds a half attack), lower THAC0 and saving throws, but at 10 those already work as well as they need to.

 

[Atlet]

They do not actually. Josh Sawyer paid particular attention to follow the rules more to the letter, Bioware didn't.

Sorry if this is public domain and everybody knows, but... how do you know so much about sawyer? Are you his secretary or something?

 

[IncendiaryDevice]

This is quite baffling, since I used to hit the cap quite before Belhifet, and I made a point never to farm enemies by resting in unsafe places.

I think there's quite a few ways you can generate surplus xp without realising it as there's a lot more optional combat than people think. The frost giants and ice salamanders, for example, can be resolved peacefully, and hosing down both of them is just a player option. Going back and forth through the ettin cave generates the only real respawns of the game, the other being the minor shadows in the vale of shadows. The archer tower is optional, etc etc. That kind of thing would be my guess.

 

[IncendiaryDevice]

Sounds like you don't know shit about IWD. My fighter is level 15 now, and I haven't even finished the game nor started on the expansion. But like I said, after level 10 or so, you don't really get anything, 3hps per level, a useless half-attack at 13 (unless theres gear later that adds a half attack), lower THAC0 and saving throws, but at 10 those already work as well as they need to.

I know zero about the Enhanced Editions...

 

[Roguey]

Sorry if this is public domain, but how do you know so much about sawyer? Are you his secretary or something?

Extensive research and a long memory for these details.

 

[Brancaleone]

I think there's quite a few ways you can generate surplus xp without realising it as there's a lot more optional combat than people think. The frost giants and ice salamanders, for example, can be resolved peacefully, and hosing down both of them is just a player option. Going back and forth through the ettin cave generates the only real respawns of the game, the other being the minor shadows in the vale of shadows. The archer tower is optional, etc etc. That kind of thing would be my guess.

I'd also say that, given how the game was quite rushed, they probaby did not run some very accurate (if at all) simulations of the 'typical' xp garnered by a 6-men party...

 

[IncendiaryDevice]

I'd also say that, given how the game was quite rushed, they probaby did not run some very accurate (if at all) simulations of the 'typical' xp garnered by a 6-men party...

Level 12 or level 10, it's kinda moot, Porky's on level 15 atm & probably got to level 10 after killing the skeletons he found so easy they were trash...

 

[Micormic]

I'd also say that, given how the game was quite rushed, they probaby did not run some very accurate (if at all) simulations of the 'typical' xp garnered by a 6-men party...

Only IWD 2 was rushed, they had plenty of time for the first one, the 2nd they cranked out in 10 months IIRC.

 

[Roguey]

Only IWD 2 was rushed, they had plenty of time for the first one, the 2nd they cranked out in 10 months IIRC.

Icewind Dale was made in 14 months. Sure, that's enough time for a dungeon crawl with a ready-made engine, but not anything particularly more ambitious than that. Totally a slam dunk project meant for quick cash.

 

[Brancaleone]

Only IWD 2 was rushed, they had plenty of time for the first one, the 2nd they cranked out in 10 months IIRC.

Icewind Dale II's development started immediately after Torn was cancelled (July 2001) and was released on the 27th August of the following year, while Icewind Dale, as Roguey said, was made in 14 months. Not much of a difference.

 

[Roguey]

Four months actually does make quite a difference, especially when IWD2 was originally on a much worse impossible-to-achieve schedule that resulted in a lot of bad engineering decisions made early on

 

[Micormic]

Icewind Dale II's development started immediately after Torn was cancelled (July 2001) and was released on the 27th August of the following year, while Icewind Dale, as Roguey said, was made in 14 months. Not much of a difference.

IWD2 also included refining a new ruleset, IWD the ruleset was directly imported from BG1, big time savings there aswell.

 

[Brancaleone]

IWD2 also included refining a new ruleset, IWD the ruleset was directly imported from BG1, big time savings there aswell.

I'm not talking about that. You said that IWD had "plenty of time", which it didn't. It was rushed, just not as much as IWD2.

 

[Brancaleone]

Four months actually does make quite a difference, especially when IWD2 was originally on a much worse impossible-to-achieve schedule that resulted in a lot of bad engineering decisions made early on

Actually it would have been not more than 1-2 months of difference, at most (and possibly even less than than, depending on the exact dates). But I agree, even 1-2 months more would have made some difference within the nightmarish development of IWD2.

 

[Micormic]

I'm not talking about that. You said that IWD had "plenty of time", which it didn't. It was rushed, just not as much as IWD2.

Why are you telling lies now?


It wasn't rushed, please stop being stupid posting nonsense.



Thanks.

 

[FeelTheRads]

But like I said, after level 10 or so, you don't really get anything,

3hps per level,

a useless half-attack at 13 (unless theres gear later that adds a half attack),

lower THAC0 and saving throws, but at 10 those already work as well as they need to.

THAC0 11 is just as good as THAC0 0.




Bro, do you even D&D? Let me guess, you think that "half-attack" does nothing until you get the other half, right?

 

[aweigh]

Modders will fix it! Wait for IWD TC of ToEE.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

3hps per level,

Past level 10, I do 60+ damage per round, and most of the enemies at that point do as well. So 3 hitpoints per level is indeed nothing, even accumulated after a bunch of levels. You making faces won't change that.

a useless half-attack at 13 (unless theres gear later that adds a half attack),



Bro, do you even D&D? Let me guess, you think that "half-attack" does nothing until you get the other half, right?

Well, let's see: I've completed BG1 + Exp, BG2 + Exp, PS:T, NWN1, NWN2 + Mask of the Betrayer, played ToEE, but no, I don't know anything about D&D.

And the half attack is kinda useless at level 13. By that point, I am doing 7/2 attacks per round with a 2-hander, so the half attack just means the next attack will come slightly sooner. Since most enemies don't live past a round with me, the time it takes to click on the next enemy pretty much negates whatever little bit of time you save.

THAC0 11 is just as good as THAC0 0.

No, you butthurt lil man, by level 10, my THAC0 is already in the negatives (strength bonuses, grandmastery bonuses, weapon bonuses, gear bonuses, etc), so the difference between THAC0 -1 and -10 is pretty minimal. I haven't noticed it, since I am hitting everything in both cases.

 

[the_shadow]

Icewind Dale is an awesome, good game. My only minor complaint is that you can't reach the higher spell levels in the base campaign.

 

[Jvegi]

I found IWD to have great encounter desing. Multiple enemies may consitute a mob, but they are not trash. Thanks to their variaty and numbers, the usual easy tactics of BG can very rarely be applied. It's helped by the actual utilization of the environment.

Remember the kobolds at the end of Spellhold and orcs in Firkgraags dungeon? Laughably rare and unchallenging attempts. In IWD they are everywhere and can seriously kick your butt. I loved it.

It does get too easy in later stages, but the first few chapters are wonderful. I enjoyed myself immensely finishing it for the first time a couple of months ago.

 

[Cael]

*thinks fondly of a level 10 party getting mobbed by a few thousand level 1 undead*

PC: What do you mean I lose 40 hp? There is no way those bloody skeletons are getting through my 30 AC.
Me: A few hundred of them fired. Natural 20s are a thing.
PC: Fuck! I run into the house and slam the door shut!

Spoiler

Skeleton: Trash mob, my boney ass!